Principal Backend Engineer

Introduction: Are you searching for an opportunity to play a key role in driving the dramatic growth of a highly successful software company? At Poppulo, we’re working on what’s next in communications and workplace technology. As a pioneer in this industry, we understand that meaningfully reaching every employee is hard. And so is managing office space in a hybrid world. And so is improving the customer and guest experience. We exist to make each of these things easier. We exist to bring harmony to our customers. And we do that at enterprise scale. Our omnichannel employee communications, customer communications, and workplace experience platform is trusted by over 6,000 organizations today, reaching more than 35M employees and delivering content to 500,000+ digital signs. We know there’s no such thing as a “perfect" candidate - we’re all a work in progress and are growing new skills and capabilities all the time. We encourage you to apply for a position with Poppulo even if you don’t meet 100% of the requirements. We believe in fostering an environment where there is a diversity of perspectives, in hopes that we can all thrive.

The Opportunity We seek an experienced Principal Software Development Engineer to join our Digital Signage Cloud Team. This team is responsible for developing and maintaining a cloud-based digital signage platform that enables customers to manage and deploy multimedia content across displays globally. You'll primarily focus on backend development using TypeScript, NodeJS, and AWS serverless services. Familiarity with frontend technologies like React is beneficial. Enthusiasm for AI, including experience with Large Language Models (LLMs), generative AI, or agentic coding tools, is strongly preferred.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and maintain robust backend services and RESTful APIs using TypeScript and js, with a strong focus on scalability, performance, and maintainability.
• Build cloud-native, serverless solutions leveraging AWS Managed Services such as Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB, Cognito, S3, and CloudFront, ensuring high availability and fault tolerance.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including frontend engineers, architects, and product managers to deliver end-to-end solutions aligned with business goals.
• Implement secure and reliable authentication and authorization mechanisms using Okta, AWS Cognito, and industry-standard protocols like OAuth2 and OpenID Connect.
• Proactively diagnose performance bottlenecks, optimize backend systems for latency and throughput, and drive continuous performance improvements.
• Participate in code reviews, contribute to architectural discussions, and provide technical mentorship to junior and mid-level engineers.
• Champion agile development practices, ensuring timely delivery while fostering a collaborative, transparent, and inclusive team culture.
• Lead innovation by integrating AI capabilities, including Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), and tools such as Cursor and Windsurf, into application workflows.
• Actively contribute to and promote the organization’s core values and foster a culture of diversity, inclusion, and continuous learning.

Skill & Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field; master's preferred.
• 8+ years in software development, primarily backend.
• Advanced proficiency in backend development using TypeScript and js, with a solid foundation in asynchronous programming, error handling, and modular design.
• Deep expertise in AWS cloud services and serverless architecture patterns, particularly Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB, Cognito, S3, and CloudFront.
• Proven experience designing secure, scalable, multi-tenant architectures, with a focus on data isolation, RBAC, and API security best practices.
• Hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code (IaC), automated testing frameworks, and version control using GitHub or GitLab.
• Strong familiarity with monitoring, logging, and observability tools, such as Amazon CloudWatch, Prometheus, Grafana, and centralized logging stacks.
• Exposure to frontend technologies like React, Redux, or other modern JS frameworks is a plus.
• Working knowledge of AI/ML technologies, with hands-on experience in Generative AI, LLM integration, and tools like Cursor or Windsurf is an added advantage.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to influence across teams and explain complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.

Who We Are We are a values-driven organization that encourages our employees to bring their authentic selves to work every day and empowers everyone to make a tangible impact on our products, clients, and culture. We offer a dynamic environment with driven, fun, and flexible individuals who thrive on challenge and responsibility. This is an opportunity to contribute to our culture and join a company that’s on the move. We live the Poppulo values each day, as they are key to everything we do.

• Bring Your Best Self We show up authentically, are self-aware and always strive to be better.
• See it. Own it. Solve it. We proactively innovate and solve for our customers and each other. We set an example with high standards for our work. We foster a culture of learning, acknowledging our successes and our failures.
• Together We’re Better We value and celebrate our diversity. We learn from others, respecting their expertise, and focus on building trust. That's what makes us a team.

Named a Great Place to Work in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, we are a fast-growing global technology company, with offices in Ireland, the US, and the UK. Poppulo is an equal opportunity employer. Named a Great Place to Work in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, we are a fast-growing global technology company, with offices in Ireland, the US, and the UK. Poppulo is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to protecting your privacy. For details on how we collect, use, and protect your personal information, please refer to our Job Applicant Privacy Policy._