Principal Software Engineer

Principal Software Engineer/Architect

At PowerSchool, we power education for students around the world. As the global leader in cloud-based K-12 software, we support the full education ecosystem—from the central office to the classroom to the home. Joining PowerSchool means being part of a mission-driven team that is transforming K-12 education by helping schools operate more effectively and deliver better outcomes for educators, students, and families.

Our Research & Development (R&D) team is the technical talent at the heart of our product suite, overseeing the product development lifecycle from concept to delivery. From engineering to quality assurance to data science, the R&D team ensures our customers seamlessly use our products and can depend on their consistency.

As a Principal Software Engineer/Architect, you will shape our software systems and pursue the most demanding and impactful software development tasks. Your unmatched expertise will fuel the development of robust, efficient, and top-tier software solutions. At the cutting edge of technology, you'll apply systematic and disciplined approaches to every stage of the software lifecycle: from design and development to rigorous testing and evaluation. You will leverage generative AI, agentic AI, and other AI‑enabled tools and intelligent automation to enhance development efficiency, improve code quality, and support scalable, forward-looking system design. Your unwavering commitment to quality and your problem-solving prowess will serve as the guiding stars in your role.

Responsibilities

The Software Engineering team is a group of full stack developers who design, develop, and maintain our products, tools, and infrastructure.

Your day-to-day job will consist of:

• Serve as a highly skilled software engineer addressing the most complex and pressing software development needs across a multi-product portfolio, contributing to the planning, scoping, estimation, and execution of technical solutions, including the effective use of AI‑assisted development and delivery tools.
• Work closely with product managers, designers, fellow engineers, and engineering leaders to enhance software applications and create new ones, leveraging AI insights to inform design choices and technical tradeoffs where appropriate.
• Uses AI to make transformative and highly impactful change, demonstrates an exceptional ability to make sound, critical architectural decisions for the team and optimizing code for performance, scalability, and reliability, including the evaluation of AI‑driven approaches and automation.
• Independently write clean, maintainable code using programming languages such as TypeScript, Java, C#, Python, or other relevant tech stacks while utilizing AI‑ enabled tools to improve development speed, accuracy, and consistency.
• Engage in code reviews, identifying and resolving bugs, and fine-tuning existing systems, including the use of AI-powered analysis and testing techniques.
• Contribute across all phases of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), from initial design to deployment, incorporating AI where it enhances quality, efficiency, or maintainability.
• Assist in testing and quality assurance, ensuring software reliability and optimal performance through both traditional and AI augmented testing methodologies.
• Innovate by exploring emerging technologies, including AI and machine learning capabilities, and proposing creative solutions to technical challenges.
• Guide and mentor engineers, sharing best practices for high-quality software development and the responsible, effective use of AI tooling.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum of 15+ years of relevant and related work experience.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent, or equivalent years of relevant work experience.
• Travel occasionally, up to 5-10%, for key moments such as team summits, training, conferences, etc., with increased frequency during peak periods based on business demands.
• This position is subject to company on call policies which constitutes working hours outside of the normal workday as needed.
• Additional experience may be substitute for an advanced Degree.
• Experience as the primary engineer responsible for large and complex coding projects as well as for system design and code integrity of large enterprise codebases while having demonstrated success with codebase modernization and decomposition.
• Experience using AI‑assisted development tools (e.g., for coding, testing, debugging, or documentation) to improve productivity and code quality.
• Ability to evaluate, apply, and govern AI solutions responsibly, with consideration for security, performance, and maintainability.
• Ability to work with current software design principles, including patterns, algorithms, data structures.
• SQL and database experience.
• Familiarity with OWASP threats and mitigation techniques.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, along with effective written and verbal communication.
• Capability to manage a heavy workload, handle frequent interruptions, and work with minimal oversight.
• Adaptability to a changing, dynamic environment.
• A passion for mentoring and guiding junior engineers.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Familiarity with Kanban methodologies and relevant tools.
• Understanding of the Education Technology industry

Compensation & Benefits

PowerSchool offers the following benefits:

• Comprehensive Insurance Coverage (including Medical, Dental, Vision, Pharmacy benefits, Life Insurance and AD&D)
• Flexible Spending Accounts and Health Savings Accounts
• Short-Term Disability and Long-Term Disability
• Comprehensive 401(k) plan
• Generous Parental Leave
• Unrestricted paid time off (known as Discretionary Time Off - DTO)
• Wellness Program, including ClassPass & Employee Assistance Program
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Optional Benefits: Pet Insurance, Identity Theft Protection, Student Debt Repayment Program and Prepaid Legal coverage

A reasonable estimate of the base compensation range for this position is $100,500 - $231,900 USD. This compensation range is specific to the United States and it incorporates many factors including but not limited to an applicant's skills and prior relevant experience and training; licensures, degrees, and certifications; internal equity; internal pay ranges; and market data/range parameters.

EEO Commitment

PowerSchool is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. PowerSchool is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status. Our inclusive culture empowers PowerSchoolers to deliver the best results for our customers. We not only celebrate the diversity of our workforce, we celebrate the diverse ways we work. If you have a disability and need an accommodation regarding our recruiting process, please let us know by emailing View email address on click.appcast.io.