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L5 Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

Principal Engineer - C++

Reston, VA · On-site

$155K - $255K/yr

Senior Engineer (L4), Lead Engineer (L5), Principal Engineer (L6), Senior Principal/Architect (L7) Employment Type: Full-Time About the Opportunity Seeking experienced C++ engineers to help build and ...

... L5 PCMs, and developing process improvements based on lessons learned. About the team At Amazon, we are all owners and leverage unique opportunities presented to us by owning everything from the ...

Performs L2 - L5 commissioning checklists as deliverables to the customer * Develops creative approaches to keep operational costs to a minimum, improve efficiency, andimplementnew strategies for ...

... L5 PCMs, and developing process improvements based on lessons learned. About the team At Amazon, we are all owners and leverage unique opportunities presented to us by owning everything from the ...

Ability to identify various power receptacle types (NEMA 5-15, C13/14/15, C19/20, L5-20, L6-30, etc.). * Ability to properly identify various device port types (RJ45-Console, DB9, SFP, RJ45 Ethernet)

Ability to identify various power receptacle types (NEMA 5-15, C13/14/15, C19/20, L5-20, L6-30, etc.). * Ability to properly identify various device port types (RJ45-Console, DB9, SFP, RJ45 Ethernet)

Showing results 21-40

L5 information

What skills and qualifications are needed to thrive as an L5?

To thrive as an L5 Software Engineer, you need strong programming skills, problem-solving abilities, and a solid understanding of computer science fundamentals, usually backed by a relevant degree or equivalent experience. Familiarity with development frameworks, version control systems like Git, and cloud platforms such as AWS or GCP is typically required, along with possible certifications in these technologies. Excellent communication, teamwork, and adaptability are crucial soft skills that help in collaborating across teams and mentoring junior engineers. These competencies are essential for delivering high-quality software solutions, driving project success, and contributing positively to team dynamics.

What do L5 professionals do?

At the L5 level, professionals are often entrusted with leading mid- to large-scale projects and are expected to demonstrate technical expertise and initiative. Daily responsibilities commonly include designing solutions, writing and reviewing code, mentoring junior team members, and collaborating closely with cross-functional teams such as product management, design, and quality assurance. L5s play a key role in architectural decisions and are often involved in setting technical direction for their teams. This level is also a critical stepping stone toward more senior leadership or specialized technical roles, offering opportunities for career advancement and broader impact within the organization.

What is the difference between L5 vs Software Engineer?

AspectL5Software Engineer
Required credentialsBachelor's or higher in CS or related field, extensive experienceBachelor's degree in CS or related field, some experience
Work environmentSenior-level projects, mentorship roles, strategic planningDevelopment, coding, debugging, team collaboration
Employer usageTech companies, large organizations with structured levelsStartups, tech firms, various industries
Search intentUnderstanding senior technical roles, career progressionEntry to mid-level development roles

In summary, L5 positions typically require more experience and involve leadership or strategic responsibilities compared to Software Engineer roles, which focus more on coding and development tasks. The L5 level is often seen as a senior technical role, whereas Software Engineer can range from entry-level to mid-level positions.

What is an L5?

An L5 position is a mid-level role in many tech companies, such as Google or Amazon, that typically corresponds to a Senior Software Engineer or similar title. Employees at the L5 level are expected to demonstrate strong technical skills, take on significant project responsibilities, and often mentor junior team members. This level is considered a key step towards higher leadership or specialist roles, and the expectations for impact and autonomy are substantially higher than at lower levels.
Infographic showing various L5 job openings in Virginia as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution.

Principal Engineer - C++

Judge Group, Inc.

Reston, VA • On-site

$155K - $255K/yr

Other

Posted 18 days ago


Job description

Location: Reston, VA Salary: $155,000.00 USD Annually - $255,000.00 USD Annually Description:
Senior Software Engineer / Lead Engineer / Principal Engineer (C++)
Location: Hybrid - Reston, VA
Level: Senior Engineer (L4), Lead Engineer (L5), Principal Engineer (L6), Senior Principal/Architect (L7)
Employment Type: Full-Time
About the Opportunity
Seeking experienced C++ engineers to help build and evolve the distributed systems powering the future of video advertising.
This team develops highly scalable backend platforms responsible for real-time decisioning, ad serving, marketplace transactions, forecasting, optimization, streaming, and video advertising delivery. Engineers in this organization solve challenging problems involving latency, concurrency, scale, reliability, and performance while supporting critical systems that process large volumes of real-time transactions.
We are hiring across multiple levels, from Senior Engineer through Architect, and are looking for engineers who enjoy building production-grade systems that operate at scale.
What You'll Do
  • Design, develop, and support high-performance backend services in C++
  • Build and maintain distributed systems supporting video advertising and ad-serving platforms
  • Design scalable, reliable, and fault-tolerant architectures
  • Optimize system latency, throughput, availability, and performance
  • Participate throughout the full software development lifecycle, from design through production support
  • Troubleshoot production issues, perform root-cause analysis, and implement durable solutions
  • Collaborate with Product, QA, Operations, and Engineering teams to deliver business-critical capabilities
  • Develop technical designs, architecture documentation, test strategies, and implementation plans
  • Conduct code reviews and promote engineering best practices
  • Mentor and guide engineers across the organization
  • Influence technical direction, architecture, and platform strategy based on level and experience
Required Qualifications
  • Strong professional experience developing software with C++ and/or C
  • Experience building backend systems in production environments
  • Hands-on experience designing, implementing, and supporting distributed systems
  • Experience with large-scale, highly available, and performance-sensitive platforms
  • Strong understanding of network programming concepts
  • Experience with database-backed applications and data modeling
  • Strong knowledge of data structures and algorithms
  • Experience working within Linux or Unix environments
  • Experience with debugging, troubleshooting, testing, and performance optimization
  • Understanding of software engineering best practices, SDLC, and Agile methodologies
  • Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills
Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience with high-concurrency or low-latency systems
  • Cloud-native development experience
  • AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform experience
  • Kubernetes, Docker, or container orchestration technologies
  • Experience with distributed caching, databases, and messaging systems
  • Familiarity with technologies such as Nginx, Aerospike, Redis, Kafka, Snowflake, or similar platforms
  • Experience with Go/Golang
  • Experience reviewing code, mentoring engineers, and leading technical design discussions
Highly Desired Industry Experience
We are particularly interested in candidates with experience in:
  • Ad Tech platforms
  • DSPs, SSPs, ad servers, exchanges, and marketplace systems
  • OpenRTB and real-time bidding platforms
  • Video advertising and streaming technologies
  • OTT and Connected TV (CTV) platforms
  • Forecasting, optimization, recommendation, and decisioning systems

We also welcome candidates from other highly scalable and mission-critical environments, including:
  • FinTech
  • Electronic trading systems
  • Telecommunications
  • Networking infrastructure
  • Gaming platforms
  • Cloud platform engineering
  • Search and recommendation systems
What Makes Someone Successful in This Role
Successful engineers on this team have experience:
  • Building and operating distributed backend systems
  • Writing production-grade C++ code for high-scale environments
  • Solving performance, reliability, scalability, and availability challenges
  • Supporting systems in production and responding to operational issues
  • Balancing technical quality, business priorities, and delivery timelines
  • Communicating effectively across technical and non-technical stakeholders
Leveling
Level 4: Senior Engineer
  • 4+ years of experience
  • Owns complex services, features, or subsystems
  • Strong hands-on contributor with distributed systems experience
Level 5: Lead Engineer
  • 5+ years of experience
  • Leads major technical initiatives and mentors engineers
  • Drives engineering quality and execution across projects
Level 6: Principal Engineer
  • 7+ years of experience
  • Influences architecture across multiple systems and teams
  • Solves highly complex platform and scaling challenges
Level 7: Senior Principal / Architect
  • 10+ years of experience
  • Defines technical direction and long-term platform strategy
  • Serves as a trusted technical authority across the organization

By providing your phone number, you consent to: (1) receive automated text messages and calls from the Judge Group, Inc. and its affiliates (collectively "Judge") to such phone number regarding job opportunities, your job application, and for other related purposes. Message & data rates apply and message frequency may vary. Consistent with Judge's Privacy Policy, information obtained from your consent will not be shared with third parties for marketing/promotional purposes. Reply STOP to opt out of receiving telephone calls and text messages from Judge and HELP for help.
Contact:
This job and many more are available through The Judge Group. Please apply with us today!