Principal Software Engineer

We are looking for an experienced, product-focused Principal Software Engineer to join our internal innovation lab at Coforma.

As a Principal Software Engineer, you’ll be a hands-on technical leader and a key voice in shaping how we design, build, and scale modern applications in a fast-moving R&D environment.  Reporting to our Chief Innovation Officer (CINO), you’ll bring depth in full-stack product engineering, DevSecOps best practices, and pragmatic architecture choices that balance speed of learning with long-term maintainability. 

In this role, you’ll help define technical foundations for future experiments and will build the foundational platform for our innovation lab from the ground up, working with other members of our cross-disciplinary teams to quickly test, iterate, and ship new modular products. You’ll also mentor and grow other engineers, model a strong engineering culture, and help the team navigate the ambiguity that comes with early-stage product development.

We’re especially interested in candidates who enjoy building quickly with modern web frameworks but can also design and build systems with future scale in mind. A parallel opening will focus on AI/ML-oriented product development for applicants with experience applying LLMs, agentic workflows, and ML-powered features in production.

If you’re passionate about improving lives through digital products and services, Coforma is a great company for you.

$170,980 to $183,340 Annual Salary + Benefits + Growth Potential

Placement within this range will be based on the competency level of the candidate. An offer will be made at one of the following tiers:

Tier 1: $170,980 — Meets minimum qualification/experience requirements. Beyond onboarding, will need additional guidance and training to perform key responsibilities of the role.

Tier 2: $177,984 — Experienced and fully competent and able to independently perform key responsibilities of the role once onboarding is completed.

Tier 3: $183,340 — Highly experienced and can perform all responsibilities of the role at a higher level than expected once onboarding is completed.

To honor our company-wide equitable pay system, the posted salary range and corresponding tier salaries are non-negotiable.

This is a US-based remote position open to applicants in the states listed below. Some travel may be required.

Note: to ensure we remain compliant with all state, county, and local employment and tax regulations, applicants must currently reside in one of the following states to be considered for employment with Coforma. This list will be updated periodically as our PeopleOps team works to open up hiring in additional states.

∙ Arizona

∙ California

∙ District of Columbia

∙ Florida

∙ Georgia

∙ Idaho

∙ Illinois

∙ Maine

∙ Maryland

∙ Massachusetts

∙ Montana

∙ Nevada

∙ New Jersey

∙ New York

∙ North Carolina

∙ Oregon

∙ South Carolina

∙ Tennessee

∙ Texas

∙ Virginia

∙ Washington

∙ Wisconsin

• Serve as technical lead for early-stage innovation lab projects, working closely with the CINO and our Product, Design, and Delivery teams to shape technical direction for prototypes and new products and guiding design and implementation decisions
• Mentor engineers and collaborators, sharing best practices and fostering a culture of collaboration, psychological safety, and continuous learning in an agile, experiment-friendly environment
• Build modern DevSecOps practices such as automated testing, CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code, and secure-by-default engineering
• Participate in business development and strategy efforts (proposals, presentations, etc.), when needed

• Rapidly prototype, validate, and iterate on new product ideas, balancing speed of learning with scalable, maintainable code
• Select and implement modern frameworks (React/TypeScript, Node, Python, etc.) and cloud services (containerized APIs, event-driven services, etc.) that enable fast experimentation
• Identify and mitigate technical risks early; clearly communicate trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders
• Support experimentation with AI-driven capabilities (LLMs, data pipelines, agentic tools) where appropriate
• Contribute reusable libraries, documentation, and internal tools that accelerate future innovation lab projects
• Partner with IT and Security teams to ensure prototypes run in sandboxed, compliant environments suitable for R&D

• Complete new hire orientation training and familiarize yourself with the vision for the innovation lab
• Define the initial platform architecture including portal entry point, identity/auth approach, multi-tenant strategy, API gateway, and service boundaries
• Select foundational technologies (frameworks, languages, hosting environment, auth provider or build approach, database pattern)
• Create architecture diagrams and engineering decision records to align with leadership and product direction
• Stand up the initial repo structure, monorepo or polyrepo approach, and foundational CI/CD pipeline skeleton
• Begin coding the Platform Shell / Portal (even if just a Hello World + placeholder UI)
• Implement a basic working authentication flow (prototype only) to validate feasibility
• Review existing ideas in Linear and select one to implement as the first platform module and collaborate with the existing engineer to break down and begin implementation
• Partner with the Product Operations Manager to define agile development workflows and engineering rituals
• Begin documenting platform principles such as modularity, API-first, secure-by-default, and observability-ready

• Deliver a functional login experience connected to cloud infrastructure
• Implement the first platform module from Linear using the new architecture
• Establish patterns/templates for reusable services or modules
• Deploy the platform scaffold into a development environment with automated deploys
• Refine sprint practices, backlog structure, and definition of done with the Product Operations Manager
• Begin mentoring engineers on using the platform architecture and process

• Produce a platform roadmap and demonstrate the platform to leadership, articulating how additional features/products will plug into the foundation
• Deliver a working platform with authentication, portal access, and at least one production-ready module
• Establish guidelines for engineers joining the platform effort (documentation, contribution models, code conventions, etc.)
• Enable rapid module creation through established templates and tooling
• Establish early success metrics for delivery velocity, platform adoption, and code quality

• Minimum of 8 years of professional software engineering experience in product-oriented environments
• 5+ years of experience designing and consuming APIs including GraphQL and REST, and deploying to modern cloud environments (preferably GCP)
• 4+ years of experience leading technical direction or serving as tech lead/architect on complex products
• Deep experience with React/TypeScript and at least one modern back-end stack (Node, Python, Go, etc.)
• Proven track record of shipping full-stack web apps from prototype to production
• Comfortable with ambiguity — able to design experiments, measure outcomes, and quickly adjust course as needed
• (For AI/ML-focused role) Demonstrated experience delivering AI-enabled product features or ML-powered workflows in production systems
• Full-time resident of the contiguous United States (must be legally authorized to work in the US now and in the future without sponsorship)

• Strong grasp of the building blocks of the web (HTTP, HTML, CSS, JS/TS, JSON, SSL), modern front-end and back-end development frameworks, and secure API design
• Skilled in building cloud-native back-end services: APIs (GraphQL preferred), secure auth flows (OAuth 2.0/SAML/OpenID Connect), event-driven and asynchronous processing, distributed caching, observability/logging, and modern data-persistence patterns across microservices and client-server integrations
• Capable of delivering application architectures and code that are highly scalable, available, and performant
• Understanding of security and compliance implications (SOC 2, HIPAA, FedRAMP) for SaaS-style products and ability to design with them in mind
• Skilled at tailoring technical communication for executive leadership and non-technical stakeholders and able to explain complex trade-offs in plain language to influence decisions and align teams

• Internet: Will prioritize and maintain access to strong, reliable internet for the remote nature of our work, except when on vacation or holiday.
• Security: Will keep the highest security practices to ensure privacy and security of Coforma and client information, given the nature of our work, even when on vacation.
• Travel Flexibility: On request and with advanced notice, will attend in-person events such as meetings, workshops, and trainings as assigned for projects that require it.
• Brand Representation: Will represent Coforma professionally and sincerely, modeling our Company Values in all interactions.

We participate in E-Verify. Upon hire, we will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the United States.

Due to the nature of our work with the federal government, this role is required to work from the contiguous United States.

We're Coforma

We use creativity to get results for clients and the communities they serve.

We’ve honed a modern, agile, user-centered approach that elevates human needs through thoughtfully-designed systems and products.

From connecting families in crisis at the US border to improving the way governments consume COVID-19 mobility data through a more accessible and user-friendly tool, we’re dedicated to improving people’s lives through thoughtful technology products and services. Together. Our cross-functional team works closely with each other and with our government, nonprofit, and commercial partners to research, design, and build better products and services.

Coforma employs over 150 talented creators. Our leadership has decades of experience in improving government digital services from a civic service mindset, and a strong record of developing innovative technology solutions for government, enterprise, and nonprofits.

We thoughtfully integrate design into product development. We are experts in leading the design and development of products to meet business goals, build alignment, and deliver value through technically feasible and iterative design activities.

Business objectives and human beings are at the center of our work. We work very closely and collaboratively with our partners, from solicitation through to delivery, to ensure that the solution provides a high level of value to the business. Accessibility is never overlooked in our work, and our iterative approach validates the utility and delight of the final product.

Benefits

In addition to the many perks that come with our remote-first company and culture, we offer numerous benefits to eligible employees. Some of those include:

• Flexible PTO along with paid holidays

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage

• A 401(k) plan with an employer match

• Internet, phone, and home office stipends

• A professional development fund along with numerous growth opportunities

• 16-week parental leave policy available to birthing and non-birthing parents

• Remote work policy, which saves the average worker $5,000 a year in transportation costs

You can learn more on our website at https://coforma.io/careers.

Equal Opportunity & Inclusive Workplace

Coforma is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. It's our policy to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, sex, gender, age, disability, military or veteran status, or any other factors protected under federal, state, or local law.

We're committed to ensuring accessibility and equal opportunity and offering reasonable accommodations to those with disabilities. We adhere to the guidelines set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act and all relevant federal, state, and local laws concerning disability discrimination and accommodation. To request a reasonable accommodation for the application or interview process, please email [email protected].

About Public Trust and Other Background Investigations

Due to the nature of our client and project work, most roles may require a National Agency Check and Inquiries (NACI), Moderate Background Investigation (MBI), Background Investigation (BI) or other relevant investigations as needed. Additional information regarding background evaluations or investigations can be found on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management website (opm.gov).