Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Texas
Principal Software Engineer jobs in Texas are among the most actively recruited senior engineering roles in the country, concentrated in enterprise software, defense and aerospace systems, financial technology, and semiconductor design. Austin, Dallas, and Houston anchor the bulk of hiring, with major employers like Dell Technologies, Texas Instruments, and JPMorgan Chase maintaining large engineering organizations across the state. The most consistent demand is in distributed systems architecture, platform and infrastructure engineering, and cloud-native development at scale. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Showing 5 of 75+ Principal Software Engineer jobs
Job Description
The Role:
General Motors is seeking a software engineering leader to modernize and scale the build systems that support software-defined vehicles. This role will help lead the transition from a legacy Make-based system to Bazel, Google’s open-source build tool, improving speed, reliability, and robustness across the engineering organization. The successful candidate will drive this capability at scale, influence technical direction across teams, and help establish lofty platform capability goals.
What You'll Do:
- Lead software engineering productivity and effectiveness by identifying opportunities, shaping strategies, improving processes, guiding change, and connecting initiatives to deliver greater value through innovation, learning, and simplification.
- Lead high-impact efforts hands-on, solve complex and unusual problems, and communicate effectively as a coach and mentor while balancing technical command with empathy.
- Modernize a large embedded-software build and test system by transitioning legacy Make- or shell-based workflows to Bazel and establishing scalable, reproducible, secure, and developer-friendly infrastructure across repositories, toolchains, CI/CD, testing, and release processes.
- Assess current build, test, dependency, toolchain, and hardware workflows to define a phased Bazel migration strategy and rollout model.
- Design and implement reusable Bazel rules, macros, toolchains, platforms, configuration patterns, and repository standards, while migrating embedded applications, libraries, generated code, firmware, cross-compilation flows, and platform variants with validated build parity and reproducibility.
- Integrate Bazel with enterprise CI/CD, testing, release, artifact, deployment, observability, security, and infrastructure workflows, and optimize the platform through caching, parallelism, reliability practices, documentation, training, legacy Make retirement, and continuous improvement.
- Measure success through target repositories migrated with validated build and test parity; faster clean and incremental builds, CI queues, and developer feedback; increased reproducibility, approved hermetic-toolchain adoption, cache effectiveness, and CI capacity; and lower build, pipeline, and flaky-test rates.
- Improve diagnosis and recovery time while ensuring complete artifact provenance, test evidence, and security-policy compliance for releases, strong developer adoption, reduced support burden, and measurable productivity improvement.
Key Deliverables
- Assess current Make-based build, test, dependency, toolchain, and hardware workflows, then define a phased Bazel migration strategy and rollout model.
- Design and implement reusable Bazel rules, macros, toolchains, platforms, configuration patterns, and repository standards for embedded software.
- Migrate embedded applications, libraries, generated code, firmware, cross-compilation flows, and platform variants while ensuring build parity and reproducibility.
- Integrate Bazel with enterprise CI/CD, testing, release, artifact, deployment, observability, security, and infrastructure workflows.
- Optimize and operationalize the platform through caching, parallelism, reliability practices, documentation, training, legacy Make retirement, and continuous improvement.
Measures of Success
- Target repositories migrated with validated build and test parity.
- Reduced clean and incremental build time, CI queue time, and developer feedback time.
- Increased reproducibility, approved hermetic-toolchain adoption, cache effectiveness, and CI capacity.
- Lower build, pipeline, and flaky-test rates, with improved diagnosis and recovery time.
- Complete artifact provenance, test evidence, and security-policy compliance for releases.
- Strong developer adoption, reduced support burden, and measurable productivity improvement.
Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications):
- Bachelor's degree in software engineering or equivalent experience
- 15+ years of experience in software development
- Deep understanding of software architecture for real-time systems
- Experience shipping high-quality safety-critical products
- Exceptional problem-solving and analytical abilities, with a keen attention to detail
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced environment
- Demonstrated ability to work in an action-oriented decision-making environment
- Strong expertise building and maintaining production software systems, with proficiency in Python and at least one additional language used in engineering tooling environments
- Experience in automotive, embedded, safety-related, calibration, or systems-engineering environments
- Large-scale migration from Make or shell-based build orchestration to Bazel
- Experience with AI-assisted developer productivity, coding agents, code intelligence, knowledge retrieval, or workflow orchestration
- Evaluation of AI-enabled engineering workflows using measurable quality, adoption, and productivity outcomes
What Will Give You A Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications):
- Master’s degree or PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Machine Learning, AI, or a related field
- Experience in embedded software development, automotive software, systems engineering, or safety-related toolchains
- Familiarity with GM engineering tools, engineering workflows, or internal platform environments
- Experience building AI assistants, coding agents, or domain-specific AI capabilities for engineers
- Experience with knowledge systems, vector search, ranking, workflow orchestration, or code intelligence platforms
- Experience supporting large engineering communities through reusable tools, templates, and automation
- Experience evaluating AI quality in production systems using measurable outcomes such as acceptance rate, time saved, precision and recall, hallucination reduction, or workflow completion rate
Company Vehicle
Upon successful completion of a motor vehicle report review, you will be eligible to participate in a company vehicle evaluation program, through which you will be assigned a General Motors vehicle to drive and evaluate. Note: program participants are required to purchase/lease a qualifying GM vehicle every four years unless one of a limited number of exceptions applies.
Compensation
The compensation information is a good faith estimate only. It is based on what a successful applicant might be paid in accordance with applicable state laws. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position, as well as geography of the selected candidate.
The Salary Range
The range for this role is 201,000 and 400,000. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position.
Bonus Potential
An incentive pay program offers payouts based on company performance, job level, and individual performance.
Benefits
GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include medical, dental, vision, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, retirement savings plan, sickness and accident benefits, life insurance, paid vacation & holidays, tuition assistance programs, employee assistance program, GM vehicle discounts and more. This role is based remotely, but if the selected candidate lives within a specific mile radius of a GM hub, they will be expected to report to the location three times a week (or other frequency dictated by your manager). Relocation benefits are available for candidates who qualify under company policy.
About GM
Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.
Why Join Us
We believe we all must make a choice every day – individually and collectively – to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Every day, we want every employee to feel they belong to one General Motors team.
Benefits Overview
From day one, we're looking out for your well-being–at work and at home–so you can focus on realizing your ambitions. Learn how GM supports a rewarding career that rewards you personally by visiting Total Rewards resources.
Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities (U.S.)
General Motors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of unlawful discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that providing an inclusive workplace creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers. All employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to sex, race, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, disability, pregnancy or maternity status, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran or protected veteran, or any other similarly protected status in accordance with federal, state and local laws. We encourage interested candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications for each role and apply for any positions that match their skills and capabilities. Applicants in the recruitment process may be required, where applicable, to successfully complete a role-related assessment(s) and/or a pre-employment screening prior to beginning employment. To learn more, visit How we Hire.
Accommodations
General Motors offers opportunities to all job seekers including individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation to assist with your job search or application for employment, email us or call us at 1-800-865-7580. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.
Job Description
The Role:
General Motors is seeking a software engineering leader to modernize and scale the build systems that support software-defined vehicles. This role will help lead the transition from a legacy Make-based system to Bazel, Google’s open-source build tool, improving speed, reliability, and robustness across the engineering organization. The successful candidate will drive this capability at scale, influence technical direction across teams, and help establish lofty platform capability goals.
What You'll Do:
- Lead software engineering productivity and effectiveness by identifying opportunities, shaping strategies, improving processes, guiding change, and connecting initiatives to deliver greater value through innovation, learning, and simplification.
- Lead high-impact efforts hands-on, solve complex and unusual problems, and communicate effectively as a coach and mentor while balancing technical command with empathy.
- Modernize a large embedded-software build and test system by transitioning legacy Make- or shell-based workflows to Bazel and establishing scalable, reproducible, secure, and developer-friendly infrastructure across repositories, toolchains, CI/CD, testing, and release processes.
- Assess current build, test, dependency, toolchain, and hardware workflows to define a phased Bazel migration strategy and rollout model.
- Design and implement reusable Bazel rules, macros, toolchains, platforms, configuration patterns, and repository standards, while migrating embedded applications, libraries, generated code, firmware, cross-compilation flows, and platform variants with validated build parity and reproducibility.
- Integrate Bazel with enterprise CI/CD, testing, release, artifact, deployment, observability, security, and infrastructure workflows, and optimize the platform through caching, parallelism, reliability practices, documentation, training, legacy Make retirement, and continuous improvement.
- Measure success through target repositories migrated with validated build and test parity; faster clean and incremental builds, CI queues, and developer feedback; increased reproducibility, approved hermetic-toolchain adoption, cache effectiveness, and CI capacity; and lower build, pipeline, and flaky-test rates.
- Improve diagnosis and recovery time while ensuring complete artifact provenance, test evidence, and security-policy compliance for releases, strong developer adoption, reduced support burden, and measurable productivity improvement.
Key Deliverables
- Assess current Make-based build, test, dependency, toolchain, and hardware workflows, then define a phased Bazel migration strategy and rollout model.
- Design and implement reusable Bazel rules, macros, toolchains, platforms, configuration patterns, and repository standards for embedded software.
- Migrate embedded applications, libraries, generated code, firmware, cross-compilation flows, and platform variants while ensuring build parity and reproducibility.
- Integrate Bazel with enterprise CI/CD, testing, release, artifact, deployment, observability, security, and infrastructure workflows.
- Optimize and operationalize the platform through caching, parallelism, reliability practices, documentation, training, legacy Make retirement, and continuous improvement.
Measures of Success
- Target repositories migrated with validated build and test parity.
- Reduced clean and incremental build time, CI queue time, and developer feedback time.
- Increased reproducibility, approved hermetic-toolchain adoption, cache effectiveness, and CI capacity.
- Lower build, pipeline, and flaky-test rates, with improved diagnosis and recovery time.
- Complete artifact provenance, test evidence, and security-policy compliance for releases.
- Strong developer adoption, reduced support burden, and measurable productivity improvement.
Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications):
- Bachelor's degree in software engineering or equivalent experience
- 15+ years of experience in software development
- Deep understanding of software architecture for real-time systems
- Experience shipping high-quality safety-critical products
- Exceptional problem-solving and analytical abilities, with a keen attention to detail
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced environment
- Demonstrated ability to work in an action-oriented decision-making environment
- Strong expertise building and maintaining production software systems, with proficiency in Python and at least one additional language used in engineering tooling environments
- Experience in automotive, embedded, safety-related, calibration, or systems-engineering environments
- Large-scale migration from Make or shell-based build orchestration to Bazel
- Experience with AI-assisted developer productivity, coding agents, code intelligence, knowledge retrieval, or workflow orchestration
- Evaluation of AI-enabled engineering workflows using measurable quality, adoption, and productivity outcomes
What Will Give You A Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications):
- Master’s degree or PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Machine Learning, AI, or a related field
- Experience in embedded software development, automotive software, systems engineering, or safety-related toolchains
- Familiarity with GM engineering tools, engineering workflows, or internal platform environments
- Experience building AI assistants, coding agents, or domain-specific AI capabilities for engineers
- Experience with knowledge systems, vector search, ranking, workflow orchestration, or code intelligence platforms
- Experience supporting large engineering communities through reusable tools, templates, and automation
- Experience evaluating AI quality in production systems using measurable outcomes such as acceptance rate, time saved, precision and recall, hallucination reduction, or workflow completion rate
Company Vehicle
Upon successful completion of a motor vehicle report review, you will be eligible to participate in a company vehicle evaluation program, through which you will be assigned a General Motors vehicle to drive and evaluate. Note: program participants are required to purchase/lease a qualifying GM vehicle every four years unless one of a limited number of exceptions applies.
Compensation
The compensation information is a good faith estimate only. It is based on what a successful applicant might be paid in accordance with applicable state laws. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position, as well as geography of the selected candidate.
The Salary Range
The range for this role is 201,000 and 400,000. The actual base salary a successful candidate will be offered within this range will vary based on factors relevant to the position.
Bonus Potential
An incentive pay program offers payouts based on company performance, job level, and individual performance.
Benefits
GM offers a variety of health and wellbeing benefit programs. Benefit options include medical, dental, vision, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, retirement savings plan, sickness and accident benefits, life insurance, paid vacation & holidays, tuition assistance programs, employee assistance program, GM vehicle discounts and more. This role is based remotely, but if the selected candidate lives within a specific mile radius of a GM hub, they will be expected to report to the location three times a week (or other frequency dictated by your manager). Relocation benefits are available for candidates who qualify under company policy.
About GM
Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.
Why Join Us
We believe we all must make a choice every day – individually and collectively – to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Every day, we want every employee to feel they belong to one General Motors team.
Benefits Overview
From day one, we're looking out for your well-being–at work and at home–so you can focus on realizing your ambitions. Learn how GM supports a rewarding career that rewards you personally by visiting Total Rewards resources.
Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities (U.S.)
General Motors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of unlawful discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that providing an inclusive workplace creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers. All employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to sex, race, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, disability, pregnancy or maternity status, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran or protected veteran, or any other similarly protected status in accordance with federal, state and local laws. We encourage interested candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications for each role and apply for any positions that match their skills and capabilities. Applicants in the recruitment process may be required, where applicable, to successfully complete a role-related assessment(s) and/or a pre-employment screening prior to beginning employment. To learn more, visit How we Hire.
Accommodations
General Motors offers opportunities to all job seekers including individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation to assist with your job search or application for employment, email us or call us at 1-800-865-7580. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.
See All 75 Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Texas
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Find JobsPrincipal Software Engineer Jobs by City in Texas
Where Texas roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Principal Software Engineer Job Market in Texas
A snapshot from current Texas openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
- Banking & Financial Services
- Fintech
- Electronics & Hardware
- Construction & Real Estate
What Texas Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in principal software engineer jobs across Texas.
- Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, software engineering, or a related field
- Ten or more years of software development experience with at least two in a principal or staff-level role
- Deep expertise in system design, distributed architectures, and large-scale cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure
- Demonstrated ability to lead technical direction and mentor senior engineers across multiple teams
- Proficiency in one or more primary languages such as Java, Python, Go, or C++ with broad full-stack awareness
- Experience driving cross-functional alignment on engineering standards, roadmaps, and architectural decisions
Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Texas: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a principal software engineer in Texas?
Reaching a principal software engineer role in Texas typically requires a foundation of deep technical expertise combined with a record of leading architecture decisions and mentoring other engineers. No state-issued license is required, but Texas employers at this level expect a bachelor's or master's degree in computer science or engineering, extensive hands-on system design experience, and the ability to influence engineering direction across teams. Building a strong portfolio of large-scale systems work is the clearest differentiator.
How much do principal software engineers make in Texas?
Principal software engineers in Texas earn a median of about $132,150 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $82,600 for the lowest 10% to over $183,680 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire principal software engineers in Texas?
Employers hiring principal software engineers in Texas right now include Raytheon, CVS Health, and AT&T, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. Texas's concentration of enterprise technology companies, defense contractors, and financial services firms means principal-level engineering roles appear consistently across both corporate headquarters and large regional engineering centers.
Which Texas cities have the most principal software engineer jobs?
Austin, Dallas, and Plano have the most principal software engineer openings in Texas. Austin's dense cluster of technology companies and corporate engineering hubs drives the largest share of listings, while Dallas attracts demand from financial technology and telecommunications firms and Houston contributes openings from energy technology companies and large enterprise organizations with significant software infrastructure needs.
Are there remote principal software engineer jobs in Texas?
Yes, and more than most fields. About 50% of principal software engineer openings tied to Texas are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting how much of the role centers on architecture reviews, design sessions, and cross-team collaboration that translate well to distributed work. The portions most likely to require on-site presence are security-sensitive defense or government contracts.
How can I get hired as a principal software engineer in Texas with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is building toward a staff or senior engineer role first, then transitioning into principal-level work over time. In Texas, large technology employers like Dell Technologies and AT&T run structured new-graduate engineering programs that place candidates into senior individual contributor tracks. Moving laterally from a lead software engineer or solutions architect role is a common door in. Developing deep expertise in a specific domain, such as cloud infrastructure or embedded systems, and demonstrating architectural thinking in open-source contributions or internal projects strengthens a candidacy significantly.
Where can I find and apply to principal software engineer jobs in Texas?
You can find and apply to principal software engineer jobs in Texas on Migrate Mate, which lists current Texas openings across industries and metro areas. Find roles that fit your experience and apply directly to the employers posting them.
See All 75 Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Texas
Find roles in Texas that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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