Principal, IT Software Engineer 1

5 days ago

Houston, TX, United States DIRECTV Full-time

The Principal, IT Software Engineer 1 is a senior technical authority responsible for setting architectural direction and driving end-to-end solution design across multiple teams and complex, interdependent systems. This role operates with a high degree of autonomy, shaping technical strategy, influencing organizational engineering standards, and serving as a key advisor to engineering leadership on platform direction, technical risk, and long-range planning. The Principal Engineer is a recognized subject matter expert who elevates the capability of the broader engineering organization through mentorship, technical governance, and thought leadership, while directly resolving the most ambiguous and highest-impact technical problems facing the business. This pivotal role is responsible for driving the technical design, implementation, and reliability of our next-generation Customer Experience (CX) orchestration platforms, centered on AWS, Genesys Cloud, and Salesforce.

Here’s what you’ll do:

  • Architects and delivers highly complex, cross-system solutions, proactively identifying and resolving dependencies, risks, and technical debt across multiple teams and platforms.

  • Sets technical direction and establishes architectural standards, patterns, and best practices adopted across the engineering organization.

  • Lead development of data pathways between internal and external systems, especially with integration to CRM, AI Platforms, and APIs.

  • Leads and facilitates architectural review boards, design reviews, and technical governance forums, ensuring solutions align with enterprise architecture and long-term technology strategy.

  • Drives multi-PI (Program Increment) and multi-quarter technical roadmaps, translating business strategy into actionable engineering initiatives and sequencing work across teams.

  • Serves as the primary technical escalation point for the most complex, ambiguous, or high-risk problems, often those without established precedent or playbook.

  • Mentors and coaches senior engineers, tech leads, and managers, building organizational depth in technical decision-making, system design, and engineering craftsmanship.

  • Champions engineering excellence by defining and promoting best practices, coding standards, tooling strategy, and quality processes across the development community.

  • Proactively identifies systemic risks (technical, operational, and organizational) and partners with leadership to shape mitigation strategies and influence prioritization.

  • Represents engineering in cross-functional strategic discussions, influencing product, platform, and infrastructure decisions at an organizational level.

  • Evaluates emerging technologies and industry trends, making recommendations on adoption that materially affect the technology roadmap.

  • Leads technical due diligence for major initiatives, including build-vs-buy decisions, platform migrations, and large-scale re-architecture efforts.

  • Drives resolution of critical production issues requiring deep system knowledge and cross-team coordination.

What you’ll need to be successful:

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience; advanced degree a plus.

  • 3 – 5 years of progressive software engineering experience, including significant experience in senior/lead technical roles with at least 2 years focused on high-scale Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS), CX enterprise software or Field Services enterprise software.

  • Extensive experience designing and building reliable workflows and integrations in major CRMs, specifically Salesforce.

  • Experience in AWS services (e.g., Lambda, EC2, SQS, Kinesis) and proven production experience using Terraform for infrastructure provisioning.

  • Experience working with REST and SOAP based web-services preferred.

  • Recognized subject matter expert with deep, broad technical expertise across software engineering, system design, and architecture.

  • Demonstrated track record of designing and delivering large-scale, distributed, and highly available systems.

  • Proven ability to influence technical direction and decision-making at an organizational (not just team) level.

  • Strong expertise in agile methodologies, SAFe/PI planning, and scaled agile delivery models.

  • Exceptional communication and executive presence; able to translate complex technical concepts for both technical and non-technical audiences, including senior leadership.

  • Demonstrated success mentoring and developing engineering talent, including senior e