Principal Software Development Engineer

Principal Software Development Engineer

NextEra Analytics offers energy consulting services using industry-leading scientific analysis for planning, siting, forecasting and optimizing all forms of energy projects. Our optimization and analytics platforms integrate open-source technologies to leverage massive, diverse sets of utility operating data. This enables rapid development of operational solutions. Applying expertise in advanced mathematics, data and physical sciences, we solve some of the hardest problems facing the energy industry.

We are seeking a high-caliber Principal Software Development Engineer to join a team building customer-centric solutions for the business. This role is designed for a top-tier engineer who combines deep technical expertise with strong product intuition and business acumen. You will tackle ambiguous challenges, rapidly prototype solutions directly with stakeholders, and architect scalable, secure systems. You operate with high autonomy, acting as the critical technical bridge that turns business objectives into high-performing software.

Key Responsibilities & Expectations

• Engineering & System Design Architect in Ambiguity: Translate loosely defined business problems into clean, robust architectures while anticipating edge cases.
• Rapid Prototyping: Where applicable, build functional prototypes with stakeholders to validate ideas instantly and accelerate the feedback loop.
• Full-Stack Delivery: Own features end-to-end across services, data, and UI, making pragmatic technology choices and avoiding unnecessary complexity.
• Engineering Productivity with AI AI-Assisted Development: Use agentic AI tools throughout the SDLC to move faster, while maintaining full accountability for code quality, correctness, and security.
• Feedback Loops for Coding Agents: Design quality gates, spec-driven workflows, and deterministic checks that catch agent errors before humans do.
• Critical Adoption: Evaluate AI tools and patterns critically, adopting what improves the team's output and discarding what doesn't.
• Reliability & DevSecOps Security-First Mindset: Embed security and compliance into the core of the development lifecycle, proactively mitigating vulnerabilities through secure design.
• Production Standards: Build well-tested, maintainable software. Implement CI/CD pipelines to ensure systems are resilient, scalable, and optimized for an exceptional end-user experience.
• Operational Readiness: Make production behavior measurable, debuggable, and recoverable by building observability, alerting, runbooks, and recovery paths into systems from the start.
• Execution & Business Ownership Drive Outcomes: Take ownership of delivering meaningful business results, managing scope responsibly, and communicating technical risks early.
• Technical Translation: Partner closely with Product Managers and business leaders. Articulate complex architectural decisions and tradeoffs in clear, outcome-oriented terms.
• Partnering Across Functions: Engage security, risk, compliance, and platform teams early, communicate technical tradeoffs clearly, and make the case when a project calls for a different approach.
• Culture High Performance: We value high standards, continuous learning, and collaborative problem solving, creating an environment where talented individuals can thrive alongside exceptional teammates.
• Ownership & Accountability: Team members are trusted to take ownership of their work, exercise thoughtful judgment, and follow through on commitments.
• Collaborative Autonomy: Teams operate with a high degree of trust and autonomy while working together to make decisions aligned with business, customer, and operational goals.

Job Overview

This position provides technical software project leadership including, but not limited to defining system architecture, guiding design of the system's software and writing code as part of the implementation team and mentors less experienced team members. Employees in this role work with the product team to plan work and typically serve as Technical Lead of projects. Individuals in this position provide technical advice to higher levels in the organization.

Job Duties & Responsibilities

• Codes in multiple languages in support of software products and the development of software products
• Leads software system architecture projects
• Mentors others in efficient software design
• Leads project-level sized teams including assigning work, answering technical project questions, helping other software engineers overcome challenges and mentoring less experienced software engineers
• Communicates with varying levels within and outside the organization including clearly reporting status in meetings and in other forums, describing systems to audiences of all technical abilities, communicating task assignments to team members, refining requirements and helping to facilitate project planning with the product team, assisting with software project demos and reporting results
• Provides input on software and technology decisions across an entire project and potentially participates in higher level meetings concerning software and IT architecture
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent work experience
• Experience: 9+ years

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's - Engineering

The estimated base pay for this position is $149,600.00 to $224,400.00 per year. Starting pay will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, experience, qualifications, job-related and industry knowledge and skills and education/training.

NextEra Energy offers a wide range of benefits to support our employees and their eligible family members. Click here to learn more.

Employee Group: Exempt Employee Type: Full Time Job Category: Science, Research, and Technology Organization: NextEra Analytics, Inc Relocation Provided: Yes, if applicable

NextEra Energy is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, age, national origin, religion, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetics, disability, protected veteran status or any other basis prohibited by law.

NextEra Energy provides reasonable accommodation in its application and selection process for qualified individuals, including accommodations related to compliance with conditional job offer requirements, consistent with federal, state, and local laws. Supporting medical or religious documentation will be required where applicable and permitted by applicable law. To request a reasonable accommodation, please send an e-mail to View email address on click.appcast.io, providing your name, telephone number and the best time for us to reach you.

NextEra Energy will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information.

NextEra Energy does not accept any unsolicited resumes or referrals from any third-party recruiting firms or agencies . Please see our policy for more information.

Nearest Major Market: Minneapolis