Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Seattle, WA
Principal Software Engineer jobs in Seattle, Washington are concentrated in South Lake Union, the Eastside corridor from Bellevue to Redmond, and Capitol Hill, across cloud infrastructure, enterprise software, e-commerce, and gaming. Employers hiring right now include Oracle, Arm, and Blue Origin. See the openings below and apply to the ones that match your experience.
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Showing 5 of 52+ Principal Software Engineer jobs
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Compute delivers bare metal and virtual machine instances - CPU and GPU -at global scale. We are hiring a Lead Principal Engineer to provide hands-on technical leadership for OCI compute control plane services, with a focus on Imaging and Container Registry. You will architect and deliver distributed systems that are multi-tenant, highly available, and horizontally scalable across OCI regions, while driving operational excellence and cross-team technical alignment.
In this role, you will:
- Architect, design, and operate distributed, highly available, and resilient systems for multi-tenant, horizontally scalable, and cost-efficient architectures that deliver consistent latency, throughput, and durability across OCI regions.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Compute, Storage, Networking, OKE and functions to deliver new platform features focusing on Imaging, Container Registry Services, enforce secure-by-default designs, and improve overall services reliability.
- Mentor and guide engineers in distributed systems design, high-scale data processing, and operational excellence; set and raise engineering standards across multiple teams.
- Drive operational excellence by owning service-level objectives (availability, latency, durability) and reducing toil through automation, observability, and self-healing mechanisms.
- Own the full service lifecycle from design and implementation to deployment, on-call, and continuous improvement — maintaining high code and reliability standards.
- Define and drive the technical roadmap for OCI Imaging, Container Registry Services .
- Partner with product management and field teams to translate customer needs into roadmap priorities for Oracle Imaging & Container Registry Services.
- Contribute to the broader Compute vision, influencing how Oracle’s Imaging & Container Registry Services evolve to support mission-critical workloads globally.
We are looking for a hands-on Lead Principal engineer with technical breadth, proven experience in solving cloud scale problems, distributed systems design & implementation experience to build fault tolerant solutions that will form the foundations of the next generation of Compute offerings. The candidate is expected to have strong written and verbal communications skills, the ability to lead projects across organizational boundaries, and experience representing their work to senior leaders.
Qualifications:
- 10+ years of development experience with large scale, highly available distributed systems
- Proficiency in Java programming patterns, programming experience with Scala, Python is preferred.
- Advanced knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and operating systems.
- Experience with operating distributed services at scale
- Expertise in Linux and operating systems
- Systematic problem-solving approach, strong communication skills, strong ownership and drive
- Deep understanding of service metrics and alarms through the development of dashboards, service KPIs, alarming systems
- Ability to propose, scope, design and direct automation, optimizations, and enhancements BS or MS degree in Computer Science/Engineering or a related IT field or equivalent experience relevant to functional area.
Soft Skills & Leadership:
- Proven ability to drive technical outcomes, take ownership of deliverables, and work independently in fast-evolving AI solution spaces.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to articulate technical concepts and document solution approaches, collaborate across multiple geo distributed teams.
- Demonstrated problem-solving ability leveraging AI, distributed systems, and cloud-native application behaviors. A proactive, experimentation-oriented mindset with a strong willingness to learn and guide team on emerging AI technologies, frameworks, and engineering patterns.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience in management and automation of end-to-end CPU/GPU lifecycles at scale
- Proficiency with Cloud and CICD environments
- Proficiency with Kubernetes, OS Images and Terraform
- Proficiency with modern build tools and pipelines
- Proficiency building multi-tenant, virtualized infrastructure
- Proficiency with change control management and mature operating processes
- Proficiency with Security including Identity, SSL and certificates
- Proficiency with Database and Data Stores
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Compute delivers bare metal and virtual machine instances - CPU and GPU -at global scale. We are hiring a Lead Principal Engineer to provide hands-on technical leadership for OCI compute control plane services, with a focus on Imaging and Container Registry. You will architect and deliver distributed systems that are multi-tenant, highly available, and horizontally scalable across OCI regions, while driving operational excellence and cross-team technical alignment.
In this role, you will:
- Architect, design, and operate distributed, highly available, and resilient systems for multi-tenant, horizontally scalable, and cost-efficient architectures that deliver consistent latency, throughput, and durability across OCI regions.
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Compute, Storage, Networking, OKE and functions to deliver new platform features focusing on Imaging, Container Registry Services, enforce secure-by-default designs, and improve overall services reliability.
- Mentor and guide engineers in distributed systems design, high-scale data processing, and operational excellence; set and raise engineering standards across multiple teams.
- Drive operational excellence by owning service-level objectives (availability, latency, durability) and reducing toil through automation, observability, and self-healing mechanisms.
- Own the full service lifecycle from design and implementation to deployment, on-call, and continuous improvement — maintaining high code and reliability standards.
- Define and drive the technical roadmap for OCI Imaging, Container Registry Services .
- Partner with product management and field teams to translate customer needs into roadmap priorities for Oracle Imaging & Container Registry Services.
- Contribute to the broader Compute vision, influencing how Oracle’s Imaging & Container Registry Services evolve to support mission-critical workloads globally.
We are looking for a hands-on Lead Principal engineer with technical breadth, proven experience in solving cloud scale problems, distributed systems design & implementation experience to build fault tolerant solutions that will form the foundations of the next generation of Compute offerings. The candidate is expected to have strong written and verbal communications skills, the ability to lead projects across organizational boundaries, and experience representing their work to senior leaders.
Qualifications:
- 10+ years of development experience with large scale, highly available distributed systems
- Proficiency in Java programming patterns, programming experience with Scala, Python is preferred.
- Advanced knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and operating systems.
- Experience with operating distributed services at scale
- Expertise in Linux and operating systems
- Systematic problem-solving approach, strong communication skills, strong ownership and drive
- Deep understanding of service metrics and alarms through the development of dashboards, service KPIs, alarming systems
- Ability to propose, scope, design and direct automation, optimizations, and enhancements BS or MS degree in Computer Science/Engineering or a related IT field or equivalent experience relevant to functional area.
Soft Skills & Leadership:
- Proven ability to drive technical outcomes, take ownership of deliverables, and work independently in fast-evolving AI solution spaces.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to articulate technical concepts and document solution approaches, collaborate across multiple geo distributed teams.
- Demonstrated problem-solving ability leveraging AI, distributed systems, and cloud-native application behaviors. A proactive, experimentation-oriented mindset with a strong willingness to learn and guide team on emerging AI technologies, frameworks, and engineering patterns.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience in management and automation of end-to-end CPU/GPU lifecycles at scale
- Proficiency with Cloud and CICD environments
- Proficiency with Kubernetes, OS Images and Terraform
- Proficiency with modern build tools and pipelines
- Proficiency building multi-tenant, virtualized infrastructure
- Proficiency with change control management and mature operating processes
- Proficiency with Security including Identity, SSL and certificates
- Proficiency with Database and Data Stores
See All 52 Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Seattle
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Find JobsPrincipal Software Engineer Job Market in Seattle
Who's Hiring
- Oracle18
- Arm4
- Blue Origin3
- JPMorganChase3
- Amazon Web Services3
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
- Manufacturing
- Science & Research
- Aerospace & Defense
- Distribution & Wholesale
Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Seattle: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a principal software engineer job in Seattle?
Target Seattle's dominant hiring sectors: cloud computing, e-commerce, gaming, and enterprise SaaS. South Lake Union and the Eastside corridor from Bellevue to Redmond hold the highest concentration of openings. Candidates who have led large-scale distributed systems, mentored engineering teams, and driven cross-org technical decisions stand out here. Contributing to open-source projects used by Seattle-area companies and building visibility in the local engineering community also helps.
Which companies hire principal software engineers in Seattle?
Seattle principal software engineer roles are posted by Oracle, Arm, and Blue Origin and others right now, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Seattle's market includes major tech giants headquartered here alongside fast-growing SaaS startups and gaming studios, giving candidates a wide range of company types and engineering cultures to target.
Are there remote principal software engineer jobs in Seattle?
Yes, though many principal-level roles require on-site presence for architecture reviews, stakeholder alignment, and team leadership. About 67% of principal software engineer openings tied to Seattle are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, with pure remote postings more common in product infrastructure and platform engineering than in roles anchored to hardware, device, or on-site lab work.
How can I get a principal software engineer job in Seattle with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is landing a senior software engineer role first, then growing into principal responsibilities over time. Seattle's mid-size SaaS companies and gaming studios often promote from within and give senior engineers early exposure to principal-level work. Building a public portfolio of system design work, contributing to Seattle-area developer meetups, and targeting companies with strong internal mobility programs all improve your chances of making the transition locally.
Which industries hire the most principal software engineers in Seattle?
The sectors hiring the most principal software engineers in Seattle are Technology & Software, Manufacturing, and Science & Research, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Seattle's role as a global hub for cloud computing and e-commerce means these sectors consistently generate the highest volume of senior and principal engineering demand in the region.
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See All 52 Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Seattle
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