Principal Engineer

Description

Summary: Safeguard Global is seeking a Principal Engineer to define and drive the architecture of scalable, event-driven systems and lead technical direction across multiple teams. Highlights: 1. Define and drive architecture of scalable, event-driven systems on AWS 2. Lead the design and evolution of core platform services and distributed systems 3. Mentor senior engineers and act as a technical leader across multiple teams Spain \- remote Software Development 1 day ago **How about** **a** **j****ob** **t****h****at** **w****orks** **f****or** **y****ou****?** Ever dreamt of a role where you call the shots on where you work? Welcome to Safeguard Global! We're all about making work fit your life, not the other way around. Our “**w****ork in** **a****ny** **w****ay****” philosophy**means tackling projects from the comfort of your couch, breaking up your day to run errands, or taking meetings from a cozy café in another country. At Safeguard Global, you have the flexibility to balance productivity with life’s moments while meeting your deadlines. ️ **How you will make a difference:** We're hiring across multiple teams, and as a Principal Engineer, you'll work across these domains: guiding architecture, influencing design, and unblocking complex problems in areas such as: * Knowledge Platform * Client Account Management * Integrations * Client analytics * Time and Attendance All teams share a common goal: building reliable, scalable systems that power critical business operations for our customers. This is a fully remote role, working with a distributed team. **How you will make a difference:** * Define and drive the architecture of scalable, event\-driven systems on AWS * Lead the design and evolution of core platform services and distributed systems * Set technical direction across teams, ensuring consistency and long\-term maintainability * Solve complex, cross\-cutting engineering problems (e.g. scaling, data consistency, system resilience) * Establish best practices for reliability, observability, and performance across the platform * Design systems that handle high event throughput, failure scenarios, and eventual consistency at scale * Partner closely with Data Engineering to shape data architecture, pipelines, and platform capabilities * Influence and improve engineering standards, tooling, and ways of working * Mentor senior engineers and act as a technical leader across multiple teams * Contribute to strategic technical decisions and roadmap planning **What will give you an advantage:** We care more about what you can do than ticking every box, but strong candidates will have: * Significant experience (typically 8\-12\+ years) building and scaling backend systems in production environments * Deep expertise in JavaScript/TypeScript (Node.js preferred) or similar backend ecosystems * Strong hands\-on experience designing distributed systems and event\-driven architectures * Proven experience architecting systems on AWS, particularly serverless (Lambda, EventBridge, S3, API Gateway) * Track record of leading large\-scale technical initiatives or platform transformations * Deep understanding of reliability patterns (e.g. idempotency, retries, backpressure, fault tolerance) * Experience operating systems at scale, including observability, monitoring, and incident response * Strong experience with Infrastructure as Code (CDK, Terraform, or similar) * Solid understanding of data modelling and working with high\-volume, data\-intensive systems * Ability to influence technical direction without direct authority **Nice to Have** * Experience with modern data platforms (e.g. dbt, Athena, data lakes) * Experience in multi\-tenant SaaS architectures at scale * Familiarity with BI and analytics tools (e.g. QuickSight) * Exposure to frontend technologies (React / Next.js) * Experience introducing or scaling platform engineering practices **How We Work** * Fully remote, async\-friendly, and collaborative * Small teams with end\-to\-end ownership * Strong engineering culture with high autonomy and accountability * Ship often via CI/CD * Emphasis on reliability, observability, and real\-world impact * We actively use AI\-assisted development tools (e.g. Cursor, ChatGPT) to accelerate delivery and reduce toil **About** **u****s:** We’re not bound by traditional ways of doing things. Yep, **we** **enable global expansion without the risk** for more than 1,500 clients, but what really sets us apart is our vibe. We’re a community of 900\+ Guardians, spread\-out over 50\+ countries, united by our dedication to a remote first and flexible workforce. **Why become a Guardian:** * **‍** **Autonomy and Flexibility (work in any way):** Remote first, with the flexibility to include life needs like school runs and gym breaks in your schedule, all while maintaining a high standard of work. * **Generous leave:** Enjoy a competitive leave package including paid bonding leaves for new additions to your family * **Make a difference:** Get 2 paid charitable days off to contribute to causes you believe in * **Corporate bonus/SIP:** All Guardians are eligible for our annual bonus scheme or sales incentive plan. * ✈**️ International environment:** Grow your network internationally and collaborate across the world. Interact, discover cultures, and tap into local expertise. * + **Human centered culture:** We emphasize the people factor in everything we do. Our nurturing culture ensures your ideas reach our leaders and your contributions get the recognition they deserve. * **Learning:** We support your continuous growth by providing access to 2 learning platforms, where you can learn at your own pace. **Next Steps:** Ready to join a workforce that shapes itself around your life, and embrace remote work like a pro? We wish you the best with your application. **Welcome to the** **f****uture of** **w****ork!** At Safeguard Global, we are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and Guardians.