Principal Software Engineer

At eBay, we're more than a global ecommerce leader — we’re changing the way the world shops and sells. Our platform empowers millions of buyers and sellers in more than 190 markets around the world. We’re committed to pushing boundaries and leaving our mark as we reinvent the future of ecommerce for enthusiasts.

Our customers are our compass, authenticity thrives, bold ideas are welcome, and everyone can bring their unique selves to work — every day. We're in this together, sustaining the future of our customers, our company, and our planet.

Join a team of passionate thinkers, innovators, and dreamers — and help us connect people and build communities to create economic opportunity for all.

As a Principal Engineer you will serve as a senior technical leader, responsible for setting the strategic direction of our backend systems and platforms. You will work across teams and domains to solve the most complex technical challenges, influence long-term technical decisions, and create scalable solutions that support the company’s growth. Your leadership and technical expertise will drive innovation in platform architecture, system design, and engineering practices for multiple categories of products on e-commerce platform.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead architectural vision for various software systems, ensuring scalability, reliability, and maintainability in a high-traffic, distributed environment.
• -Define, design and implement the technical strategy for backend infrastructure, identifying key innovations, technologies, and tools that will drive platform evolution.
• Mentor and guide senior engineers and teams across the organization, driving alignment with established standards in system architecture, code quality, and operational excellence.
• Lead by example by producing high-quality code that serves as a reference for others.
• Work closely with leadership and multi-functional teams to translate business needs into a long-term technical roadmap that supports new product features and growth.
• Collaborate across engineering disciplines to solve technical challenges related to performance, data consistency, and high availability.
• Drive the adoption of standard processes in backend engineering, including microservices architecture, data architecture, reusable software artifacts, CI/CD pipelines.
• Influence org-wide technical decisions and collaborate with senior technical leaders to drive the evolution of the technical ecosystem across multiple product categories.
• Lead technical deep dives and complex design reviews, ensuring that architectural choices meet scalability, security, and performance requirements.
• Foster a culture of innovation, encouraging teams to explore new technologies, design patterns, and architectures that can improve the efficiency and scalability of the platform.
• Serve as a technical advisor in discussions with partners, vendors, and other ebay communities to drive innovation and partnerships.

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Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in software engineering, with a focus on large-scale, distributed backend systems.
• Proven experience designing and Building complex systems at massive scale, ideally within e-commerce or other high-traffic environments.
• Expertise in distributed systems, microservices, event-driven architectures
• Deep understanding of high-performance databases (SQL, NoSQL), caching strategies, and data replication techniques.
• Solid understanding and hands on experience in building scalable systems and performance tuning, for high-traffic, critical applications.
• Experience working with Java, Kotlin, and deep familiarity with system-level design principles.
• Track record of leading multi-functional projects, aligning teams around complex technical initiatives that impact the entire company.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers at all levels, provide strategic technical leadership, and influence organizational direction.
• Exceptional problem-solving skills, with a focus on innovation, scalability, and performance optimization.
• Strong communication and leadership skills, with the ability to collaborate with both technical and non-technical partners at all levels of the organization.

The applicable base pay range for this position is dependent on work location. The base pay range in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City Metro and Seattle Metro is expected in the range below:

$233,200 - $311,300

The base pay range for all other U.S. work locations is expected in the range below:

$180,800 - $277,700

Base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including location, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a target bonus and restricted stock units (as applicable) in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits (including 401(k) eligibility and various paid time off benefits, such as PTO and parental leave). Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

If hired, employees will be in an “at-will position” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary (as well as any other discretionary payment or compensation program) at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, Company or individual department/team performance, and market factors.

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eBay is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, and disability, or other legally protected status. If you have a need that requires accommodation, please contact us at talent@ebay.com. We will make every effort to respond to your request for accommodation as soon as possible. View our accessibility statement to learn more about eBay's commitment to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.