Principal Backend Engineer at Cognite

Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Cognite Logo
Not SpecifiedCompensation
Senior (5 to 8 years), Expert & Leadership (9+ years)Experience Level
Full TimeJob Type
UnknownVisa
Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Manufacturing, EnergyIndustries

Requirements

  • Significant experience building and operating distributed backend systems in a modern, typed language
  • Strong proficiency in Rust or Kotlin
  • Deep expertise in modern authentication and authorization concepts (e.g., OIDC, OAuth2, RBAC/ABAC) and their practical application in building secure services
  • Proven track record of owning services in production, from initial design and development to deployment, monitoring, and incident response
  • Hands-on experience with cloud-native technologies, particularly Kubernetes and cloud platforms like GCP, AWS or Azure
  • Collaborative and pragmatic mindset, with good communication skills and a desire to mentor others

Responsibilities

  • Architecting and building core authentication and authorization services, applying modern security principles to protect all customer data
  • Designing and scaling resilient gRPC/HTTP APIs and microservices on Kubernetes, ensuring high availability, low latency, and ease of integration for other internal teams
  • Driving backend innovation by writing clean, maintainable code and refining service architecture to support rapid product growth
  • Leading development initiatives including threat modeling, performance tuning, and reliability engineering to harden systems against evolving security challenges
  • Mentoring engineers and collaborating across teams to shape the technical roadmap and foster a culture of secure-by-default engineering

Skills

Key technologies and capabilities for this role

Backend EngineeringAuthorizationIdentity ManagementAudit SystemsSecurityInfrastructureSaaSAIData Fusion

Questions & Answers

Common questions about this position

What is the salary or compensation for this Principal Backend Engineer role?

This information is not specified in the job description.

Is this role remote or does it require working in an office?

The role is based in a high-trust engineering culture in Oslo.

What skills are required for this Principal Backend Engineer position?

Candidates need significant experience building and operating distributed backend systems in a modern, typed language, along with strong proficiency in Rust or Kotlin.

What is the company culture like at Cognite?

Cognite fosters a high-trust, product-minded engineering culture with values of Impact, Ownership, and Relentless pursuit of innovation, encouraging autonomy, inclusivity, and secure-by-default engineering.

What makes a strong candidate for this Principal Backend Engineer role?

A strong candidate has significant experience with distributed backend systems and deep expertise in Rust or Kotlin, with the ability to architect secure services, lead initiatives, and mentor engineers.

Cognite

Industrial data management for asset-heavy industries

About Cognite

Cognite specializes in managing industrial data and facilitating digital transformation for asset-heavy industries like oil and gas, power and utilities, and manufacturing. Its main product, Cognite Data Fusion, integrates and organizes data from various sources, making it easier for businesses to analyze and utilize this information effectively. This process, known as data contextualization, enhances the relevance of data for better decision-making. Cognite operates on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, allowing clients to subscribe to its software, which provides a consistent revenue stream and access to ongoing updates. Additionally, Cognite offers consulting services to assist clients in optimizing their use of the software. The company's goal is to help industries improve their operations through better data management and digital solutions.

Bærum, NorwayHeadquarters
2016Year Founded
$219.2MTotal Funding
SERIES_BCompany Stage
Data & Analytics, Industrial & Manufacturing, Enterprise SoftwareIndustries
501-1,000Employees

Benefits

Competitive Compensation + 401(k) with employer matching
Health, Dental, Vision & Disability Coverages with premiums fully covered for employees and all dependents
Unlimited PTO + flexibility to enjoy it
Paid Parental Leave Program
Learning & Development Stipends
Global Mobility & Exchange Program
Company Paid Friday Lunch via DoorDash + Fully Stocked Fridges in the offices

Risks

Emerging industrial AI startups pose a threat to Cognite's market share.
Geopolitical tensions could disrupt operations in key regions like the Middle East.
Reliance on cloud providers introduces risks related to data security and outages.

Differentiation

Cognite Data Fusion integrates and contextualizes data for asset-heavy industries.
Cognite offers a subscription-based SaaS model, ensuring continuous software updates.
Cognite's solutions enhance safety, sustainability, and efficiency in industrial operations.

Upsides

Cognite's partnership with Google Cloud enhances scalability and security for data management.
The launch of Cognite Embedded opens new innovation avenues for industrial software builders.
Cognite's joint venture with Saudi Aramco expands its influence in the MENA region.

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