Principal Software Engineer

Job Title: Principal Software Engineer 

Team: Systems 

Location: In-Person in Chicago (IL)

Employment Type: Full-time 

Start Date: ASAP 

About Braven

Braven is a national nonprofit 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 through a career-accelerating program.

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 

In order to achieve its ambition of serving 80,000-100,000 Fellows over the next decade, Braven is hiring a Principal Software Engineer who will provide technical leadership in software design, architecture, and development.  In addition, mentor junior team members and drive strategic technological initiatives in alignment with Braven’s goals. As a leader on the engineering team, you will provide the technical expertise and experience to shape technical strategy and ensure excellence in the team's delivery and execution. 

This role is on the Systems team and reports to the Managing Director, Software Engineering. 

What You’ll Do 

• Technical Leadership: (70%) 
• Drive the entire organization's technical vision and long-term strategy, shaping architectural decisions and guiding overall technical direction.
• Lead the design, architecture, and development of highly complex, scalable, and maintainable software solutions across multiple systems.
• Make strategic decisions on technology selection and methodology adoption, ensuring innovation while balancing technical debt.
• Identify and resolve the most challenging technical issues, ensuring system reliability and high availability.
• Establish and enforce engineering standards, including design patterns, code quality, and security best practices at the organizational level.
• Implement and optimize performance monitoring strategies for production systems, leading to proactive issue resolution.
• Drive software quality initiatives through continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) and automated testing strategies.
• Team Collaboration & Development: (20%) 
• Coach and develop engineers across all levels, providing support to enhance technical skills, leadership abilities, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Facilitate and lead technical review processes, including architecture reviews, design discussions, and code reviews, to promote consistency, excellence, and shared learning.
• Foster cross-functional collaboration by aligning technical strategies with organizational goals and encouraging teamwork and shared accountability.
• Advocate for diverse perspectives and inclusivity, creating an environment where all voices are valued, and team members feel empowered to contribute to decision-making processes.
• Communication & Documentation: (10%) 
• Translate complex technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders, empowering informed decision-making across the organization.
• Create and maintain comprehensive technical documentation, including architecture diagrams, design decisions, and system protocols.
• Stay current with industry trends, security best practices, and compliance standards, ensuring the organization remains at the forefront of technology advancements.
• Act as a key technical representative in strategic planning meetings and external partnerships.

Requirements

Minimum Requirements 

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field or equivalent professional experience
• 10+ years of professional experience in software engineering, including significant leadership responsibilities.

Preferred Qualifications 

• Proven experience as a Principal Software Engineer, Staff Engineer, or in a similar senior technical leadership role.
• Extensive experience in designing, building, and maintaining large-scale, complex software systems, with expertise in distributed system architecture.
• Strong proficiency across backend, frontend, infrastructure, and database design, showcasing versatility in software de