Principal Software Engineer @ High-growth LegalTech SaaS Company

IPS is hiring a Principal Software Engineer to serve as the technical backbone of our client's backend engineering team. This role is ideal for a high-level engineer who can think strategically about scaling systems and teams while staying deeply embedded in implementation work.

Our teams are lean by design, and we expect senior engineers to act like owners, taking a deep interest in both the mechanics of our business and the experience of our customers. You’ll collaborate closely with Product and Design to frame problems, shape solutions, and identify the highest-value, lowest-effort, iterative paths forward. This is not a “heads-down, just-give-me-the-requirements” role. We value engineers who think broadly about customer outcomes, product direction, and technical excellence.

You’ll also need to be comfortable working in ambiguity, helping transform complex, open-ended challenges into clear strategies and breaking them down into workable assignments for teammates. This is a player-coach role focused on shaping the future of our product and platform while driving the technical excellence to match our ambitions. We also value engineers who embrace emerging practices and tools, including AI-driven development approaches, to help the team move faster and build smarter.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead backend architecture and system design, balancing near-term delivery with long-term scalability and maintainability.
• Partner with product and engineering leadership to define and execute on roadmap goals.
• Collaborate deeply with Product and Design to understand customer problems and shape pragmatic, high-value solutions.
• Navigate ambiguity by framing complex challenges, defining paths forward, and breaking projects into clear, executable tasks for teammates.
• Anticipate scaling needs, both product throughput and engineering team growth, and design systems to meet them.
• Provide architectural guidance, elevate code quality, and identify risks early, particularly around backend performance and integration complexity.
• Act as a thought partner to the VP of Engineering, VP of Product, and Chief Product Officer in planning, sprint scoping, and backlog grooming.
• Serve as a mentor and technical role model, demonstrating strong judgment, documentation, and communication.
• Contribute directly to backend development while helping others move faster and more effectively.
• Proactively identify opportunities to improve performance, reliability, and engineering processes.

Ideal Candidate

• 7+ years of experience building and scaling production-grade backend systems.
• Strong fluency in backend languages and frameworks (Python/Django strongly preferred), with experience driving design and implementation decisions at a system level.
• A proven track record of technical leadership, owning architectural decisions, raising engineering standards, and guiding teams through complex builds.
• Ability to collaborate cross-functionally with product managers, designers, and engineers to deliver value quickly and sustainably.
• Excellent communication skills, able to drive clarity, alignment, and pragmatic decision-making.
• Comfort working in uncertain or ambiguous contexts, with the ability to bring structure and clarity for teammates.
• Experience in a startup or fast-moving product environment.

Nice-to-have’s

• Familiarity with cloud-native architectures (AWS, Kubernetes, Redis, Celery, Docker).
• Experience integrating with third-party platforms (DocuSign, SendGrid).
• Prior exposure to compliance-conscious environments (SOC2, ISO 27001).
• Experience leveraging AI tools and practices (e.g., code generation, automated testing, or architectural guidance) to improve developer productivity and system scalability.
• Experience integrating AI tools and practices into product features and capabilities.

Why Join Us?

• Autonomy and ownership of our flagship product.
• Collaborative, mission-driven team environment.
• Opportunity to work with top global law firms and directly impact their workflows.
• Build on a product with proven market fit (NPS score of 75-90).
• We are a remote-first company, and you can work from anywhere.
• Competitive salary plus eligibility for equity in a fast-growing company.
• Generous benefits. Private healthcare insurance options for you and your family, including vision and dental care, a 401(k) savings plan, flexible spending accounts, a home office allowance, and more.
• Time to restore. A generous time-off policy, including unlimited PTO, with a suggested minimum of four weeks of vacation to recharge.

If you are interested, please apply here or send your resume to brie@integritypowersearch.com.