Stride Build - Principal Engineer
Requirements
• We are seeking a Principal AI-Enabled Full-Stack Engineer to own technical direction, drive engineering excellence, and advise others on client engagements spanning backend systems, frontend applications, and cloud infrastructure. • This is a hands-on, client-facing consulting role in which you will operate as a senior technical authority and trusted advisor, partnering with client executives, Product leadership, and Stride's own engineering leadership to shape architecture, delivery strategy, and technology direction across one or more engagements. • While deep, hands-on software engineering expertise remains core to this role, we are especially interested in engineers who can define and champion how AI-enabled tooling, LLM integrations, and agentic frameworks are adopted across teams and engagements — not just within a single project. • 10+ years of professional experience as a Full-Stack, Backend, or Software Engineer, including significant time in senior/lead or architect-level roles. • Demonstrated experience owning technical architecture and direction across multiple teams, products, or engagements. • Deep expertise building backend services and APIs using languages such as Java, Python, Ruby, Go, or similar technologies, at scale. • Deep expertise developing modern frontend applications using React and/or NextJS, with a strong eye for architecture and reusability. • Extensive experience with relational and NoSQL databases, distributed systems, and scalable, resilient architectures. • Proven track record leading Test Driven Development (TDD), Pair Programming, and engineering best practices across teams. • Strong experience operating in and shaping Agile delivery environments (Scrum, Kanban) at the account or program level. • Exceptional communication and executive presence, with a track record of advising client leadership (CTO/VP-level) directly. • Hands-on experience designing and implementing solutions using agentic AI frameworks such as LangChain, LangGraph, CrewAI, AutoGen, or similar. • Demonstrated ability to evaluate, pilot, and drive adoption of AI-assisted development tools and modern developer workflows across teams. • Experience integrating AI capabilities or LLM APIs into production software applications. • Experience mentoring and developing senior and lead-level engineers. • Experience architecting production systems that leverage LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure OpenAI, etc.) at scale. • Experience working with Model Context Protocol (MCP) or building tool-integrated AI systems. • Experience designing systems using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) or vector databases. • Experience architecting event-driven or microservices systems. • Consulting or professional services background, including pre-sales or solutioning experience. • Public thought leadership — conference talks, published articles, open-source contributions, or patents. • Experience building or shaping an engineering practice, career ladder, or Center of Excellence. • What Success Looks Like • You set the technical direction for one or more engagements, and teams execute against it with confidence. • You are the person clients and Stride leadership turn to when evaluating where LLM integrations, agentic tooling, or other emerging technology can create real value. • You've grown one or more Lead or Senior Engineers into stronger technical leaders under your mentorship. • Clients view you as a strategic technical partner and advisor — someone shaping their roadmap and technology strategy, not just delivering against it. • You've helped define how Stride approaches AI-enabled engineering, and that point of view shows up in how multiple teams work. • You balance deep technical rigor with pragmatism, ensuring speed, quality, and maintainability across complex, high-stakes delivery environments.
Benefits
• As software development evolves, we increasingly help organizations incorporate AI-assisted development and agentic tooling into modern engineering workflows. Our teams combine strong software engineering fundamentals with emerging AI capabilities to deliver scalable, high-impact products. As Principal Engineer, you will help define that point of view for the firm and for our clients. • Full-Stack Architecture & Technical Direction • Set and own the technical architecture and direction for one or more client engagements, spanning backend, frontend, and cloud infrastructure. • Guide the design of scalable backend services, APIs, and integrations that support high-performance, mission-critical applications. • Provide architectural oversight for modern frontend experiences (React, NextJS, or similar), ensuring consistency and scalability across teams. • Remain hands-on where it matters most — writing code, prototyping solutions, and unblocking teams on the hardest technical problems. • Establish and enforce engineering standards across languages and ecosystems, ensuring consistency across multiple project teams. • Lead architecture reviews, design sessions, and code reviews across teams, raising the technical bar firm-wide. • AI-Enabled Engineering Strategy • Define Stride's point of view and best practices for AI-assisted development, agentic frameworks, and LLM integration across engagements. • Evaluate, pilot, and scale emerging AI tooling and agentic workflows, determining what should become standard practice across teams. • Guide multiple teams in the adoption of AI-enabled capabilities (agent tools, automated documentation, AI-assisted coding), ensuring adoption is practical and value-driven rather than novelty-driven. • Represent Stride's AI-enabled engineering capabilities in client and internal forums, mentoring Leads and Senior Engineers on where and how to apply these tools. • Delivery Leadership & Agile Excellence • Partner with Product and Engineering leadership across multiple engagements to shape roadmaps, backlogs, and delivery strategy. • Coach team members on breaking down complex initiatives into well-scoped, estimable work. • Own or heavily influence estimation, staffing, and risk assessment for engagement-level planning. • Champion retrospectives and continuous improvement practices across teams, raising delivery maturity firm-wide. • Model and reinforce a culture of transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement at the organizational level. • Stride Leadership & Mentorship • Serve as the top technical authority on one or more delivery teams or accounts, owning architecture and major implementation decisions. • Mentor and develop Lead and Senior Engineers, growing their technical judgment and leadership capabilities. • Drive technical due diligence, feasibility assessments, and solution architecture during early-stage and pre-sales engagements. • Identify and mitigate technical risk across engagements, escalating and resolving issues before they impact delivery. • Contribute to hiring, technical interviewing, and the development of Stride's engineering career ladder. • Client & Executive Stakeholder Engagement • Act as a trusted technical advisor to client executives (CTOs, VPs of Engineering, Product leadership), shaping their technology and AI strategy. • Lead technical discovery, solutioning, and pre-sales conversations, positioning Stride's engineering and AI capabilities. • Present architecture, roadmaps, and recommendations directly to client leadership, clearly articulating tradeoffs, risks, and business impact. • Build long-term trusted relationships that extend Stride's footprint within client organizations. • Engineering Excellence & Firm-Wide Impact • Define and evangelize engineering standards around quality, testing, security, performance, and AI-enabled development across Stride. • Build reusable frameworks, accelerators, and shared components that raise productivity across multiple engagements. • Represent Stride's engineering practice through thought leadership — internal guilds, conference talks, blog posts, or client-facing points of view. • Stay ahead of emerging full-stack, cloud-native, and AI/agentic trends, and translate them into practical guidance for the firm.
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