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Principal Software Architect Jobs in Reston, VA (NOW HIRING)

Xometry

Principal Software Engineer

North Bethesda, MD · On-site

$135K - $181K/yr

Xometry is looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join our Partner Ecosystems team. This team ... You will be the primary technical architect for our landmark partnership with a major enterprise ...

Xometry

Principal Software Engineer

North Bethesda, MD · On-site

$135K - $181K/yr

Xometry is looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join our Partner Ecosystems team. This team ... You will be the primary technical architect for our landmark partnership with a major enterprise ...

Xometry

Principal Software Engineer

North Bethesda, MD · Hybrid

$135K - $181K/yr

Xometry is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to join our Xometry Partner Experience Technology ... Your primary role is writing and reviewing architectural plans for new projects, and then ...

Workday

Principal Software Development Engineer

Reston, VA

$140K - $188K/yr

Software Engineering & Development: Demonstrable proficiency in Python, Go, or Java with a strong ... Architectural & Quality Standards: Validated expert ability to define System Architectures, Data ...

ICF

Principal Software Engineer - Remote

Reston, VA · Remote

$140K - $188K/yr

We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer to provide technical leadership in the design ... This rolecombines hands-on software engineering with architectural leadership and strategic ...

Leidos

Principal Software Engineer

Bethesda, MD · On-site

$131K - $237K/yr

Leidos has an exciting opportunity for a Principal Software Engineer in our Intel Security Sector ... estimation, architecture and design, coding and unit testing. Primary Responsibilities:

Leidos

Principal Software Engineer

Bethesda, MD

$131K - $237K/yr

Leidos has an exciting opportunity for a Principal Software Engineer in our Intel Security Sector ... estimation, architecture and design, coding and unit testing. Primary Responsibilities:

Xometry

Principal Software Engineer

North Bethesda, MD · On-site

$135K - $181K/yr

Xometry is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to join our Xometry Partner Experience Technology ... Your primary role is writing and reviewing architectural plans for new projects, and then ...

Recorded Future

Principal Software Engineer

Washington, DC · On-site

$152K - $204K/yr

They are seeking a Principal Software Engineer to build and scale data pipelines for the Security ... architectural improvements across data and platform systems to ensure long-term scalability ...

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All JobsPrincipal Software Architect JobsPrincipal Software Architect Jobs in Reston, VA

Principal Software Architect information

See Reston, VA salary details

$121.7K

$199.5K

$285.1K

How much do principal software architect jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 14, 2026, the average yearly pay for principal software architect in Reston, VA is $199,488.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $153,500.00 and $242,900.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Principal Software Architect position, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Principal Software Architect, you need deep expertise in software design, architecture patterns, and multiple programming languages, often supported by a bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science or engineering. Familiarity with cloud platforms (like AWS, Azure), architectural modeling tools (such as UML), and certifications like TOGAF or AWS Certified Solutions Architect is valuable. Leadership, strong communication, and the ability to mentor and influence cross-functional teams are standout soft skills for this role. These competencies are essential for guiding technical direction, ensuring scalable and maintainable solutions, and fostering alignment across technical and business stakeholders.

What does a principal software architect do?

A principal software architect designs and oversees the technical architecture of software systems, ensuring they meet business requirements and quality standards. They lead technical teams, set coding and design standards, evaluate new technologies, and collaborate with stakeholders to align technical solutions with organizational goals.

What is the highest salary of a software architect?

The highest salaries for principal software architects can exceed $200,000 annually, especially in high-demand industries or tech hubs, with senior roles often offering additional bonuses and stock options. Compensation varies based on experience, location, company size, and technical expertise in areas like cloud computing and system design.

What is a Principal Software Architect job?

A Principal Software Architect is a senior technical leader responsible for designing, guiding, and overseeing an organization's software architecture. They establish technical standards, ensure scalable and efficient system design, and collaborate with engineering teams to implement best practices. This role involves making high-level design choices, mentoring developers, and aligning technical strategies with business goals. Principal Software Architects work closely with stakeholders to ensure that software solutions meet performance, security, and scalability requirements.

How much does a principal software architect make in the US?

A principal software architect in the US typically earns between $130,000 and $180,000 annually, with total compensation often including bonuses and stock options. Salaries vary based on experience, industry, company size, and location, with higher pay generally found in tech hubs and large organizations.

What does a typical day look like for a Principal Software Architect?

A typical day for a Principal Software Architect involves collaborating with development teams, product managers, and stakeholders to define and refine architectural solutions for complex projects. You’ll spend time reviewing code and system designs, setting technical guidelines, and troubleshooting architectural issues. Mentoring team members, conducting architecture reviews, and ensuring alignment with business objectives are also central responsibilities. The role is both strategic and hands-on, requiring you to balance high-level planning with practical problem-solving, often across several simultaneous initiatives.

What engineer makes $500,000 a year?

Principal Software Architects and senior engineering leaders in high-demand industries can earn $500,000 or more annually, especially with extensive experience, advanced skills in cloud computing, system design, and leadership, as well as stock options or bonuses. Such compensation typically reflects seniority, strategic impact, and working in large tech companies or specialized fields.
What are popular job titles related to Principal Software Architect jobs in Reston, VA? For Principal Software Architect jobs in Reston, VA, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Principal Software Architect jobs in Reston, VA look for? The top searched job categories for Principal Software Architect jobs in Reston, VA are:
Principal Software Architect jobs near you
Infographic showing various Principal Software Architect job openings in Reston, VA as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 84% Full Time, 12% Part Time, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 94% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 4% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $199,488 per year, or $95.9 per hour.
Principal Software Engineer (Guest Communications Platform)

Principal Software Engineer (Guest Communications Platform)

Marriott

Bethesda, MD • On-site

$144K - $193K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 11 days ago

Marriott International rating

6.4

Company rating: 6.4 out of 10

Based on 1,138 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

50th of 105 rated hotels

Job description

The Principal Engineer, Guest Communications Platform serves as the technical authority and handson architectural leader for Marriott's nextgeneration Guest Communications Platform. This role is responsible for defining, governing, and evolving a cloudnative, eventdriven, provideragnostic communications platform that reliably delivers Email, SMS, Chat, and future channels to Bonvoy members and hotel guests globally. 

This is a handson individual contributor role with broad influence across product, platform, DevOps, and partner engineering teams. The Principal Engineer sets technical direction, drives architectural consistency, ensures reliability at scale, and mentors engineering teams to deliver missioncritical guest communications with zero regression from legacy systems.  

As a Principal Software Engineer within our Guest Communications Platform teams, you will: 

  • Own the endtoend technical architecture for the Guest Communications Platform, including ingestion, orchestration, delivery, observability, and recovery.  
  • Define and enforce architectural standards and design principles across all guest communications services. 
  • Lead architectural decisions related to eventdriven systems, Kafkacentric integration, stateless channel services, and provider abstraction layers. 
  • Serve as the final technical escalation point for complex architectural, scalability, resiliency, and performance challenges. 
  • Lead the technical strategy for modernizing and retiring legacy guest communication applications while ensuring no message loss, no customer impact, and no operational regression.  
  • Design and oversee backwardcompatible adapters and phased migration patterns that enable coexistence of legacy and modern systems. 
  • Partner with Product and Delivery teams to sequence migrations safely and predictably. 
  • Establish platformwide standards for resiliency, fault tolerance, DR, idempotency, deduplication, and recovery automation. 
  • Ensure observability by default, including metrics, dashboards, alerting, tracing, and operational visibility across regions and providers. 
  • Act as a technical mentor and coach for senior and midlevel engineers across the Guest Communications domain. 
  • Review and guide critical designs, PRs, and technical proposals for platformwide impact. 
  • Raise the bar on code quality, operational readiness, security, and performance engineering. 
  • Clearly communicate architectural tradeoffs and technical risks to technical and nontechnical stakeholders. 

About You 

You are a technical leader with enthusiasm for team success. You "think outside of the box" and have talent for creating usable, scalable, well-tested software. You want to work in a highly collaborative, agile, and respectful environment. You love learning new technologies, languages, tools, and you have a passion for building frameworks.  

Basic Qualifications - Principal Software Engineer

  • 8+ years of professional software design and development experience with expert level expertise in multiple programming languages like Java, Spring Boot, JavaScript, TypeScript, NodeJS 
  • Proven experience building microservicesbased backend systems using Java and Spring Boot  
  • Experience supporting workflows and integrations using Adobe I/O, Adobe Campaign and related Adobe tooling for realtime and batch orchestration. 
  • Knowledge of content management systems like Adobe Experience Manager (AEM)and other Adobe tools like Adobe AEP/AJO, AEM Templates, Adobe MTA 
  • Is preferred 
  • Strong experience designing cloudnative, distributed systems for largescale, customerfacing platforms  
  • Handson expertise with eventdriven architectures and streaming platforms (Kafka preferred)  
  • Experience using GraphQL and REST 
  • Experience in using testing framework such as Playwright, Jest, Jasmine, Mocha, or Junit 
  • Experience designing and operating highvolume messaging or notification platforms (Email, SMS, Chat)  
  • Experience with AI coding and productivity tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Cursor) and applying validation best practices 
  • Strong knowledge in performance optimization techniques 
  • Strong understanding of reliability and resiliency patterns (retries, idempotency, failover, DR)  
  • Solid experience with AWS cloud services, containerization, and Kubernetes (EKS preferred)  
  • Handson knowledge of CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices (GitHub, Harness/Jenkins/GitHub Actions, IaC)  
  • Experience with observability and production monitoring tools   
  • Working knowledge of security best practices for cloud and servicetoservice communication 

Other Qualifications 

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, especially when it comes to conveying technical concepts to audiences at all levels. 
  • Ability to mentor and learn from other team members through pairing, code reviews, and documentation. 
  • Experience with monitoring and performance analysis and code quality metrics coupled with a drive for code quality and encouraging peers to elevate their craft. 
  • An unbridled curiosity and interest in problem solving and iterative development. 
  • Constant drive to complete projects and to overcome roadblocks with positivity and creativity. 
  • Hands-on experience with crafting robust unit tests and working with continuous integration and deployment pipelines. 
  • You aren't afraid to course correct anti-patterns you've noticed within the team. 

At Marriott International, we are dedicated to being an equal opportunity employer, welcoming all and providing access to opportunity. We actively foster an environment where the unique backgrounds of our associates are valued and celebrated.Our greatest strength lies in the rich blend of culture, talent, and experiences of our associates. We are committed to non-discrimination on any protected basis, including disability, veteran status, or other basis protected by applicable law. 

All positions offer a 401(k) plan, stock purchase plan, discounts at Marriott properties, commuter benefits, employee assistance plan, and childcare discounts.  Benefits are subject to terms and conditions, which may include rules regarding eligibility, enrollment, waiting period, contribution, benefit limits, election changes, benefit exclusions, and others. Click here to learn more.

Full-time positions also offer coverage for medical, dental, vision, health care flexible spending account, dependent care flexible spending account, life insurance, disability insurance, accident insurance, adoption expense reimbursements, paid parental leave and educational assistance. 

Washington Applicants Only: Employees will accrue paid sick leave, 0.077 PTO balance for every hour worked and be eligible to receive a minimum of 9 holidays annually.

Marriott HQ is committed to a hybrid work environment that enables associates to Be connected.  Headquarters-based positions are considered hybrid, for candidates within a commuting distance to Bethesda, MD; candidates outside of commuting distance to Bethesda, MD will be considered for Remote positions.
Marriott International is the world's largest hotel company, with more brands, more hotels and more opportunities for associates to grow and succeed. Be where you can do your best work, begin your purpose, belong to an amazing global team, and become the best version of you.

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