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Senior Principal Software Engineer Jobs in Raleigh, NC

Responsibilities As a Principal Engineer, you will: * Lead architectural design and guide the team ... Enforce software design and development best practices through design and code reviews * Learn and ...

Join us as a Principal Software Engineer - Identity & Authentication and help us do what we do best ... Mentor senior and mid-level engineers and contribute to architectural reviews and platform roadmaps

Showing results 41-60

Senior Principal Software Engineer information

See Raleigh, NC salary details

$72.4K

$137.2K

$189.4K

How much do senior principal software engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 6, 2026, the average yearly pay for senior principal software engineer in Raleigh, NC is $137,231.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $110,800.00 and $152,700.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does a senior principal software engineer do?

A senior principal software engineer leads complex software development projects, designs system architecture, and mentors engineering teams. They focus on technical strategy, ensure code quality, and often collaborate with product managers to align technical solutions with business goals. Strong expertise in programming, system design, and problem-solving is essential for this role.

What is a senior principal software engineer?

A Senior Principal Software Engineer is a highly experienced and skilled professional who leads the design, architecture, and development of complex software systems. They often act as technical experts, providing guidance on best practices, code quality, and system scalability. In addition to coding, they mentor other engineers, influence technology strategy, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver business-critical solutions. Their role typically requires extensive industry experience and a deep understanding of both software engineering and business requirements.

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

To thrive as a Senior Principal Software Engineer, you need deep expertise in software development, architecture design, and advanced problem-solving, typically supported by a bachelor's or master's degree in computer science or a related field. Mastery of programming languages (such as Java, C++, or Python), cloud platforms (like AWS or Azure), and experience with CI/CD tools or architectural frameworks is essential, with certifications like AWS Certified Solutions Architect being advantageous. Exceptional leadership, communication, and mentorship skills set outstanding candidates apart by enabling them to guide teams and influence technical direction. These competencies ensure the delivery of robust, scalable solutions and drive organizational innovation and efficiency.

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

AspectSenior Principal Software EngineerLead Software Engineer
CredentialsBachelor's/Master's in CS or related field, extensive experienceBachelor's/Master's in CS or related field, significant experience
Work EnvironmentStrategic, architecture, and high-level technical leadershipProject management, team coordination, technical guidance
Industry UsageResearch, enterprise, large-scale tech companiesProduct teams, startups, mid-sized companies

The Senior Principal Software Engineer typically focuses on strategic technical direction and architecture, often working across teams and influencing company-wide technology decisions. In contrast, the Lead Software Engineer manages project execution and team coordination. Both roles require advanced technical skills, but their focus areas differ, with the Senior Principal emphasizing long-term vision and the Lead emphasizing project delivery.

How does a senior principal software engineer typically contribute to strategic decision-making within a technology organization?

Senior Principal Software Engineers play a key role in shaping technical direction and architecture at an organizational level. They often collaborate closely with engineering leadership, product managers, and cross-functional teams to evaluate technology choices and align projects with long-term business goals. This role involves mentoring other engineers, driving adoption of best practices, and proactively identifying technical risks and opportunities. By influencing architectural decisions and setting technical standards, Senior Principal Software Engineers help ensure the scalability, reliability, and maintainability of critical systems.
What cities near Raleigh, NC are hiring for Senior Principal Software Engineer jobs? Cities near Raleigh, NC with the most Senior Principal Software Engineer job openings:
Infographic showing various Senior Principal Software Engineer job openings in Raleigh, NC as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 50% Full Time, and 50% Contract. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $137,231 per year, or $66 per hour.

Principal Software Engineer/Developer

Fidelity Investments

Durham, NC • On-site

Full-time

Re-posted 8 days ago


Fidelity Investments rating

8.7

Company rating: 8.7 out of 10

Based on 271 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

15th of 150 rated financial services


Job description

Job Description:

Note: Fidelity will not provide immigration sponsorship for this position.

Position Description:

Develops largescale, fullstack application architectures that support complex business workflows. Designs modular frontend and backend components using scalable integration patterns, eventdriven interactions, and maintainable domain boundaries that improve system reliability, extensibility, and longterm performance. Builds robust application services, API layers, and cloudnative execution paths that support distributed workloads, automated scaling, and resilient runtime behavior across diverse platforms. Implements comprehensive engineering practices - including automated testing strategies, secure coding patterns, continuous delivery pipelines, and infrastructure configuration - to ensure predictable releases and consistent operational outcomes. Uses business knowledge to translate the vision for divisional initiatives into business solutions by developing complex or multiple software applications and conducting studies of alternatives. Analyzes and recommends changes in project development policies, procedures, standards, and strategies to development experts and management.

Primary Responsibilities:

  • Participates in architecture design teams.
  • Defines and implements application-level architecture.
  • Develops applications on complex projects, components, and subsystems for the division.
  • Recommends development testing tools and methodologies and reviews and validates test plans.
  • Responsible for QA readiness of software deliverables.
  • Develops comprehensive documentation for multiple applications or subsystems.
  • Establishes full project life cycle plans for complex projects across multiple platforms.
  • Responsible for meeting project goals on time and on budget.
  • Advises on risk assessment and risk management strategies for projects.
  • Plans and coordinates complex project schedules and assignments for multiple projects.
  • Acts as a primary liaison for business units to resolve various project/technology issues.
  • Provides technology solutions to daily issues and technical evaluation estimates on technology initiatives.
  • Advises senior management on technical strategy.
  • Guides and mentors junior team members through code reviews, technical problem-solving, and best practice sharing, fostering professional growth, and creating a culture of continuous learning and innovation. Performs independent and complex technical and functional analysis for multiple projects supporting several divisional initiatives.
  • Develops original and creative technical solutions to on-going development efforts.

Education and Experience:

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, Information Systems, Computer Information Systems, Business Administration, or a closely related field (or foreign education equivalent) and five (5) years of experience as a Principal Software Engineer/Developer (or closely related occupation) developing full stack applications in a financial services environment, using Angular, Spring Boot, and RESTful APIs.

Or, alternatively, Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, Information Systems, Computer Information Systems, Business Administration, or a closely related field (or foreign education equivalent) and three (3) years of experience as a Principal Software Engineer/Developer (or closely related occupation) developing full stack applications in a financial services environment, using Angular, Spring Boot, and RESTful APIs.

Skills and Knowledge:

Candidate must also possess:

  • Demonstrated Expertise ("DE") developing secure, scalable, client-facing financial services Web applications for custody and clearing business lines, using front-end (HTML5, CSS3, and Angular) and back-end (Core Java, Java EE, and Spring Boot) technologies; and deploying Web applications in Amazon Web Services (AWS) Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) environments, using Jenkins and Docker; building and maintaining Application Programming Interface (API) contracts (SwaggerHub); performing application development and debugging (IntelliJ and Splunk); and developing software using Agile methodologies (including Scrum) and tracking stories using JIRA.
  • DE building API unit tests using JUnit; building User Interface (UI) unit tests in Angular, using Jest; building end to end automation using Playwright; and testing APIs using Bruno.
  • DE developing, testing, performing Object-Oriented Design (OOD), and creating middle-tier applications; building configuration management for a dynamic UI design based upon business requirements, using Angular for the front end and Java Spring Boot to fetch configurations; and ensuring code quality using Sonar.
  • DE supporting and maintaining financial services applications to ensure high availability, stability, and resiliency for end clients; proactively monitoring and triaging production incidents using Splunk and Datadog; and driving timely resolution of live client issues and minimizing service disruptions.

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Fidelity's Onsite Working Model
Fidelity is transitioning to a full-time onsite working model through a phased rollout across regions and roles. Currently, some roles and locations require 100% onsite presence, while others require less. Onsite expectations are likely to evolve as the rollout continues. This transition does not apply to fully remote roles.

Certifications:Category:Information Technology

Please be advised that Fidelity's business is governed by the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Investment Company Act of 1940, ERISA, numerous state laws governing securities, investment and retirement-related financial activities and the rules and regulations of numerous self-regulatory organizations, including FINRA, among others. Those laws and regulations may restrict Fidelity from hiring and/or associating with individuals with certain Criminal Histories.


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