Principal Developer

About Ascent

Ascent Developer Solutions is a leading private lending platform, serving real estate developers nationwide in the acquisition, renovation, and construction of residential real estate. Founded by a leadership team with a deep understanding and personal experience in virtually every facet of real estate development, Ascent is uniquely positioned to create custom, innovative lending solutions for a variety of real estate development business strategies.

The Role

The Principal Developer will enhance and scale our existing lending platform while driving the adoption of innovative technologies across the organization. This role requires a seasoned technologist who can assess current systems, implement strategic improvements, and deliver high-quality solutions in a fast-paced startup environment.

As the ideal candidate, you'll combine deep technical expertise with strong business acumen to evolve our platform and accelerate our growth objectives.

The Work

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable applications using code, low-code/no-code platforms, and modern JavaScript/TypeScript frameworks.
• Lead the implementation of agentic AI solutions across the organization to enhance operational efficiency and decision-making capabilities.
• Take ownership of complex technical projects from inception through deployment, ensuring alignment with business objectives and technical standards.
• Defining and implementing architectural patterns, best practices, and technical standards across the engineering organization.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate business requirements into robust technical solutions.
• Design and implement CI/CD pipelines and cloud infrastructure solutions, with a focus on Azure-based architecture.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineering team members while maintaining hands-on involvement in critical development efforts.
• Evaluate and integrate new technologies to improve platform capabilities and development efficiency.
• Partner with product management and business stakeholders to define technical roadmaps and delivery timelines.
• Contribute to the development of engineering processes and methodologies that support rapid, high-quality delivery.
• Document architectural decisions, system designs, and technical specifications.
• Stay current with industry trends and emerging technologies relevant to fintech and lending domains.
• Support incident response and production issue resolution as needed.

Your Skills and Experience

•  Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field.
• 8+ years of software engineering experience with at least 3 years in a senior or principal engineering role.
• Expert-level proficiency in modern low-code/no-code platforms (OutSystems, Mendix, Appian, Retool, or similar).
• Strong experience with JavaScript/TypeScript and modern frontend frameworks (Next.js, Svelte, React, Vue.js, and Angular,
• Proven experience designing and implementing cloud-native architectures, microservices, and distributed systems.
• Deep understanding of CI/CD practices, infrastructure as code, and DevOps principles.
• Experience with RESTful API design and implementation.
• Strong understanding of software security best practices and compliance requirements in regulated industries.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to present complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and drive projects to completion with minimal supervision.

Preferred:

• Experience in fintech, lending, or financial services technology.
• Knowledge of real estate or construction lending processes.
• Experience with AI/ML technologies and their practical applications in business contexts.
• Experience building and scaling engineering teams in startup environments.