Remote Principal Engineering Manager Jobs
Remote Principal Engineering Manager jobs are open across the U.S. at remote-first firms and distributed engineering teams, with active demand in technology, cloud infrastructure, fintech, and enterprise software. Employers hiring remotely right now include Ahead, Eaton, and K2M Design. See the openings below and apply to the ones that match your experience.
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Showing 5 of 26+ Remote Principal Engineering Manager jobs
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 26 Remote Principal Engineering Manager Jobs
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Find JobsRemote Principal Engineering Manager Job Market
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
- Consulting & Professional Services
- Manufacturing
- Healthcare & Medical Services
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in remote 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 Remote Principal Engineering Manager Job Search
Apply early to remote roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists remote principal engineering manager openings from across the U.S. in one place, so you can find roles that match your scope and apply directly without sorting through unrelated postings.
Show async leadership in your materials
Remote-first employers read your résumé and cover letter as proof of written communication. Describe how you aligned distributed engineers, ran design reviews in writing, and made architectural decisions with teams in different time zones. Concrete examples close the credibility gap faster than titles alone.
Target remote-first engineering organizations
Companies built for distributed work from the ground up hire principal engineering managers differently than hybrid organizations experimenting with remote. Focus your search on firms where the full engineering org is distributed, since those roles come with real remote authority rather than remote access to an on-site team.
Prepare for async technical interviews
Many remote engineering teams screen principal candidates through written take-homes, Loom walkthroughs, or async architecture reviews before any live call. Practice explaining system design and technical tradeoffs clearly in writing, using tools like Notion, Confluence, or RFC formats that distributed teams actually use.
Remote Principal Engineering Manager Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a remote principal engineering manager job?
Remote principal engineering manager roles go to candidates who can demonstrate leadership without physical presence. Distributed teams screen heavily for async written communication, since you'll align engineers, stakeholders, and roadmaps entirely in writing. Remote-first employers also want evidence of self-direction: owning delivery across time zones, unblocking teams without in-person check-ins, and running technical reviews asynchronously. A portfolio showing distributed team outcomes gives you a clear edge over candidates with only on-site experience.
Which companies hire remote principal engineering managers?
Companies hiring remote principal engineering managers right now include Ahead, Eaton, and K2M Design, based on current remote listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Remote-first software companies, cloud platform providers, and distributed fintech and enterprise SaaS teams account for the largest share of these openings.
Can you get a remote principal engineering manager job with no experience?
Yes, but remote principal engineering manager roles are harder to land without experience because distributed teams expect you to operate independently from day one. The most practical entry paths are staff or senior engineer roles at remote-first companies where you can grow into the principal scope, contributing to open-source projects with real architectural impact, and building a written record of technical decision-making that remote hiring managers can read before your first interview.
Do you need a degree for remote principal engineering manager jobs?
Not always. Remote employers in engineering weight demonstrated technical depth, evidence of leading distributed teams, and a history of shipping complex systems over formal credentials. A strong portfolio of architectural decisions, documented async leadership, and open contributions can outweigh the absence of a degree, particularly at remote-first companies that evaluate candidates on work product rather than résumé credentials.
Which industries hire the most remote principal engineering managers?
Remote principal engineering manager roles concentrate in Technology & Software, Consulting & Professional Services, and Manufacturing, based on current remote listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. These sectors hire principal engineering managers remotely because their engineering organizations are built on distributed teams that coordinate across regions and time zones.
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