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Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Kentucky (NOW HIRING)

AI Chopping Block

$180 - $240/hr

Principal Software Engineer About the job We need a talented, ambitious, hard-working principal software engineer with 10+ years of experience who can help us build the foundation for the next era of ...

Idaho Society of Professional Engineers

$144 - $288/hr

The Principal Software Engineer will remain hands-on with critical-path systems while mentoring senior and staff engineers and translating prototypes into scalable into production-grade platforms.

New

Far Coder

$200 - $220/hr

Imagine Pediatrics is hiring a remote candidate for Principal Software Engineer. This is a full time position. Work location: USA. The role typically involves technologies such as React, Rust, AWS ...

ServiceTitan, Inc.

$247 - $396/hr

Principal Software Engineer, Mobile**ServiceTitan is the operating system for the trades. Our mobile platform puts that operating system in the hands of technicians and business owners in the field ...

Soresu LLC

$176 - $209/hr

Forward Deployed Principal Software Engineer We are seeking a Forward Deployed Principal Software Engineerto integrate an existing software stack with our customer. As a Forward Deployed Principal ...

Pace Industries, LLC

$180 - $240/hr

The Sr. Principal Software Engineer role involves designing, developing, and testing software applications for space systems and technologies. This advanced position requires extensive expertise in ...

Remitly

$240 - $300/hr

Principal Software Engineer, Receiver ProductsSkip to main content#Principal Software Engineer, Receiver Products page is loaded## Principal Software Engineer, Receiver ProductsApplylocations:

FloQast

$181 - $241/hr

At FloQast, we aren't just building tools; we are crafting the \"Operating System for Accounting.\" As a Principal Software Engineer on the Transform team, you are a primary architect of this vision.

Baylor Genetics

$160 - $230/hr

... Principal Software Engineer to work ONSITE to serve as a technical leader and architect across our software ecosystem. This role is responsible for driving the design, scalability, and evolution of ...

∙ Elijah House Foundation

$161 - $166/hr

The Principal Architect partners with business stakeholders, product teams, engineering teams ... Tracks and evaluates software team and supplier performance to ensure product and process ...

Front Door Defense

$175 - $225/hr

Principal Software Engineer, Vehicle Analysis (Thermal) Build automated thermal analysis pipelines from CAD models to on-orbit telemetry comparison Location: Irvine, California Compensation: $175,000 ...

Quest Oracle Community

$131 - $237/hr

We are seeking an experienced Principal Software Engineer to join our team in developing the forefront of unmanned and autonomous ship development for the US Government. Based in Arlington, VA, you ...

GenBio.ai, Inc.

$250 - $350/hr

We are seeking an experienced Staff to Principal-level Software Engineer to build the user-facing platform that brings these capabilities to computational biologists, experimental scientists, and ...

Iridium Communications Inc

$152 - $198/hr

Serving as the primary technical point of contact and subject matter expert, the Feature Team Lead facilitates software design, collaborates with Systems Engineering to baseline testable requirements ...

Autodesk, Inc.

$171 - $195/hr

Update software or enhance existing software capabilities. * May work with computer hardware engineers to integrate hardware and software systems, and develop specifications and performance ...

Foundation Software

$140 - $210/hr

Principal Software Architect Strongsville, OH | Full Time About the Role Foundation Software is ... Lead architecture reviews and establish engineering standards and best practices. * Mentor ...

NVIDIA Corporation

$272 - $431/hr

Mentor architects and engineering teams to grow them into future leaders. * Make key technical ... Previous experience working with complex system software for accelerators such as GPUs, DPUs, or ...

New

D-Matrix Corp.

$250 - $350/hr

Principal Software Engineer, Kernels What you will do: The role requires you to be part of the team that helps productize the SW stack for our AI compute engine. As part of the software team, you ...

NVIDIA Corporation

$272 - $431/hr

Principal Software Engineer We're looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join our CSP Engagements team as the technical focal point for rack-scale system SW/FW, working with CSP engineering ...

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All JobsPrincipal Software Engineer JobsPrincipal Software Engineer Jobs in Kentucky

Principal Software Engineer information

See Kentucky salary details

$52.5K

$139.8K

$200.6K

How much do principal software engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 29, 2026, the average yearly pay for principal software engineer in Kentucky is $139,778.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $117,300.00 and $157,200.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a principal software engineer?

A principal software engineer is in charge of software development. In this career, you guide the software design process and inspect software programs to make suggestions for improvements. Principal software engineers also process complex data and may need to enforce software design, development, and maintenance requirements. Your job requires a high level of technical knowledge and skills and a thorough understanding of the software development process. Your employer may require you to have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in software development. Similar job titles include software architect and principal software developer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a principal software engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Principal Software Engineer, you need deep expertise in software architecture, programming languages, and system design, often supported by a bachelor's or master's degree in computer science or a related field. Advanced proficiency with development frameworks, cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure), and familiarity with DevOps tools and agile methodologies are typically required. Exceptional leadership, mentorship, and communication skills help facilitate cross-functional collaboration and guide technical teams. These skills are crucial for driving technical vision, ensuring scalable solutions, and fostering innovation within complex projects.

How does a principal software engineer typically balance hands-on coding with leadership responsibilities?

Principal Software Engineers often split their time between technical contributions—such as designing system architecture and reviewing complex code—and guiding teams through mentorship, technical direction, and cross-functional collaboration. While they may not code as much as junior engineers, they remain highly involved in critical implementations and code reviews. Balancing these responsibilities requires strong time management, clear communication, and the ability to prioritize tasks that have the highest impact on project and team success.

What is the difference between Principal Software Engineer vs Senior Software Engineer?

AspectPrincipal Software EngineerSenior Software Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in CS or related field; extensive experienceBachelor's or Master's in CS; several years of experience
Work EnvironmentLeadership roles, strategic planning, cross-team collaborationDesign, develop, and troubleshoot software; mentorship
Employer & Industry UsageTech companies, large enterprises, startupsMost industries, including tech, finance, healthcare

The main difference between a Principal Software Engineer and a Senior Software Engineer lies in their level of responsibility and scope. Principal Software Engineers typically lead technical strategy, influence architecture decisions, and mentor multiple teams, whereas Senior Software Engineers focus on coding, design, and individual project contributions. Both roles require strong technical skills, but the Principal role emphasizes leadership and strategic impact.

How much does a principal software engineer get paid?

A principal software engineer typically earns between $120,000 and $180,000 annually, depending on experience, location, and company size. They often have advanced skills in software architecture, leadership, and technical expertise in programming languages and tools.
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Principal Software Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Principal Software Engineer job openings in Kentucky as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 85% Full Time, and 15% Contract. Highlights an 86% In-person, and 14% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $139,778 per year, or $67.2 per hour.

Principal Software Engineer

AI Chopping Block

On-site

$180 - $240/hr

Other

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, PTO

Posted 10 days ago

Job description

Principal Software EngineerAbout the job

We need a talented, ambitious, hard-working principal software engineer with 10+ years of experience who can help us build the foundation for the next era of work. We need someone who wants to change how the world works, one company at a time.

You are that person.

You are a deeply technical full stack software developer who ships high-quality code as the strong majority of your time, while also providing thought leadership and mentorship to the team. You are obsessed with making customers happy, and will do whatever it takes to make it happen. You are autonomous and happy to take on big, ambiguous problems at a fast-growing startup.

You know when to push and when to rest; you model sustainable high performance for the team. But you (like us!) are more than your code and your hard work! You love building a culture where people love to work but believe in putting people first while having a huge amount of fun while you do your job.

You will burn tokens like the VC money will never stop flowing.

What you will do in the role

  • Ship code daily. Hands-on development is the strong majority of your time

  • Own the architecture and technical roadmap for a core domain; dive deep into the hardest problems when needed

  • Mentor senior and staff engineers; be the technical escalation point for the toughest challenges in your domain

  • Be a thought leader in the enterprise AI space

  • Represent Coworker externally through talks, blog posts, or open-source contributions

  • Guide early Coworker technical architecture decisions that will resonate throughout the global economy for years to come

  • Establish the Coworker engineering culture - live the mission and set a standard

  • Help the product team craft the team vision, strategy, and roadmap while proposing innovative solutions, as well as understanding technical limitations

  • Drive cross-org technical initiatives with measurable business impact

  • Drive incident response and post-mortems for company-critical issues; ensure we learn systemically from failures

  • Hire and interview for senior+ roles; raise the bar for engineering talent across the org

  • Have an inordinate amount of fun

  • Push the frontier of what’s possible with Enterprise AI

Position Qualifications

  • Bachelor's and/or master's degree (Computer Science preferred)

  • 10+ years of professional development experience

  • Experience and desire to own new products from zero to one, from system design to implementation to deployment

  • Strong communication and collaboration skills

  • Experience and comfort using AI aggressively to improve velocity with looping, reinforcement

  • Any languages are fine, we primarily use GoLang, Typescript, and Python

  • Deep expertise in at least two of: distributed systems, data pipelines, AI/ML infrastructure, security, or frontend architecture at scale

  • Proven ability to lead without direct authority; influenced technical direction across team boundaries

  • Experience defining SLAs, SLOs, and running production systems at scale with strong operational discipline

Perks

  • Unlimited paid time off

  • Medical, dental, and vision

  • Early and generous employee stock option plan

  • $100 monthly health and wellness benefit

  • 401(k) plan

  • Paid family leave

  • Apple products for work

  • Daily tetris matches

Coworker.ai is an equal opportunity employer. We believe everyone should feel great about being their authentic selves at Coworker–this is the only way to do our best work! We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We believe that great employees come from diverse backgrounds.

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