Principal Software Engineer

Company Description

VERSANT is a leading force in news, sports and entertainment - home to iconic and trusted brands that inspire, inform, and delight audiences. Our unique combination of content, technology and services enriches the cultural fabric, igniting passions, sparking conversations, and connecting people to what they love most.

As an independent, publicly traded company, VERSANT brings together powerhouse cable networks - including USA Network, CNBC, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and Golf Channel - with dynamic digital and direct-to-consumer brands such as Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, GolfPass, and SportsEngine. Together, these businesses reflect our commitment to delivering exceptional experiences across every screen and service.

VERSANT is an industry-changing media company fueled by innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. With a strong foundation and a forward-looking vision, VERSANT empowers creativity, embraces change, and drives connection in an ever-evolving world.

Job Description

Versant Media’s Data Platforms team is the central hub for metadata and core data services across O&T. We unify disparate systems into a secure, well-governed, real-time data environment that powers downstream products, analytics, and content delivery experiences.

We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer to play a pivotal role in shaping the architecture, design patterns, and engineering standards of our modern data platform. This is a hands-on, highly technical individual contributor role focused on building scalable backend and data-driven services using modern engineering practices.

This role is ideal for an engineer who thrives at the intersection of software engineering excellence and data platform design, and who enjoys setting direction while remaining deeply hands-on.

Responsbilities

• Design, build, and evolve backend services and data platform components using Node.js and TypeScript
• Define and implement modular, service-oriented architectures that support scalable data ingestion, transformation, and access patterns
• Partner with data engineering, platform, and governance stakeholders to enable:
  • Lakehouse-style architectures
  • ELT pipelines
  • Metadata management, lineage, and governance capabilities
• Establish and evangelize engineering best practices, including:
  • Object-oriented design and proven design patterns
  • Test-driven development (TDD) and strong automated test coverage
  • Secure development lifecycle (SDL) principles
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines that support safe, repeatable, and observable deployments
• Evaluate and integrate modern data storage and processing technologies where appropriate
• Act as a technical leader and collaborator:
  • Contribute to architectural decisions
  • Review designs and code
  • Mentor other engineers through influence, not authority
• Work effectively in a matrixed enterprise environment with both legacy systems and modern platforms

Qualifications

• Deep proficiency with Node.js and TypeScript in production environments
• Strong foundation in software engineering fundamentals, including:
  • Object-oriented programming
  • Design patterns API and service design
• Solid understanding of data engineering concepts, including:
  • Lakehouse architectures
  • ELT pipelines
• Data governance, metadata, and lineage
  • Experience building modular or microservice-based systems
• Strong commitment to TDD, automated testing, and code quality
• Hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines and modern DevOps practices
• Familiarity with secure development lifecycle (SDL) concepts
• Self-directed, proactive, and comfortable operating with a high degree of ownership
• Strong collaborator who communicates effectively across engineering and non-engineering partners

Nice to Have

• Exposure to ML platforms or services (e.g., Databricks, AWS Bedrock)
• Familiarity with analytics and BI tools (Tableau, Power BI, or similar)
• Experience working in media, streaming, or large-scale enterprise environments
• Prior experience modernizing or integrating legacy systems within a cloud-native architecture

Additional Requirements: 

• Fully Remote: This position has been designated as fully remote, meaning that the position is expected to contribute from a non-Versant worksite, most commonly an employee’s residence. 

This position is eligible for company sponsored benefits, including medical, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), paid leave, tuition reimbursement, and a variety of other discounts and perks. Learn more a