Principal Software Engineer Jobs in San Francisco, CA

Introduction to Demandbase: Demandbase is the only pipeline AI platform that empowers GTM teams to automate growth at scale. With a unified view of data, insights, actions, and outcomes, B2B enterprises can seamlessly align and execute their account-based GTM strategies with confidence. Thousands of businesses trust Demandbase to maximize revenue, minimize waste, and consolidate their data and tech stacks – all in one platform. As a company, we’re as committed to growing careers as we are to building world-class technology. We invest heavily in people, our culture, and the community around us. We have also continuously been recognized as One of The Best Places To Work in the San Francisco Bay Area by Fortune, and One of The 60 Best Companies To Sell For by Selling Power. Our offices are located in San Francisco, New York, Austin, Seattle, India, and the United Kingdom.

About the Role As a Principal Software Engineer, you will design, architect, and deliver scalable, AI-powered distributed systems that power Demandbase’s next-generation B2B go-to-market platform. You will play a critical role in defining architecture, guiding system design, and ensuring technical excellence across high-impact initiatives. This is a senior individual contributor role with significant cross-team influence. You will partner closely with Engineering and Product leadership to translate strategic vision into scalable technical roadmaps, while remaining hands-on in solving complex architectural challenges. Your work will help build extensible frameworks that close the loop between data, insights, and action for B2B marketers.

The base compensation range for this position are for candidates based in San Francisco, CA. For all other locations, the base compensation range is based on the primary work location of the candidate as our ranges are location specific. Actual compensation packages are based on a wide array of factors unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skillset, years of experience, and depth of experience.

Responsibilities

Core Engineering:

- Design and lead architecture for scalable microservices, distributed systems, and modern data platforms.
- Drive technical direction and implementation for high-impact initiatives such as the Next-Gen Orchestration Engine (NGOE) and MCP Gateway.
- Integrate generative and agentic AI capabilities into core platform systems to enable automation and measurable customer outcomes.
- Enhance platform reliability, performance, scalability, and operational efficiency across data-heavy and integration-driven systems.
- Participate actively in architectural planning, design reviews, code reviews, and incident retrospectives to ensure engineering excellence.
- Champion modern engineering practices including CI/CD, test automation, and cloud-native deployment.
- Drive observability, resiliency, and secure system design across services operating at scale.

Leadership & Business Acumen:

- Define and communicate technical roadmaps aligned with product strategy and long-term business objectives.
- Partner with Product Management to translate complex customer and GTM needs into scalable engineering solutions.
- Lead cross-team architectural initiatives and represent the platform in broader technical forums.
- Balance innovation with disciplined execution, ensuring measurable customer impact.
- Maintain high standards for engineering quality, security, and operational rigor.

Collaboration & Mentorship:

- Collaborate with senior and staff engineers across teams to build cohesive, extensible platform capabilities.
- Mentor engineers through system design discussions, code reviews, and architectural best practices.
- Contribute to technical documentation, standards, and knowledge-sharing initiatives.
- Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and technical excellence.

Qualifications

- 15+ years of professional software engineering experience, including 2–3 years operating in a Staff or Principal Engineer capacity.
- Strong architectural leadership experience in cloud-native, data-intensive, and integration-heavy platforms.
- Deep expertise in high-level and low-level system design, distributed systems, and performance tuning at scale.
- Hands-on experience building AI agents, agentic workflows, reusable AI services, and MCP servers/clients.
- Proficiency in modern backend languages such as Java, Scala, or Python, along with strong SQL skills.
- Experience with modern data and messaging systems including Postgres, Snowflake, Redis/Aerospike, Kafka, or Pulsar.
- Hands-on experience with Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
- Strong communication skills with the ability to align technical strategy with business priorities.
- Experience working in agile development environments (Scrum, Kanban, or SAFe).
- Passion for mentorship and developing engineering talent.

Benefits Our benefits include options for up to 100% paid Medical and Vision premiums for employees, a flexible PTO policy, paid holidays, and access to mental health and wellness resources. We also provide a 401(k) with pre-tax, after tax, and roth options, as well as short-term/long-term disability, life insurance, and other great benefits.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Demandbase At Demandbase, we believe in creating a workplace culture that values and celebrates diversity in all its forms. We recognize that everyone brings unique experiences, perspectives, and identities to the table, and we are committed to building a community where everyone feels valued, respected, and supported. Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated, and we strive to ensure that every individual has an equal opportunity to succeed and grow, regardless of their gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, race, ethnicity, background, marital status, genetic information, education level, veteran status, national origin, or any other protected status. We do not automatically disqualify applicants with criminal records and will consider each applicant on a case-by-case basis. We recognize that not all candidates will have every skill or qualification listed in this job description. If you feel you have the level of experience to be successful in the role, we encourage you to apply! We acknowledge that true diversity and inclusion requires ongoing effort, and we are committed to doing the work required to make our workplace a safe and equitable space for all. Join us in building a community where we can learn from each other, celebrate our differences, and work together.