Principal Software Engineer (Digital Servicing)

Avant is seeking a driven Principal Software Engineer to help us build the future of consumer lending. We provide personal loans and credit cards to millions of customers across the US, empowering them to take control of their financial futures. If you're passionate about leveraging technology to drive innovation and make a real impact on people's lives, this is the perfect opportunity for you.

What you’ll do at Avant

• Architect, design, and develop scalable and robust solutions for Avant’s credit card and loan servicing products and services.

• Partner with Engineering Managers and Principal Engineers to build the architectural vision and roadmap to improve system architecture and scale our systems.

• Work with Product Management and other stakeholders to design features that improve our customer experience and internal operations.

• Collaborate with engineering peers at all levels to maintain and enhance Avant's digital servicing platform and continuously improve system performance and maintainability.

• Build and improve observability and monitoring to enhance operational efficiency of our platform.

• Build and improve system CI/CD pipeline and test automation systems to reduce cycle time and increase feature delivery velocity.

Why you’re a fit at Avant

• 8+ years of experience as a Software Engineer with a strong track record of delivering high-quality software solutions.

• BS/MS in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent experience.

• Strong experience with microservices and event-driven architecture design and best practices.

• Excellent problem-solving abilities and a passion for performance optimization.

• Extensive experience with Kafka (producers, consumers, topics, partitions, and stream processing).

• Deep knowledge of asynchronous processing and message queuing patterns.

• Solid experience with back-end development using languages like Python, Ruby, Java, or .NET.

• Strong understanding of database systems, both relational (e.g., PostgreSQL) and NoSQL (e.g., MongoDB, Cassandra).

• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Azure, and containerization technologies like Docker and Kubernetes.

• Strong background in designing and implementing distributed systems.

• Strong experience with observability and monitoring and incident management processes.

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Familiarity with Agile/Scrum methodologies and experience working in collaborative, fast-paced environments.
   

Nice to Haves:

• Experience with GraphQL, gRPC, or WebSockets.

• Background in CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Ansible, Helm).

• Experience in highly regulated industries or Fintech systems.

This role is based on our downtown Chicago Office, located in the Merchandise Mart. We highly value collaboration and our hybrid schedule (M, T, Th in-office) enables flexibility to balance work and individual priorities.

Compensation Range:

The base salary range for this job is USD $140,000 USD - $195,000 USD /Year

Employees new to Avant typically come in below the midpoint of the pay range. The compensation range is based on the level outlined in the job posting, and compensation decisions are dependent on each applicant's experience, skills and abilities. 

[If an outstanding applicant's experience and skill level is above or below the qualifications outlined in the job posting, we reserve the right to make an offer at a different level than the one listed in this job posting, which may have a different compensation range.]

This role is eligible for additional incentives, including an annual bonus. These rewards are allocated based on level, impact and performance in the role.

Our benefits include:

• Choice of great Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance Plan options

• 401(k) match

• Flexible Time Off

• Flexible Work Environment - (i.e. Mon/Tues/Thurs in-person)

• Generous Paid Parental Leave, Ado