Principal Software Engineer

Job Title: Principal Software Engineer

Team: Systems

Location: Hybrid in Chicago (IL)

Employment Type: Full-time

FLSA Classification: Exempt

Start Date: ASAP

About Braven

Braven is a career-accelerating program that prepares promising young people—many of whom are people of color, from low income backgrounds, and the first in their families to attend college—to secure a strong first opportunity after college graduation. 

We work with higher education and employer partners to offer a life-changing experience that begins with a semester-long course for college students followed by support that lasts through graduation.  

Together, we are helping to open up access to the American Promise, empowering a generation of leaders who mirror the diversity of our country.

To learn more, take a look at Braven's Impact Report and Jobs Report.

About the Role

To support its goal of empowering 80,000-100,000 Fellows over the next decade, Braven is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to serve as a key leader within our Systems team, which includes a dynamic mix of professionals from junior developers to seasoned engineers. This pivotal role involves providing technical leadership in areas such as software design, architecture, and development as well as mentoring junior team members. Additionally, you will play a crucial role in strategic decision-making, driving technological initiatives that are in sync with Braven's broader goals. This person's expertise will be instrumental in shaping our technical strategies and ensuring the team's delivery and execution are of the highest caliber, thereby directly contributing to our mission's success.

This role is a member of the Systems Team and reports to the Managing Director, Software Engineering.

What You'll Do

Technical Leadership (70%)

• Contribute to the technical vision and long-term technical strategy for the organization.
• Design, architect, and develop complex software solutions to ensure they're scalable, maintainable, and reliable.
• Evaluate and integrate new technologies and methodologies.
• Troubleshoot high-level technical challenges and oversee quality assurance practices.
• Ensure software quality through rigorous testing methodologies and continuous integration/continuous deployment practices.
• Promote and enforce coding standards and best practices within the team.
• Monitor the performance of live applications, making improvements where necessary.

Team Collaboration & Mentorship (20%)

• Guide and mentor junior and mid-level engineers.
• Lead code and design reviews, fostering a culture of best practices.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, ensuring technical aspects align with project goals.

Communication & Documentation (10%)

• Act as a bridge between technical and non-technical stakeholders, clarifying technical constraints and opportunities.
• Document architectures, design decisions, and protocols.
• Stay up-to-date on industry trends, security best practices, and compliance requirements, ensuring alignment within the team's output.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree
• At least 7 years of experience in an engineering role

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven experience in a similar senior engineering leadership role, with 10+ years of software engineering experience.
• Significant experience designing, building, and maintaining large-scale, complex software systems.
• Strong experience with several or more of Ruby, Python, Airflow, SQL, JS, and web frameworks.
• Experience in multiple areas of software development such as backend, frontend, infrastructure, database design, etc.
• Mastery of software architecture patterns and principles.
• Strong understanding of software development life cycle, including agile methodologies.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, to effectively collaborate with technical and non-technical stakeholders alike.
• Strong mentoring and coaching experience and skills to help their team grow their effectiveness and develop professionally.
• Fluency in engineering best practices and methodologies, such as CI/CD, scrum/agile, TDD.
• Demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion.
• Exemplification of Braven's core values.
• Experience that has informed your belief in Braven's mission and have prepared you to work with, or for, Braven's student Fellow population.

Please know that no one ever meets 100% of the preferred qualifications. If much of this describes you, we encourage you to apply.

Work Demands

• Ability to work in-person in Chicago (IL) at least 3 days per week
• Travel 2-3 times per year

Additional Requirements

• Authorized to work in the U.S.
• Must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide proof of such by the date of hire. Individuals may claim exemption from the vaccine requirement for medical or religious reasons.  

Application & Interview Process

While the interview process may vary slightly, the general process will be:

• Phone screen with Talent Team member
• Take home assessment & Technical Interview with Hiring Manager
• Panel Interview with Key Partners
• Finalist Interview with Chief Technology Officer
• Reference Checks

Compensation and Benefits

The salary for this position, which depends on prior work experience and our assessment of your demonstrated fit for the role, will likely be between $195,700 - $244,600 in Chicago. Braven offers competitive base salaries based on the midpoint of the market among not-for-profit organizations of similar size, with opportunities for salary growth over time. We believe in compensating staff members fairly in relation to each other, their qualifications, and their impact on behalf of the organization, and take internal and external equity seriously. Given our commitment to equity, Braven does not negotiate salary offers; instead each salary offer is determined carefully using external and internal benchmarking. You will have an opportunity to discuss salary in more detail after you begin the application process.

Braven also provides competitive, comprehensive benefits, recognition, and career development. While Braven reserves the right to change benefits at any time, current benefits include: 

• Unlimited vacation time in addition to org-wide holidays and week-long shutdowns in July and the end of the calendar year (this is a minimum of 19 days per year)
• Match of your 401K contribution up to 5% of your base annual salary, starting your first full month
• Coverage of 85% of health insurance premium for employee and dependents
• A one-month paid sabbatical after 4 years on staff

Location

We gather in the office at least 3 days per week (on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) and often work remotely 2 days per week (although certain commitments might adjust that from time to time). Therefore, this role requires teammates to live within commuting distance of Chicago, IL. We believe in the magic, connection, and collaboration that happens when people work together face-to-face and we believe in giving people flexibility to focus, balance personal priorities, and save themselves two commutes per week.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 

At Braven, we are committed to attracting, engaging, developing, and retaining a diverse team. Braven operates in the context of our American culture, against the backdrop of systemic racism and oppression of marginalized people since our country's founding. We are committed to assembling leaders at our organization who have emerged from everywhere, with a particular emphasis on those who share the racial and income backgrounds of our Fellows, and creating an inclusive culture that allows all teammates, of all experiences and identities, to thrive.  

Braven is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected factor.  We encourage talented individuals of all backgrounds to apply.