Principal Engineering Manager Jobs
Principal Engineering Manager jobs are open across technology, fintech, healthtech, and enterprise software, with specializations in platform engineering, distributed systems, and developer productivity, at every level from senior engineering manager to principal and staff-level leadership. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position. These include labor markets and in some instances may include education, work experience and certifications. In addition to your pay, Target cares about and invests in you as a team member, so that you can take care of yourself and your family. Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more, to help you and your family take care of your whole selves. Other benefits for eligible team members include 401(k), employee discount, short term disability, long term disability, paid sick leave, paid national holidays, and paid vacation. Find competitive benefits from financial and education to well-being and beyond at https://corporate.target.com/careers/benefits.
JOIN TARGET AS A PRINCIPAL ENGINEER –AI PLATFORMS, FORWARD DEPLOYED ENGINEERING and AI BUILDER EXPERIENCE
About us:
Working at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture. Learn more about Target here.
A role with Target’s AI Platform organization means the opportunity to build and evolve the foundational capabilities that enable teams across Target to develop, deploy, and operate AI-powered products and experiences at enterprise scale. Our teams build platforms, frameworks, and developer experiences that make advanced AI technologies accessible, reliable, and scalable for engineers across the organization.
As a Principal Engineer – AI Builder Experience and Forward Deployed Engineering, you will provide technical leadership for how engineering teams across Target build, integrate, deploy, and operate AI-powered applications. You will work at the intersection of AI platform engineering, developer experience, and forward deployed engineering, partnering directly with product and engineering teams to accelerate complex and high-value AI initiatives while shaping reusable capabilities for the broader engineering community.
You will help architect and deliver production-grade AI solutions, including agentic and LLM-powered applications, while establishing scalable patterns for model and agent integration, enterprise context, evaluation, observability, deployment, and production operations. You will bring deep platform expertise directly to engineering teams, helping them navigate complex technical challenges and successfully move AI solutions from experimentation into production.
A critical part of this role is translating real-world implementation experience into improvements to the AI platform. You will identify recurring challenges and patterns across forward deployed engagements and turn those learnings into reusable APIs, SDKs, frameworks, developer tooling, reference architectures, and self-service platform capabilities. Through this feedback loop, you will help reduce bespoke engineering and continuously improve the experience for the next generation of AI builders.
You will also provide technical leadership for the end-to-end AI developer experience, including onboarding, development, experimentation, testing, evaluation, debugging, deployment, and observability. You will partner closely with platform engineering, product, architecture, and application teams to influence platform roadmaps, establish engineering standards, and create reference implementations that enable teams to adopt AI capabilities effectively and responsibly at scale.
Given the pace of change in AI, you will stay current on emerging technologies and engineering approaches, evaluate and recommend new frameworks and tooling, publish learnings and reusable patterns, mentor senior engineers, and influence technical direction across the broader AI engineering ecosystem. We utilize Agile principles, follow best-practice software design, participate in code reviews, and create maintainable, well-tested codebases with relevant documentation.
Core responsibilities of this job are articulated within this job description. Job duties may change at any time due to business needs.
About you:
- MS or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or another quantitative discipline or equivalent industry experience
- 8 plus years of experience designing, building, and operating large-scale software platforms, developer platforms, AI/ML systems, or distributed systems in production environments
- Strong hands-on software engineering experience and demonstrated ability to architect and deliver production-grade systems
- Experience designing and delivering AI applications, including LLM-powered or agentic systems, and understanding of model integration, context and retrieval patterns, tool integration, evaluation, and production operations
- Experience building developer-facing capabilities such as APIs, SDKs, frameworks, libraries, developer tooling, templates, or self-service platform experiences
- Experience with modern AI engineering and platform technologies, including model APIs, agent development frameworks, evaluation and observability tooling, cloud platforms, containers, orchestration, CI/CD, and operational monitoring
- Strong understanding of distributed system design, platform architecture, scalability, reliability, performance optimization, security, and production deployment considerations
- Demonstrated ability to partner directly with engineering and product teams, understand complex implementation challenges, and translate those challenges into scalable technical solutions and reusable platform capabilities
- Ability to operate effectively across the full engineering lifecycle, from architecture and prototyping through implementation, production deployment, and operational maturity
- Ability to translate ambiguous business and engineering problems into clear technical approaches and create strong technical documentation, reference architectures, narratives, and recommendations for a range of audiences
- Excellent communication and influencing skills, with demonstrated ability to establish technical direction and drive alignment across engineering teams and organizational boundaries
- Proven ability to mentor and provide technical leadership to senior engineers while influencing architecture and engineering standards without direct authority
- Self-driven and results-oriented, with strong ownership, sound technical judgment, and the ability to balance near-term delivery with long-term platform scalability
- Collaborative team player with experience working effectively across functions, organizations, and geographies, and with a demonstrated commitment to continuous learning and knowledge sharing
Benefits Eligibility
Please paste this url into your preferred browser to learn about benefits eligibility for this role: https://tgt.biz/BenefitsForYou_FAmericans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
In compliance with state and federal laws, Target will make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please reach out to candidate.accommodations@HRHelp.Target.com. Non-accommodation-related requests, such as application follow-ups or technical issues, will not be addressed through this channel.
Application deadline is : 12/10/2026Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position. These include labor markets and in some instances may include education, work experience and certifications. In addition to your pay, Target cares about and invests in you as a team member, so that you can take care of yourself and your family. Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more, to help you and your family take care of your whole selves. Other benefits for eligible team members include 401(k), employee discount, short term disability, long term disability, paid sick leave, paid national holidays, and paid vacation. Find competitive benefits from financial and education to well-being and beyond at https://corporate.target.com/careers/benefits.
JOIN TARGET AS A PRINCIPAL ENGINEER –AI PLATFORMS, FORWARD DEPLOYED ENGINEERING and AI BUILDER EXPERIENCE
About us:
Working at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture. Learn more about Target here.
A role with Target’s AI Platform organization means the opportunity to build and evolve the foundational capabilities that enable teams across Target to develop, deploy, and operate AI-powered products and experiences at enterprise scale. Our teams build platforms, frameworks, and developer experiences that make advanced AI technologies accessible, reliable, and scalable for engineers across the organization.
As a Principal Engineer – AI Builder Experience and Forward Deployed Engineering, you will provide technical leadership for how engineering teams across Target build, integrate, deploy, and operate AI-powered applications. You will work at the intersection of AI platform engineering, developer experience, and forward deployed engineering, partnering directly with product and engineering teams to accelerate complex and high-value AI initiatives while shaping reusable capabilities for the broader engineering community.
You will help architect and deliver production-grade AI solutions, including agentic and LLM-powered applications, while establishing scalable patterns for model and agent integration, enterprise context, evaluation, observability, deployment, and production operations. You will bring deep platform expertise directly to engineering teams, helping them navigate complex technical challenges and successfully move AI solutions from experimentation into production.
A critical part of this role is translating real-world implementation experience into improvements to the AI platform. You will identify recurring challenges and patterns across forward deployed engagements and turn those learnings into reusable APIs, SDKs, frameworks, developer tooling, reference architectures, and self-service platform capabilities. Through this feedback loop, you will help reduce bespoke engineering and continuously improve the experience for the next generation of AI builders.
You will also provide technical leadership for the end-to-end AI developer experience, including onboarding, development, experimentation, testing, evaluation, debugging, deployment, and observability. You will partner closely with platform engineering, product, architecture, and application teams to influence platform roadmaps, establish engineering standards, and create reference implementations that enable teams to adopt AI capabilities effectively and responsibly at scale.
Given the pace of change in AI, you will stay current on emerging technologies and engineering approaches, evaluate and recommend new frameworks and tooling, publish learnings and reusable patterns, mentor senior engineers, and influence technical direction across the broader AI engineering ecosystem. We utilize Agile principles, follow best-practice software design, participate in code reviews, and create maintainable, well-tested codebases with relevant documentation.
Core responsibilities of this job are articulated within this job description. Job duties may change at any time due to business needs.
About you:
- MS or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or another quantitative discipline or equivalent industry experience
- 8 plus years of experience designing, building, and operating large-scale software platforms, developer platforms, AI/ML systems, or distributed systems in production environments
- Strong hands-on software engineering experience and demonstrated ability to architect and deliver production-grade systems
- Experience designing and delivering AI applications, including LLM-powered or agentic systems, and understanding of model integration, context and retrieval patterns, tool integration, evaluation, and production operations
- Experience building developer-facing capabilities such as APIs, SDKs, frameworks, libraries, developer tooling, templates, or self-service platform experiences
- Experience with modern AI engineering and platform technologies, including model APIs, agent development frameworks, evaluation and observability tooling, cloud platforms, containers, orchestration, CI/CD, and operational monitoring
- Strong understanding of distributed system design, platform architecture, scalability, reliability, performance optimization, security, and production deployment considerations
- Demonstrated ability to partner directly with engineering and product teams, understand complex implementation challenges, and translate those challenges into scalable technical solutions and reusable platform capabilities
- Ability to operate effectively across the full engineering lifecycle, from architecture and prototyping through implementation, production deployment, and operational maturity
- Ability to translate ambiguous business and engineering problems into clear technical approaches and create strong technical documentation, reference architectures, narratives, and recommendations for a range of audiences
- Excellent communication and influencing skills, with demonstrated ability to establish technical direction and drive alignment across engineering teams and organizational boundaries
- Proven ability to mentor and provide technical leadership to senior engineers while influencing architecture and engineering standards without direct authority
- Self-driven and results-oriented, with strong ownership, sound technical judgment, and the ability to balance near-term delivery with long-term platform scalability
- Collaborative team player with experience working effectively across functions, organizations, and geographies, and with a demonstrated commitment to continuous learning and knowledge sharing
Benefits Eligibility
Please paste this url into your preferred browser to learn about benefits eligibility for this role: https://tgt.biz/BenefitsForYou_FAmericans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
In compliance with state and federal laws, Target will make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please reach out to candidate.accommodations@HRHelp.Target.com. Non-accommodation-related requests, such as application follow-ups or technical issues, will not be addressed through this channel.
Application deadline is : 12/10/2026See All 362+ Principal Engineering Manager Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find JobsPrincipal Engineering Manager Job Market
Who's Hiring
- Microsoft20
- Collins Aerospace18
- Amazon17
- Northrop Grumman12
- Options Clearing Corporation11
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software15
- Consulting & Professional Services11
- Electronics & Hardware10
- Retail3
- Manufacturing3
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in principal engineering manager jobs.
- 10 or more years of engineering experience with at least 5 in engineering management
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple teams or managers of managers
- Strong background in software architecture and distributed systems design
- Experience driving cross-functional technical strategy with product and business stakeholders
- Proficiency with agile delivery frameworks and engineering process improvement
- Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related technical field
Tips for Your Principal Engineering Manager Job Search
Quantify your org-building impact
Hiring committees at this level want to see headcount you grew, attrition rates you reduced, and the scope of teams you restructured. Replace vague leadership language on your resume with specific before-and-after numbers from each org you managed.
Distinguish your technical from managerial scope
Principal engineering manager roles split roughly into two archetypes: deep technical oversight and pure people leadership. Read each job description carefully to identify which the team actually needs, then tailor your resume to match that emphasis rather than splitting it evenly.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists principal engineering manager openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Prepare a system-design narrative for interviews
At the principal level, interviewers expect you to walk through a large-scale architectural decision you influenced or overruled. Prepare two stories: one where you drove the technical direction, and one where you deferred to your engineers and explain why.
Negotiate scope alongside compensation
When you receive an offer, ask explicitly about reporting structure, budget authority, and whether the role owns headcount decisions or only influences them. Scope ambiguity at this level leads to mismatched expectations within the first six months.
Follow up with a written summary after final rounds
After your final-round interview, send a concise note that restates the team's core challenge and outlines your first ninety days. It signals executive communication skills and keeps you top of mind while the panel deliberates over multiple candidates.
Principal Engineering Manager Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most principal engineering managers?
The most active employers for principal engineering managers right now are Microsoft, Collins Aerospace, and Amazon, and the most openings are in California, Texas, and Washington, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Demand is especially concentrated at large technology companies and high-growth fintech and healthtech firms scaling their engineering organizations.
How many principal engineering manager jobs are remote?
About 65% of principal engineering manager openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting the seniority and trust typically extended to leaders at this level. Roles focused on platform engineering and developer tooling tend to have the highest remote availability, while positions requiring close collaboration with hardware or on-site product teams are more likely to require in-person presence.
How do you become a principal engineering manager?
Most principal engineering managers arrive through a progression from individual contributor to engineering manager, then senior engineering manager, before stepping into principal-level scope. Building credibility requires owning a significant organizational outcome, such as scaling a team through rapid growth or leading a major technical migration. Developing executive communication skills and cross-functional influence is as important as maintaining technical depth.
Can you get hired as a principal engineering manager with limited management experience?
It is uncommon but possible if you can demonstrate outsized technical leadership influence without a formal management title, such as having set architectural direction for a large system, mentored multiple engineers into promotions, or driven org-wide processes as a staff or principal engineer. Framing that experience clearly in terms of organizational impact rather than individual output is the key to being taken seriously at this level.
What does the principal engineering manager interview process look like?
The process typically includes a recruiter screen, a hiring manager conversation focused on leadership philosophy and org-building experience, a technical system-design round assessing architectural judgment at scale, and a cross-functional panel with product, design, or business stakeholders. Final rounds often include a presentation of a past organizational challenge and how you resolved it, followed by a conversation with a senior engineering executive or VP.
Where can I find and apply to principal engineering manager jobs?
You can find and apply to principal engineering manager jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Find roles that match your background and apply directly to each listing from the page.
See All 362+ Principal Engineering Manager Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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