Turnitin, LLC seeks a Principal Software Engineer to join our team in a remote (USA) capacity. You will operate as a Principal Domain Architect/Engineer, driving the technical design and evolution of complex, large-scale systems. This role sits at the intersection of architecture, engineering execution, and technical leadership, requiring you to be highly hands-on while defining architectural direction.
What You'll Do
- Drive the technical design and evolution of complex, large-scale systems.
- Define architectural direction across a specific domain or set of platforms.
- Remain highly hands-on, contributing code, prototypes, and technical frameworks.
- Work closely with senior engineers, engineering managers, and product leaders to translate business needs into durable, scalable, and well-engineered solutions.
What We're Looking For
- 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a strong emphasis on building and operating production systems.
- Demonstrated experience designing and evolving large-scale, distributed, or service-oriented systems.
- Proven ability to operate as a hands-on Principal-level engineer or architect, influencing direction while staying close to the code.
- Strong understanding of system design fundamentals: concurrency, data modeling, APIs, messaging, and integration patterns.
- Experience working across the full software lifecycle, from design through production support.
- Strong proficiency in one or more mainstream programming languages such as Java, C#, C++, .NET, or similar.
- Solid understanding of operating system concepts, networking fundamentals, and system internals.
- Experience designing APIs, services, and shared frameworks consumed by multiple teams.
- Familiarity with modern development practices: CI/CD, automated testing, version control, and code review.
- Ability to influence technical direction across teams without direct authority.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to explain complex designs clearly.
- Demonstrated experience mentoring senior and staff-level engineers.
Nice to Have
- Experience with cloud-based and distributed architectures.
- Background in performance optimization, scalability tuning, or reliability engineering.
- Exposure to security, privacy, or compliance considerations as part of system design.
- Experience modernizing legacy systems or leading large technical refactors.
- Contributions to internal platforms, shared services, or developer enablement efforts.
Benefits & Compensation
- Salary range: $130,350/year to $217,250/year
Work Mode
This is a remote (USA) position. Turnitin fosters a remote-first culture that empowers you to work with purpose and accountability.
Turnitin is a recognized innovator in the global education space, promoting honesty, consistency, and fairness. We are a diverse community unified by a shared desire to make a difference.
