Principal Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

Company Description

VERSANT is a leading force in news, sports and entertainment - home to iconic and trusted brands that inspire, inform, and delight audiences. Our unique combination of content, technology and services enriches the cultural fabric, igniting passions, sparking conversations, and connecting people to what they love most.

As an independent, publicly traded company, VERSANT brings together powerhouse cable networks - including USA Network, CNBC, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and Golf Channel - with dynamic digital and direct-to-consumer brands such as Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, GolfPass, and SportsEngine. Together, these businesses reflect our commitment to delivering exceptional experiences across every screen and service.

VERSANT is an industry-changing media company fueled by innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. With a strong foundation and a forward-looking vision, VERSANT empowers creativity, embraces change, and drives connection in an ever-evolving world.

Role Overview
We are seeking a Principal Engineer who combines deep technical expertise with a startup mindset and a passion for solving business problems. This role is ideal for someone who can influence stakeholders, lead architectural decisions, and deliver scalable solutions using SaaS, low-code/no-code platforms, and cloud-native technologies.

• Architect for Impact : Design and lead modernization efforts for inherited systems, prioritizing speed, scalability, and business value.
• Platform Thinking : Evaluate and implement SaaS, low-code/no-code platforms to accelerate delivery and reduce custom development.
• Stakeholder Influence : Collaborate with business, product, and technology leaders to align technical solutions with strategic goals.
• Lean Delivery : Embrace rapid prototyping, iterative development, and pragmatic decision-making.
• Leadership & Mentorship : Inspire and mentor engineers, fostering a culture of innovation, ownership, and continuous learning.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration : Drive alignment across engineering, product, and business teams.
• Leadership : Set the technical vision for the engineering organization, driving excellence and innovation. Collaborate with engineering leadership to establish and implement practices, standards, and a clear direction for engineering teams, ensuring alignment with long-term strategic objectives.
• Operate to provide high level of customer service and delight, ownership, and a high bar for quality.

• 8+ years of professional software development experience.
• Proven experience in cloud-native architecture (AWS, Azure, GCP), serverless, and event-driven design.
• Strong understanding of SaaS platforms and low-code/no-code and Gen AI tools.
• Demonstrated ability to lead engineering efforts and influence cross-functional teams.
• Experience modernizing legacy systems and integrating with modern platforms.
• Excellent communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Track record of delivering secure, scalable, and performant systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with full-stack (backend, frontend, Cloud, Infrastructure) development.
• Familiarity with distributed messaging (Kafka, Kinesis) and caching (example - Redis, ElastiCache).
• Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases.
• Understanding of DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines.
• Exposure to startup environments or fast-paced product development cycles.
• Experience in media, entertainment, or digital platforms is a plus.

Why Join Versant?

• Be part of a founding team shaping the future of a new tech company.
• Work on high-impact projects with direct visibility to senior leadership.
• Enjoy a culture that values innovation, speed, and purpose-driven engineering.

Additional Requirements: This position has been designated as hybrid, generally contributing from the office a minimum of three days per week.

This position is eligible for company sponsored benefits, including medical, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), paid leave, tuition reimbursement, and a variety of other discounts and perks.

Salary range: $170,000 - $200,000 (bonus eligible) We are accepting applications for this position on an ongoing basis.

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with a VERSANT Media employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. VERSANT Media's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to View email address on ziprecruiter.com.

VERSANT Media is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. We include a good faith pay range for each position to comply with applicable state and local pay transparency laws and to promote equity across our organization. Actual compensation will be based on factors such as the candidate's skills, qualifications, experience, and location and may include additional forms of compensation and benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, etc.

VERSANT Media is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at VERSANT via-email, the Internet, or in any form and/or method without a valid written Statement of Work in place for this position from VERSANT's Talent Acquisition team will be deemed the sole property of VERSANT. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by VERSANT as a result of the referral or through other means.