Principal Software Engineer

Principal Software Engineer

Company Description

It all started when engineer Fred Luddy wrote code that automated a tedious task for his coworker, Phyllis. She cried tears of joy. That moment inspired Fred to build a company that could do that for everyone—freeing people from busywork so they could focus on meaningful work. Today, ServiceNow is the AI control tower for business reinvention. Our ServiceNow AI platform brings together any AI, any data, and any workflow— helping 85% of the Fortune 500® work smarter, faster, and better. We're building an AI-native culture where technology and talent are unstoppable together. And we're just getting started.

Join us to put AI to work for people.

 

Job Description

What you’ll do:

 

• Technical Architecture & Strategy Define and own the long-term technical architecture, making critical build vs. buy decisions to ensure systems remain resilient as the platform scales 10x
• Platform & Infrastructure Design and build core infrastructure services and microservices that serve machine learning, frontend, and platform teams
• Business Alignment Align technical architecture with business goals, ensuring engineering velocity, system reliability, and infrastructure costs directly support customer acquisition, retention, and time-to-market
• Hands-on Engineering Write high-performance, clean, and maintainable production-grade code across the stack (K8s, Python, Golang, Postgres etc.)
• Cross-functional Execution Drive and deliver business-critical engineering outcomes in close collaboration with cross-functional engineering teams
• Engineering Culture Mentor senior engineers, champion engineering excellence, and foster a culture of rapid, impact-driven innovation
• Ownership & Initiative Identify critical system and business gaps proactively, propose solutions, align stakeholders, and drive execution with a high degree of ownership

Qualifications

• Experience in leveraging or critically thinking about how to integrate AI into work processes, decision-making, or problem-solving. This may include using AI-powered tools, automating workflows, analyzing AI-driven insights, or exploring AI’s potential impact on the function or industry. 
• Experience 15+ years of software engineering experience with a demonstrated progression into Principal or Sr. Staff Engineer capacity at a high-growth tech company or top-tier AI lab
• Technical Proficiency Strong hands-on coding ability with deep design thinking, capable of driving both code-level execution and system-level architecture decisions. Proficiency in any programming language with ability to adapt — K8s, Python, Golang, Postgres and data lakes preferred
• Distributed Systems Proven experience in distributed systems — performance, scalability, latency, optimization, and monitoring
• Commercial Mindset Demonstrated ability to connect engineering decisions to business outcomes such as latency improvements, driving margin efficiency, and enabling rapid product feature launches
• High Agency Self-driven with strong ownership, ability to identify system and business gaps, propose solutions, align stakeholders, and execute at startup pace
• Product & AI Mindset Experience integrating or evaluating AI tools and workflows in engineering processes and decision-making

Additional Information

Work Personas

We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.

Equal Opportunity Employer

ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity,  veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements.  

Accommodations

We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact globaltalentss@servicenow.com for assistance. 

Export Control Regulations

For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities. 

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Experience Level

Senior Level