Principal Software Engineer

The Principal Software Engineer will own and articulate the long-term technical vision and architectural strategy for key parts of Paddle’s platform, aligning it with product and company goals. They will define durable architectural patterns, interfaces, and platform capabilities to enable multiple teams to build consistently and safely at speed. This role involves initiating and driving large, complex programmes of work to simplify systems, reduce operational risk, and accelerate delivery. The Principal Engineer will serve as the decision-maker on high-stakes technical choices and architectural trade-offs, ensuring durable, high-quality outcomes. They will develop deep product fluency, becoming an expert in how the product works and delivers value, connecting architecture decisions to revenue, margin, risk, and customer experience. Partnering with the Product team and other stakeholders to turn ambitious ideas into feasible plans of action is a key responsibility. Elevating operational excellence by setting patterns that drive teams to be proactive, data-driven, and disciplined in managing their systems is also expected. Additionally, the role includes mentoring Staff and Senior engineers, growing technical leadership capability across the organization, and championing engineering excellence and pragmatic simplicity. Representing Paddle’s technical direction in executive and cross-functional forums, communicating complex concepts with clarity and influence, is also part of the role.