Principal Software Engineer Description - The Principal Software Engineer is a senior expert-level engineering role responsible for leading design, development, and delivery of complex software products. In this position, you will apply deep technical expertise to solve complex problems and guide cross-functional teams in building secure, scalable software solutions. You are expected to act as a subject-matter expert and technical leader, driving innovation while mentoring less-experienced engineers in the team. Key Responsibilities: Technical Leadership: Lead the design, architecture, coding, and integration of multiple software features or applications, guiding them through all development phases – from solution design and implementation to testing and deployment. Frequently tackle complex problems that require in-depth analysis of various technical and business factors, exercising significant independent judgment to determine optimal solutions. Project & Team Guidance: Oversee and coordinate work of internal developers and external partners throughout the software development lifecycle. Review and evaluate design specs and project activities for compliance with quality standards and best practices, providing concrete feedback to improve product quality and mitigate risks. Act as a go-to expert (SME) for technical issues and represent the engineering organization in discussions with stakeholders or customers as needed. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams – including product management, security specialists, and other engineering groups – to ensure the software solutions meet all requirements (functional, security, performance) and align with broader business objectives. Manage and expand relationships with these partners, ensuring effective communication and integration of their inputs into the development process. Innovation & Strategy: Drive innovation by integrating new technologies, tools, and methodologies into projects. Keep abreast of industry trends (e.g. cloud services, AI/ML for development, DevOps practices) and proactively incorporate improvements that enhance product capabilities and development efficiency. Champion best practices in secure coding, automation, and modern architectures (microservices, cloud-native design, etc.). Mentorship & Standards: Provide expert guidance and mentorship to junior engineers and teams, fostering their professional growth. Set high coding and design standards; review others’ code/designs and share feedback. Help establish and enforce engineering best practices (code reviews, testing protocols, DevSecOps pipelines), and cultivate a culture of quality, security, and continuous improvement within the team. Required Qualifications and Experience: Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field. (Ph.D. is a plus but not required.) Industry Experience: 10+ years of progressive software development experience, including leading design and development of complex software products or platforms. Proven track record of delivering multiple products or major features from concept to release. Experience in both small agile teams and large-scale enterprise projects is valuable. Technical Expertise: Demonstrated mastery in software architecture and systems design for complex, distributed applications. Deep understanding of designing for scalability, reliability, and performance. Hands-on experience integrating software across multiple platform types or services into a cohesive system. Programming Skills: Fluency in multiple programming languages and frameworks. Strong proficiency in C++ is highly desired. Experience with object-oriented languages such as C# and Java, as well as scripting or web languages (Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, etc.), is important. Familiarity with modern front-end frameworks or system-level programming is a plus. Cloud & DevOps: Extensive hands-on experience with cloud platforms (especially Microsoft Azure or AWS) for developing and deploying software solutions. Knowledge of containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and Infrastructure-as-Code/DevOps tooling for CI/CD pipelines is expected. Ability to architect efficient, secure cloud-native applications and services is critical. Security Knowledge: Good understanding of software security principles and practices. While not strictly a security engineer role, the products relate to HP’s security solutions, so familiarity with authentication/authorization (OAuth, JWT), encryption/PKI, secure coding standards, and overall “secure by design” approaches is beneficial. Soft Skills: Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with a talent for dissecting complex issues and driving them to resolution. Strong communication and leadership abilities are a must – ability to effectively convey technical architectures and design proposals to both engineering teams and senior management. Proven ability to mentor others