It all started when engineer Fred Luddy wrote code that automated a tedious task for his coworker, Phyllis. She cried tears of joy. Backed by Greylock and Sequoia.
About the role
As a Principal Software Engineer, you'll take on hard architecture problems across our workflow and automation stack, including how we evolve it toward agentic, AI-driven execution at scale. Found on 1752vc Careers, the job board for startup and VC roles.
What they're looking for
- 15+ years of engineering experience, or equivalent
- Real experience building and running large-scale distributed systems: workflow engines, integration platforms, data-heavy products, or cloud infrastructure
- Solid grasp of system design for scale, reliability, observability, and production readiness, including database architecture at high transaction volume
- Strong depth in Java, Python, or a comparable language
- A track record of setting technical direction and influencing architecture across teams, even without a formal reporting line
- Comfortable leading through credibility and collaboration rather than title
More about this role
We build the workflow and automation engines that power how work gets done across the ServiceNow Platform. Our engines process billions of workflow transactions every month across enterprise customers, and we're now extending that foundation to support AI-native, agentic workflows.
This is a team that cares about getting the architecture right, not just shipping features. We spend real time on performance, reliability, and making sure the platform holds up as customers push more volume and more complexity through it.
As a Principal Software Engineer, you'll take on hard architecture problems across our workflow and automation stack, including how we evolve it toward agentic, AI-driven execution at scale.
- Lead architecture and technical direction for problem areas across the portfolio, working with product and engineering leads to figure out what's blocking progress and where the real opportunities are.
- Get hands-on. Build the prototypes and reference implementations that prove out an architectural idea before a whole team commits to it.
- Test ideas with real experiments and real data, not just design docs. Use what you learn to shape the direction.
- Help move existing...
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