Principal Software Engineer

Job Title: Principal Software Engineer

Team: Systems

Location: Hybrid in Chicago (IL)

Employment Type: Full-time

FLSA Classification: Exempt

Start Date: ASAP

About Braven

Braven is a career-accelerating program that prepares promising young people—many of whom are people of color, from low income backgrounds, and the first in their families to attend college—to secure a strong first opportunity after college graduation. 

We work with higher education and employer partners to offer a life-changing experience that begins with a semester-long course for college students followed by support that lasts through graduation.  

Together, we are helping to open up access to the American Promise, empowering a generation of leaders who mirror the diversity of our country.

To learn more, take a look at Braven's Impact Report and Jobs Report.

About the Role

To support its goal of empowering 80,000-100,000 Fellows over the next decade, Braven is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to serve as a key leader within our Systems team, which includes a dynamic mix of professionals from junior developers to seasoned engineers. This pivotal role involves providing technical leadership in areas such as software design, architecture, and development as well as mentoring junior team members. Additionally, you will play a crucial role in strategic decision-making, driving technological initiatives that are in sync with Braven's broader goals. This person's expertise will be instrumental in shaping our technical strategies and ensuring the team's delivery and execution are of the highest caliber, thereby directly contributing to our mission's success.

This role is a member of the Systems Team and reports to the Managing Director, Software Engineering.

What You'll Do

Technical Leadership (70%)

• Contribute to the technical vision and long-term technical strategy for the organization.
• Design, architect, and develop complex software solutions to ensure they're scalable, maintainable, and reliable.
• Evaluate and integrate new technologies and methodologies.
• Troubleshoot high-level technical challenges and oversee quality assurance practices.
• Ensure software quality through rigorous testing methodologies and continuous integration/continuous deployment practices.
• Promote and enforce coding standards and best practices within the team.
• Monitor the performance of live applications, making improvements where necessary.

Team Collaboration & Mentorship (20%)

• Guide and mentor junior and mid-level engineers.
• Lead code and design reviews, fostering a culture of best practices.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, ensuring technical aspects align with project goals.

Communication & Documentation (10%)

• Act as a bridge between technical and non-technical stakeholders, clarifying technical constraints and opportunities.
• Document architectures, design decisions, and protocols.
• Stay up-to-date on industry trends, security best practices, and compliance requirements, ensuring alignment within the team's output.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree
• At least 7 years of experience in an engineering role

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven experience in a similar senior engineering leadership role, with 10+ years of software engineering experience.
• Significant experience designing, building, and maintaining large-scale, complex software systems.
• Strong experience with several or more of Ruby, Python, Airflow, SQL, JS, and web frameworks.
• Experience in multiple areas of software development such as backend, frontend, infrastructure, database design, etc.
• Mastery of software architecture patterns and principles.
• Strong understanding of software development life cycle, including agile methodologies.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, to effectively collaborate with technical and non-technical stakeholders alike.
• Strong mentoring and coaching experience and skills to help their team grow their effectiveness and develop professionally.
• Fluency in engineering best practices and methodologies, such as CI/CD, scrum/agile, TDD.
• Demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion.
• Exemplification of Braven's core values.
• Experience that has informed your belief in Braven's mission and have prepared you to work with, or for, Braven's studen