Principal Software Engineer

Principal Software Engineer at Coupa Coupa makes margins multiply through its community-generated AI and industry-leading total spend management platform for businesses large and small. Coupa AI is informed by trillions of dollars of direct and indirect spend data across a global network of 10M+ buyers and suppliers. We empower you with the ability to predict, prescribe, and automate smarter, more profitable business decisions to improve operating margins. The Impact of a Principal Software Engineer at Coupa: We're looking for someone who's rebuilt a production system while it was running. CSP (Coupa Supplier Platform) serves millions of supplier companies—it's where they find work, receive orders, issue invoices, and get paid. The platform started as a Rails monolith. It works, but it needs to evolve. More traffic, more features, multi-cloud deployment, higher availability requirements. You'll report to the VP of Engineering. CSP operates as a nimble team outside the larger engineering org, moving fast and pioneering approaches that demonstrate what's possible. You'll work with Ruby on Rails, Golang, Java—and introduce whatever else the architecture needs. What You'll Do Lead the architectural evolution. Traffic is growing, functionality is expanding, robustness matters more than ever. You'll define what changes, in what order, and why. Set the patterns: API design, microservice boundaries, deployment pipelines, monitoring, reliability. Make them real, not theoretical. Mentor engineers. Guide decisions. Review architecture and code. Build the kind of team that ships ambitious work. Join the Architectural Steering Group. Share what you learn with Principal Engineers across Coupa. Import what works elsewhere. Partner with SRE on cloud-native infrastructure: CI/CD, containers, infrastructure-as-code, multi-cloud capabilities. Own security, multi-tenancy isolation, data governance, and compliance across all regions. Work with product, design, and business teams to turn supplier workflows into systems that scale. What You Will Bring to Coupa 15+ years building B2B SaaS at scale. You've held leadership and architectural roles where your decisions stuck around. Real experience evolving legacy systems into microservices—in production, with users depending on uptime. Deep knowledge of API-driven services, multi-tenant architectures, and B2B integration patterns that handle millions of users. Solid foundation in modern deployment: CI/CD, Docker/Kubernetes, infrastructure-as-code, working with cloud providers like AWS or GCP. Comfort across technology stacks (Rails, Golang, Java) and the judgment to pick tools that solve problems, not resume lines. Track record mentoring teams—providing direction without micromanaging, staying technical without bottlenecking. Problem-solving skills that balance scale, performance, technical debt, and shipping features. You know the trade-offs because you've lived them. Communication skills that work across engineering, product, and business. You build consensus without watering down hard truths. $201,000 - $281,000 a year The successful candidate's starting salary will be determined based on permissible, non-discriminatory factors such as skills, experience, and geographic location. At Coupa, we are 100% committed to creating and nurturing an environment that supports your physical, mental, and community well-being. We offer a comprehensive suite of benefits designed to help you and your family thrive: Global Well-Being Perks (For All Employees Globally) Global Wellness Days: Enjoy two designated, company-wide paid wellness days off each year (typically the first Friday in March and the last Friday in September) so the entire global team can unplug, step away, and recharge together. Birthday Time-Off: Celebrate your day! Coupa provides a paid day off on your birthday or another day of your choice within your birthday month. Volunteer Time Off (VTO): Giving back is in our DNA. We offer 40 hours of paid VTO annually to support the community initiatives and volunteer programs you are passionate about. Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Access free, confidential, 24/7/365 counseling and resources for emotional support, work-life solutions, financial advice, legal guidance, and support for new parents. Business Travel Protection: Travel with peace of mind. Zurich Travel Assist provides medical, safety, pre-trip planning, and emergency support during any business travel. Referral Bonus Program: Share the Coupa experience! Receive generous monetary referral bonuses when you successfully refer talented friends or acquaintances who are hired into open roles. Please note: In addition to these global well-being perks, Coupa offers highly competitive, location-specific benefits packages (which include comprehensive medical/dental insurance, retirement/pension plans, and life or accident protection) tailored to your primary work location. Your recruiter will walk you through the specific regional benefits package for this role during the interview process. Coupa complies with relevant laws and regulations regarding equal opportunity and offers a welcoming and inclusive work environment. Decisions related to hiring, compensation, training, or evaluating performance are made fairly, and we provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified candidates and employees. Please be advised that inquiries or resumes from recruiters will not be accepted. 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