Principal Software Engineer - Python/AWS

Principal Software Engineer Location: St. Paul, MN or Juno Beach, FL are preferred, but open to other locations in the US. Occasional visits to the office in MN or FL might be required. Compensation: $160,000 - $180,000 salary or $75/hr - $85/hr W2 Hourly. Compensation will be determined based on relevant experience, skills, and overall qualifications. Requirements: Must be authorized to work legally in the US without sponsorship, now or in the future. About Us Concord isn't your typical consulting firm; we're an execution company. We help organizations move technology and AI initiatives from concept to measurable capability, working alongside our clients from the initial definition of success through full implementation and adoption. Our team brings expertise across artificial intelligence and data, digital experience, and platform engineering, enabling the organizations we serve to build lasting internal capability. We operate as a global team, with a presence across the United States, Latin America, Europe, and India, giving our clients access to specialized talent and continuous coverage across time zones. About the Role Join a team building the analytical and optimization software that powers one of North America's largest energy operations. Our client is looking for a Principal Software Engineer to serve as the bridge between business objectives and software solutions. This role is for someone who combines deep technical expertise with product thinking, business acumen, and architecture leadership, working with a high degree of autonomy to turn ambiguous business problems into scalable, production-ready systems. The role spans full-stack ownership (backend, data systems, UI) and includes active use of AI-assisted development practices as part of the org's broader investment in AI-enabled engineering. What You'll Be Doing 1. System Architecture Translate ambiguous business problems into technical solutions. Design scalable, robust architectures. Anticipate edge cases and operational concerns. Make pragmatic technology decisions. 2. Rapid Prototyping Work directly with business stakeholders. Build prototypes quickly. Validate concepts early. Accelerate feedback cycles. 3. Full-Stack Ownership Services/backend development Data systems User interfaces End-to-end feature ownership 4. AI-Assisted Development Use agentic AI tools throughout software development. Design quality controls for coding agents. Implement specification-driven workflows. Create deterministic validation checks. Evaluate AI tools critically rather than adopting them blindly. 5. DevSecOps and Reliability Secure-by-design development. CI/CD pipelines. Observability and monitoring. Alerting and operational readiness. Resilient, maintainable software. Production support capabilities. 6. Leadership Define system architecture. Guide software design. Serve as technical leads. Mentor less experienced engineers. Lead project teams. Influence technology decisions. Communicate with executives and business stakeholders. Experience and Skills At least 10 years of professional software engineering experience, including demonstrated ownership of system architecture and technical leadership. Strong proficiency in Python for application development, not just data engineering or scripting. 2 years of applied AI/LLM production experience (shipping generative AI features to production, not just experimenting). Hands-on experience with AWS and/or GCP, including real infrastructure and deployment work (not just "code gets auto-deployed"). Experience authoring CI/CD pipelines. Kubernetes experience is a nice-to-have. Full-stack capability — backend/architecture-focused is preferred, but must be comfortable working in a modern frontend framework (React, Vue, or Angular) when needed. Hands-on, day-to-day use of agentic AI development tools (e.g., Claude Code, Copilot, Cursor). Track record of taking a project from 0 to production largely independently ("team of one") is a plus. Experience mentoring engineers and leading project teams (helpful but not required). Experience communicating technical strategy to executive/business stakeholders. What We Offer (W-2 Employment) Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance: Comprehensive coverage to support your overall well-being. Employer Contributions to Health Savings Accounts (HSA): For employees enrolled in High Deductible Health Plans, Concord contributes toward your HSA. Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA): Options for healthcare and dependent care expenses, plus a Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA) for wellness and personal development. Disability Insurance: Short-term (up to 12 weeks) and long-term coverage, fully paid by the employer. Life and AD&D Insurance: Employer-provided coverage with options for additional voluntary coverage. Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Support for legal, financial, and personal challenges. 401(k) Retirement Savings: 1% employer match. Career Growth Opportunities: Pathways for advancement and skill development. Team Engagement Activities: Regular team-building events and company-sponsored activities to foster collaboration and connection. PTO & Holidays (only W-2 Salary): Paid time off for vacation, sick days, and personal time. We offer 8 company-paid holidays, plus 1 floating holiday. Concord is an execution partner helping organizations drive digital transformation, modernization, and scalable technology solutions. We deliver results that solve real business challenges. We operate globally and are growing fast, shaping the future of technology. Join a team trusted by top companies to drive strategic growth and operational excellence! Concord