Principal Software Engineer

C. H Robinson is seeking a Principal Software Engineer on our Customer Visibility team where you will play a critical role in shaping the technical vision and architecture of our full-stack applications. You will collaborate with Product Managers, UX designers, data scientists, and other engineering teams to design, build, and deliver high-impact, scalable solutions. In this role, you will work across the stack to architect reliable, high-performance systems, ensuring long-term maintainability and adaptability to evolving business needs. As a Principal Software Engineer, you help foster a culture of excellence with your deep technical expertise, strategic thinking, and leadership to drive innovation, embed AI into software engineering process.

This role may be located only in Minnesota, Chicago or Kansas City

Duties &Responsibilities:

• Define and implement architecture patterns that ensure reliability, maintainability, and extensibility of full-stack applications.
• Build efficient and reusable UI components, optimize API performance, and architect backend services for scalability, security, and performance.
• Identify opportunities to integrate AI and automation in software development, such as code intelligence, predictive analytics, and operational efficiency improvements.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (Product, UX, Data Science, and Engineering) to align technical direction with business priorities and product vision.
• Encourage a culture of innovation by adopting a data-driven approach, conducting experiments, and iterating rapidly on features.
• Effectively communicate technical trade-offs, design decisions, and architectural vision to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, architectural diagrams, and design guidelines to drive consistency and knowledge sharing.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to engineering teams, ensuring best practices in development, testing, and deployment.
• Ensure high availability of systems, troubleshoot production incidents if needed, and drive permanent fixes through root cause analysis.
• Build strong, productive partnerships with multiple engineering teams and divisions, driving alignment and technical excellence across the organization.
• Research, evaluate, and adopt new engineering tools, technologies, and methodologies to enhance developer productivity and system efficiency.

Required Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience designing and implementing large-scale, distributed software systems that span multiple platforms.
• Experience with modern development languages (e.g., .NET Core, C#).
• Strong expertise in relational (MS SQL, Oracle) and non-relational databases (MongoDB, Elastic, CosmosDB), with a focus on scalability and performance optimization.
• Deep understanding of microservices architecture, CQRS, event-driven design, and eventually consistent system patterns.
• Experience with data streaming architectures and frameworks (e.g., Kafka, ESB, Apache Flink).
• Familiarity with AI/ML-driven engineering practices, including leveraging AI-assisted development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, CodeWhisperer) and embedding AI/ML models into applications for automation and intelligence.
• Expertise in testing strategies, automated testing frameworks, acceptance criteria definition, and reviewing test automation for high-quality software delivery.
• Proficiency with version control systems (e.g., Git, GitHub, TFS) and best practices in branching strategies and collaboration.
• Strong knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, DevOps practices, and infrastructure automation (e.g., GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Jenkins, Terraform).
• Experience building and deploying cloud-native applications and services on Azure, AWS, or GCP.
• Hands-on experience in end-to-end feature development, including API design, backend services, and frontend integration.
• Experience in troubleshooting complex distributed systems, participating in on-call rotations, and leading post-mortems and root cause analysis for permanent fixes.
• Ability to explain complex technical concepts effectively to diverse audiences, including executives, engineers, and product managers.
• Proven track record of delivering results in fast-paced environments, managing multiple priorities, and driving technical excellence.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Software Engineering, or MIS

Preferred Qualifications:

• In-depth knowledge of JavaScript/TypeScript and modern JavaScript libraries and tooling (e.g., React)
• Robust design and UX/product sensibilities
• Experience with AI-powered observability and anomaly detection in monitoring and incident response workflows.
• Experience working on large-scale open source or inner source software development
• Contributions to open-source projects, publicly available frameworks and/or patents
• Values a diverse and inclusive work environment

We will review applications for this role on an ongoing basis and encourage all interested candidates to apply at their earliest convenience.

Compensation Range

The base pay range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum base pay for the position across all U.S. locations. Your individual base pay within this range is determined by work location, which takes into account geographic cost of labor, and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. During the hiring process, your recruiter will provide more details about the specific base pay for your location. Compensation details listed in this posting reflect the base pay only and do not include additional variable compensation.

Questioning if you meet the mark? Studies have shown that women, people of color, and individuals with disabilities may be less likely to apply unless they match the job description exactly. Here at C.H. Robinson, we’re building a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees feel they belong. If this position excites you, we welcome you to apply whether you check all the preferred qualifications or just a few. You may just be our next great fit!

Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer

C.H. Robinson is proud to be an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We believe in equality for all and celebrate the diversity of our employees, customers and communities. We believe this increases creativity and innovation, drives business growth and enables engaged and thriving teams.  We’re committed to providing an inclusive environment, free from harassment and discrimination, where all employees feel welcomed, valued and respected.