Principal Software Development Engineer

About the team

The Connections Platform team at Zillow builds and supports platforms that connect customers with their move teams throughout the home-buying journey. Our work powers lead management, communication, and pre-connection experiences across Zillow’s services, helping ensure every customer has a seamless, personalized experience. We focus on scalable, reliable, and secure solutions that enable other teams to solve problems efficiently and innovate quickly, all while enhancing reliability and security.

About the role

As a Principal Engineer on the Connections Platform team, you will drive technical strategy and deliver solutions that impact multiple teams and organizations. You will collaborate with leaders across Zillow, shape architectural decisions, and mentor engineers. Your work will help build flexible, maintainable, and secure systems that scale with Zillow’s evolving needs, directly influencing the future of the home-buying experience.

As a Principal Software Development Engineer, You Will Get To

• Lead the design and implementation of complex, cross-team systems

• Mentor and guide engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence

• Collaborate with product managers, engineers, and stakeholders to align on technical strategies

• Build secure, reliable, and maintainable platforms that support lead management and communication

• Communicate technical concepts clearly to diverse audiences

• Drive operational excellence by proactively identifying and resolving system issues

• Research and pioneer new technologies to improve platform capabilities

• Ensure solutions are scalable and adaptable to business needs

This role has been categorized as a Remote position. “Remote” employees do not have a permanent corporate office workplace and, instead, work from a physical location of their choice, which must be identified to the Company. U.S. employees may live in any of the 50 United States, with limited exceptions.

In California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Washington state, and Washington DC the standard base pay range for this role is $186,700.00 - $298,300.00 Annually. This base pay range is specific to California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Washington state, and Washington DC and may not be applicable to other locations.

In addition to a competitive base salary this position is also eligible for equity awards based on factors such as experience, performance and location. Actual amounts will vary depending on experience, performance and location.

Who you are

• Proven technical leader with experience influencing teams without direct authority

• Deep expertise in designing and building scalable, reliable, and maintainable systems

• Skilled at making high-judgment decisions in complex, ambiguous situations

• Strong verbal and written communication skills for diverse audiences

• Experienced in operating and troubleshooting production systems

• Committed to continuous learning and staying current with industry trends

• Recognized for setting high standards in testing, code quality, and maintainability

• Here at Zillow, we value the experience and perspective of candidates with non-traditional backgrounds. We encourage you to apply if you have transferable skills or related experiences.

Get to know us

Zillow is reimagining real estate to make home a reality for more and more people.

As the most-visited real estate website in the United States, Zillow® and its affiliates help movers find and win their home through digital solutions, first class partners, and easier buying, selling, financing and renting experiences. Millions of people visit Zillow Group sites every month to start their home search, and now they can rely on Zillow to help make it easier to move. The work we do helps people get home and no matter what job you're in, you will play a critical role in making home a reality for more and more people.

Our efforts to streamline the real estate transaction are supported by a deep-rooted culture of innovation, our passion to redefine the employee experience, a fundamental commitment to Equity and Belonging, and