Principal Engineer - Platform

Job description

ABOUT THE ROLE We’re hiring a Principal Engineer – Platform to set technical direction and own the architecture of Arya’s core systems. This is a hands-on senior leadership role. You’ll design and evolve foundational systems (APIs, data flows, infrastructure patterns, reliability standards) while acting as a force multiplier for multiple teams. You will work directly with the CTO and senior engineers to solve the hardest architectural problems in the system. If you like untangling complex systems, building primitives other teams depend on, and making engineering organizations move faster — this role is for you. WHAT YOU’LL OWN - Platform-wide architecture across backend services and infrastructure - Reliability, scalability, and operational excellence - Developer experience and internal tooling - Technical direction across teams - Cross-team architectural standards - High-impact system redesigns - Engineering leverage and mentorship WHAT YOU’LL DO - Design and evolve Arya’s platform architecture across services and data systems - Lead technical design for cross-cutting initiatives (multi-tenancy, permissions, async workflows, scaling) - Identify and eliminate architectural bottlenecks - Establish best practices for observability, service ownership, and incident response - Be deeply hands-on in code when it matters - Partner with product and leadership to align technical and business strategy - Mentor senior engineers and raise technical standards across the organization WHO YOU ARE - 10+ years of professional software engineering experience - Prior principal-level impact in at least one role - Designed and operated large-scale distributed systems - Strong backend engineering background - Excellent architectural judgment - Comfortable owning systems end-to-end - Able to influence without authority - Low-ego, high-ownership mindset - Excited to build in-person with a small, high-trust team TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE WE VALUE (Depth matters more than box-checking.) - Backend systems in Node.js, Python - PostgreSQL and data-heavy applications - Distributed systems and asynchronous processing - Cloud infrastructure (GCP and/or AWS) - Kubernetes and Docker - CI/CD pipelines - Observability (logging, metrics, tracing) - Multi-tenant SaaS architectures 30–60–90 DAY PLAN (ACCELERATED, PRINCIPAL-LEVEL) DAYS 0–30 — SYSTEM MASTERY & EARLY LEVERAGE Goal: Become dangerous fast. - Deep dive into Arya’s platform architecture - Audit scaling bottlenecks and reliability risks - Build strong trust with senior engineers - Identify 2–3 high-leverage platform improvements - Ship at least one meaningful architectural fix Deliverables: - Written platform assessment - One high-impact improvement shipped or underway - Clear articulation of architectural risks and tradeoffs DAYS 31–60 — ARCHITECTURE OWNERSHIP Goal: Shape direction. - Lead design for a cross-team architectural initiative - Refine or establish platform standards - Improve observability and reliability patterns - Mentor engineers through structured design reviews Deliverables: - One major platform RFC approved and in execution - Measurable improvement in system reliability or developer velocity - Reduced architectural load on CTO DAYS 61–90 — FORCE MULTIPLIER Goal: The organization moves faster because you’re here. - Own platform roadmap for next 2–3 quarters - Proactively resolve systemic risks - Establish platform SLAs and reliability targets - Clarify system ownership boundaries Deliverables: - Platform roadmap aligned with company goals - Clear ownership model across services - Increased engineering velocity and stability OUR VALUES You will thrive at Arya if you can: 1. Think Like a Customer We win by making our Customers feel like superheroes. This means we must always view our decisions, actions and communication through the lens of our Customers. 2. Find Small Wins Everyday We believe that speed of making decisions and taking action have a compounding effect. A series of quick, small, daily wins add up to big ones over time, and the absence of these can add up to big losses. 3. Teach and Learn Consistently We believe that giving context and sharing expertise is everyone's responsibility. We find time to talk about the Why and How of what we do in every interaction. 4. Be Prepared We believe that progress cannot be left to chance and sudden flashes of genius. We put in the time and effort to prepare ourselves and others to make the most of every opportunity. 5. Communicate Simply We communicate to be understood. This means that in a complex, global and busy world, we work hard to express our ideas in ways that others find simple and intuitive. 6. Be Kind We believe that being exceptional and being kind are not mutually exclusive. We strive to treat others with empathy, kindness and respect, even in the most challenging of times. WHAT WE OFFER Arya is committed to being transformative to the careers of those who share our values, and are looking to build a generational business. We offer: The Basics: - Competitive salary + equity - Comprehensive health and wellness benefits - Flexible PTO and generous parental leave - Performance-based incentives - Wellhub subscription with access to premium fitness facilities, team workouts The Multipliers: - Be part of a company that treats its values as its biggest priority - Learn more about building and scaling a business in months than others will in years - Have ownership, influence and impact that runs far and wide - Work flexibly, with a focus on progress over activity - Never sacrifice your mental health- while we work hard, we're committed to avoiding burnout at all costs