Sr. Principal Engineer

Parental leave, paid time off, remote workDocusign brings agreements to life. Over 1.5 million customers and more than a billion people in over 180 countries use Docusign solutions to accelerate the process of doing business and simplify people's lives. With intelligent agreement management, Docusign unleashes business-critical data that is trapped inside of pany OverviewDocusign brings agreements to life. Over 1.5 million customers and more than a billion people in over 180 countries use Docusign solutions to accelerate the process of doing business and simplify people's lives. With intelligent agreement management, Docusign unleashes business-critical data that is trapped inside of documents.Job DescriptionWe are seeking a Sr. Principal Engineer to lead the architectural design and hands-on development of our next-generation cloud platform, built on top of major cloud providers such as Azure, AWS, and GCP. This role combines deep technical expertise with strategic leadership, with a 40% hands-on and 60% strategic focus. You will drive innovation in our control plane, CI/CD pipelines, Kubernetes-based orchestration, networking, storage, and abstraction layers to deliver a scalable, secure, and efficient platform that empowers customers to build and deploy applications seamlessly.As a technical visionary, you will dive into complex codebases, prototype solutions, and provide strategic direction for the platform. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, mentor senior engineers, and shape the long-term technical roadmap, ensuring our platform remains a leader in the cloud-native ecosystem.This position is an individual contributor role reporting to the GVP, Cloud & Production Engineering.ResponsibilitiesDesign, implement, and optimize critical components of the cloud platform, including control plane, Kubernetes operators, CI/CD pipelines, networking, and storage systemsWrite high-quality, production-ready code in languages like Go, Python, or Java to build abstraction layers and integrate with Azure, AWS, and GCP servicesPrototype and validate innovative solutions for multi-cloud challenges, such as resource orchestration, service discovery, and scalable storageTroubleshoot and resolve complex technical issues in distributed systems, ensuring high performance and reliabilityDefine the technical vision and multi-year roadmap for the cloud platform, aligning with business goals and industry trendsArchitect scalable and resilient systems leveraging Kubernetes, service meshes, and cloud-native technologies to simplify multi-cloud operationsLead the design of abstraction layers to provide a unified, developer-friendly interface across Azure, AWS, and GCPDrive adoption of best practices in observability, security, and compliance (e.g., SOC 2, GDPR) across the platformMentor senior engineers and foster a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and collaborationPartner with product, engineering, and operations teams to align technical solutions with customer needs and business objectivesRepresent the company in industry forums, open-source communities, or technical conferences to showcase our platform's capabilitiesStay ahead of emerging trends in cloud computing, containerization, and distributed systems, integrating cutting-edge technologies into the platformLead research and prototyping efforts to address complex challenges in multi-cloud environmentsJob DesignationHybrid: Employee divides their time between in-office and remote work. Access to an office location is required.What You BringBasic15+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 7 years focused on cloud platforms, distributed systems, or infrastructure development, and a proven track record of hands-on contributionsExperience with cloud providers (Azure, AWS, GCP) and their core services (compute, storage, networking, IAM, etc.)Experience with Kubernetes, including custom operators, CRDs, cluster federation, and service mesh (e.g., Istio, Linkerd)Experience designing and optimizing CI/CD pipelines using tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI, ArgoCD, or TektonExperience with networking (e.g., VPC, load balancing, SDN, DNS) and storage systems (e.g., S3, EBS, Blob Storage) in cloud environmentsProven ability to design and implement abstraction layers for multi-cloud management, simplifying complex workflows for developers and operatorsExperience programming in Go, Python, or Java, and with infrastructure-as-code tools (e.g., Terraform, Pulumi)Demonstrated ability to define and execute a technical roadmap for large-scale, cloud-native platformsExperience leading complex technical projects and mentoring engineering teams to deliver high-impact solutionsBachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience)PreferredPhD or advanced research experienceExceptional ability to tackle ambiguous, high-stakes challenges in distributed systems with a hands-on approachExcellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholdersExperience building control planes for cloud platforms or PaaS solutionsContributions to open-source projects in the cloud-native ecosystem (e.g., Kubernetes, CNCF projects)Expertise in observability tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack) and chaos engineering practicesDeep knowledge of security best practices, including zero-trust architecture and compliance frameworks (e.g., SOC 2, GDPR)Wage TransparencyPay for this position is based on a number of factors including geographic location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.Based on applicable legislation, the below details pay ranges in the following locations:California: $271,900.00 - $404,950.00 base salaryWashington, Maryland, New Jersey and New York (including NYC metro area): $254,400.00 - $363,700.00 base salaryThis role is also eligible for the following:Bonus: Sales personnel are eligible for variable incentive pay dependent on their achievement of pre-established sales goals. Non-Sales roles are eligible for a company bonus plan, which is calculated as a percentage of eligible wages and dependent on company performance.Stock: This role is eligible to receive Restricted Stock Units (RSUs).Global BenefitsGlobal benefits provide options for the following:Paid Time Off: earned time off, as well as paid company holidays based on regionPaid Parental Leave: take up to six months off with your child after birth, adoption or foster care placementFull Health Benefits Plans: options for 100% employer paid and minimum employee contribution health plans from day one of employmentRetirement Plans: select retirement and pension programs with potential for employer contributionsLearning and Development: options for coaching, online courses and education reimbursementsCompassionate Care Leave: paid time off following the loss of a loved one and other life-changing eventsLife at DocusignWorking hereDocusign is committed to building trust and making the world more agreeable for our employees, customers and the communities in which we live and work.AccommodationDocusign is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in our job application procedures.Equal Opportunity EmployerIt's important to us that we build a talented team that is as diverse as our customers and where all employees feel a deep sense of belonging and thrive. #J-18808-Ljbffr

Created: 2025-10-06