Principal Software Engineer - Java/Polygot

Location: Remote. Candidates must currently reside in one of the following states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, or Virginia.

Employment type: Full-time

Work authorization: Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without visa sponsorship

About Tivly
Tivly is one of the largest marketplaces for commercial insurance in the United States, connecting business owners looking to protect their businesses with insurance carriers that fit their needs. Since 2009, Tivly has established a network of over 200 trusted carriers, agents, and brokers serving a wide range of businesses.

About the Role
The Principal Engineer is a highly hands-on technical leadership role at Tivly, responsible for designing, building, and scaling the core software systems that power our technology platform. Reporting directly to the Chief Technology Officer, this role helps define Tivly's technical direction and drives system architecture decisions. You'll apply modern engineering practices, from microservices architecture and API development to multi-language (polyglot) solutions, to improve performance, reliability, and scalability across our products. Success in this position requires deep technical expertise, strong architectural judgment, and a commitment to mentoring engineers. The goal is high-quality, maintainable software that supports business growth and innovation.

What You'll Do

Architecture & Technical Direction

• Own the architecture and design of distributed systems serving millions of insurance leads and transactions.
• Evaluate new technologies and frameworks to enhance performance and maintainability.
• Contribute to strategic technology roadmap planning and cross-team alignment.

Hands-On Engineering

• Lead by example through hands-on coding, technical reviews, and system optimization.
• Support cross-functional development in multiple languages (e.g., Java, Kotlin, Python, TypeScript, Go).
• Ensure security, reliability, and compliance within all engineering deliverables.

Collaboration & Mentorship

• Collaborate with Product, DevOps, and Data teams on scalable API integrations and microservices.
• Mentor senior and mid-level engineers, fostering a high-performing and collaborative environment.

Additional Responsibilities & Metrics

• Perform other related duties, ad hoc tasks, and special projects as assigned to support departmental and organizational goals.
• Consistently meet and maintain the established metrics and performance standards. Your direct supervisor and the organization set these standards and update them periodically to match changing business needs.

What You Bring

• 7+ years of professional software engineering experience, including significant time in backend or platform roles.
• Advanced proficiency in Java, plus hands-on experience with at least one additional language such as Kotlin, Python, Go, or TypeScript.
• Proven track record designing, building, and scaling distributed systems and microservice-based architectures in a high-traffic environment.
• Strong experience with RESTful APIs, event-driven architectures, and integrating with internal and external services.
• Deep understanding of system performance, reliability, and observability (profiling, logging, metrics, alerting).
• Practical experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, GCP, or Azure), containerization (Docker), and orchestration (Kubernetes).
• Familiarity with modern CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and code quality practices.
• Experience working closely with Product, DevOps, and Data teams to ship features and platform capabilities.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field; equivalent practical experience considered.

Core Competencies

• Technical Leadership: Guides architecture decisions, sets engineering standards, and influences cross-team technical direction.
• Systems Design & Architecture: Designs scalable, resilient distributed systems and microservice-based platforms.
• Polyglot Programming: Expert in Java, with the ability to work effectively in multiple languages (e.g., Kotlin, Python, Go, TypeScript).
• Cloud-Native Engineering: Builds and operates services on modern cloud platforms using containers, orchestration, and CI/CD.
• Performance & Reliability: Optimizes systems for latency, throughput, availability, and observability.
• API & Integration Design: Crafts clear, secure, and maintainable APIs and integrations with internal and external systems.
• Security & Compliance Mindset: Incorporates security, privacy, and compliance requirements into architecture and implementation.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partners effectively with Product, DevOps, and Data teams to deliver business outcomes.
• Strategic Thinking: Aligns technical decisions and roadmaps with broader company and product strategy.

Benefits

We support our team with comprehensive benefits that promote health, balance, and financial well‑being, including:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Paid Time Off (PTO) and Paid Sick Time
• Flexible Scheduling (Flex Time)
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) for health and dependent care
• Company‑paid Short‑ and Long‑Term Disability
• No‑cost mental, emotional, and physical well‑being support through the First Stop Health app
• 401(k) with 4% company match
• Pay for designated holidays without having to work

Inclusion: It's Simple, We All Belong
Tivly celebrates diversity and equality! We are committed to building a team with a diverse variety of experiences, talents, and perspectives. We believe that creating a culture where everyone can fit in and belong has a positive influence on our communities and our customers. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. Creating a culture of equality isn't just the right thing to do; it's what Tivly chooses to do.

Applicant information collected during the hiring process will be used solely to assess qualifications, verify eligibility for employment, and make hiring decisions. Applicant data will be stored securely and retained only for as long as necessary to complete the recruitment process and meet legal, regulatory, and record‑keeping requirements, after which it will be deleted or anonymized in accordance with our data retention policies.