Principal Software Engineer

As a Principal Software Engineer at Aquia Inc., your key responsibilities include designing, developing, and maintaining backend systems primarily using Ruby on Rails and Java, leading technical design sessions, and ensuring seamless integration with critical VA services. You'll also champion best practices for accessibility, security, and performance throughout the development lifecycle. Your role involves mentoring junior engineers and actively contributing to the agile development process while collaborating closely with product managers and designers to deliver user-centric features.

Candidates applying for the Principal Software Engineer position at Aquia Inc. should have a minimum of 7 years of software engineering experience. This includes at least 3 years in a senior or technical leadership role. Proficiency with Ruby on Rails and/or Java is essential, along with familiarity in frontend technologies like React. Additional qualifications include experience with containerized applications, knowledge of RESTful APIs, and a commitment to accessibility and security standards.

In your role as a Principal Software Engineer at Aquia Inc., you'll primarily work with Ruby on Rails and Java for backend development, while also being involved in frontend development using React and modern JavaScript frameworks. You'll engage with AWS environments for deploying containerized applications with Docker and Kubernetes, and you'll use GitHub for version control and collaboration, ensuring best practices in software development.

Aquia Inc. is dedicated to the growth and development of its employees. As a Principal Software Engineer, you’ll have access to a personal training and development budget, enabling you to pursue relevant courses and certifications. Mentorship opportunities are also available where you can share knowledge and learn from fellow engineers in a highly collaborative and mission-driven environment.

The work culture at Aquia Inc. is innovative, inclusive, and mission-oriented. As a Principal Software Engineer, you will be part of a cross-functional team that values collaboration and shared goals. With a strong emphasis on work-life balance and employee well-being, Aquia promotes a flexible remote working setup, encouraging employees to engage in their work while making a meaningful contribution to public service.

When answering this question, provide specific examples of projects where you used Ruby on Rails to develop scalable applications. Highlight challenges faced, solutions you implemented, and any performance optimizations you achieved. Make sure to emphasize your understanding of best practices and how you ensure code quality.

Discuss your approach to mentoring by sharing specific strategies you implemented in previous roles. Focus on creating a supportive learning environment, providing constructive feedback, and encouraging independent problem-solving. Mention any frameworks you use to track progress and foster continuous development.

Explain your process for gathering user feedback during development cycles. Discuss how you collaborate with product managers and UX designers to prioritize features based on user insights and business goals, ensuring the software you develop meets real needs effectively.

Share your experience deploying applications on AWS with specific examples, highlighting any work with Docker and Kubernetes. Discuss how you ensure reliability and scalability of applications in cloud environments and any tools you utilize for monitoring and maintaining system health.

Provide a detailed description of a challenging problem, including the context, technical obstacles, and the approach you took to resolve it. Emphasize your problem-solving skills, teamwork, and how this experience has prepared you for the Principal Software Engineer role at Aquia Inc.

Discuss the resources you use to keep abreast of industry trends, such as attending conferences, participating in forums, reading technical blogs, and engaging with online communities. Highlight your commitment to continuous learning and how you apply new knowledge to your work.

Share a specific instance where you led a technical design session. Discuss how you facilitated discussions, gathered input from team members, established design principles, and ensured alignment with project goals. Emphasize your communication skills and decision-making processes.

Elaborate on the practices you employ to maintain code quality, such as code reviews, automated testing, and adhering to coding standards. Highlight your experience with CI/CD pipelines and how these practices contributed to smoother deployments and reliability.

Describe your systematic approach to troubleshooting production issues, including how you prioritize problems based on severity. Discuss tools you use for monitoring and observability, and how you collaborate with the team to address and resolve issues efficiently.

Discuss your commitment to accessibility, referencing established standards such as Section 508 and WCAG. Share examples of how you've integrated accessibility considerations into your projects and why it's important to you in creating inclusive technology.