8th Light
technology solutions provider
PrincipalSoftwareEngineer
Neural analysis suggests this role is
optimal for Lead candidates.
“Principal Software Engineer at 8th Light. Skills: Technical expertise, Architecture, Scalability, AI/ML integration, Consulting, Mentorship, Leadership. Work with a variety of clients. Deepen domain expertise”
What You'll Achieve.
Drive sustainable growth; Deliver solutions we’re truly proud of; Drive measurable and impactful outcomes; Deliver high-quality work within deadlines; Connect technical decisions to product and business outcomes; Improve team and project outcomes
Industry & Context.
Solve meaningful challenges; Guide ambiguous initiatives; Solve complex problems; Remedied architecture-level concerns; Identify, mitigate, and resolve blockers
Consulting engagements do not require travel
What They're Looking For.
Must Have
Demonstrated long-term success on high-stakes consulting engagements across multiple language paradigms, stacks, ecosystems, technical environments, and client industries, Built high-quality, maintainable software collaboratively, incrementally, and through an approach tailored towards the unique needs of the clients you’ve served, Led the development and delivery of production-grade software using a variety of languages and frameworks, Evaluated and strategically applied AI-assistive development tools to accelerate delivery and improve quality, A track record of understanding, assessing, and embracing new tooling and trends within the software industry, Experience building or integrating AI/ML-powered features into products or systems, Used context-appropriate automated testing to inform software design choices and catch bugs, Successfully led modernization efforts to align legacy systems with short and long-term business needs, Remedied architecture-level concerns such as scalability, security, reliability, and performance, Facilitated alignment and collaboration across technical and non-technical stakeholders to move initiatives forward in the face of ambiguity and complexity while balancing technical considerations with product and user needs, Provided mentorship and team support at scale, while sharing knowledge and improving team practices, Actively sought out and effectively given feedback, Collaboratively led stakeholders to balance technical considerations with product and user needs
Nice to Have
Delivering and advising on enterprise-grade AI systems, including RAG pipelines, vector search, and agentic frameworks (e.g., LangChain, LlamaIndex, Crew AI, AutoGen, n8n), ensuring scalable, production-ready solutions that empower developers and align with business outcomes, DevSecOps & DevOps, MLOps, Infrastructure as Code, Data Engineering: including platforms like Databricks for data processing and analytics
What You'll Do.
Work with a variety of clients
Deepen domain expertise
Build trust with clients
Demonstrate technical expertise and understanding of client domain/objectives
Guide technical direction
Solve complex problems
Demonstrate best practices
Engage within the codebase
Balance technology choices
Deliver high-quality work within deadlines
Advise clients on architecture
and platform evolution
Connect technical decisions to product and business outcomes
Collaborate on systems involving the full ML lifecycle
Drive innovation by proactively surfacing new technical approaches and product solutions
Lead or initiate formal feedback conversations
Articulate and document outcomes
Drive forward action items
Contribute to team and company culture
Design and manage high-level technical roadmaps
Build network and maintain client relationships
Coach client engineering teams
Influence client CTOs and executive decisions
Plan and execute technical work involving external stakeholders
Participate in account opportunity identification
Facilitate retrospectives
and technical deep-dives
Lead or design internal/client workshops
Represent the company in the tech community
Support hiring processes
How You'll Work.
Team & Collaboration
Collaboratively build high-quality, maintainable software; Facilitate alignment and collaboration across technical and non-technical stakeholders; Collaboratively lead stakeholders; Collaborate on systems involving the full ML lifecycle; Contribute to the health of your team and company culture; Collaborate with teams and clients; Foster continued collaboration and connection across global team
Communication Scope
Clearly articulate and document outcomes
Process & Methodology
Design and manage high-level technical roadmaps, Plan and execute technical work, Facilitate retrospectives, strategy sessions, and technical deep-dives, Identify, mitigate, and resolve blockers to team progress
Full Job Description
Who We Are At 8th Light, we bring life to the best ideas. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Chicago, we are a technology solutions provider that partners with organizations to solve meaningful challenges and drive sustainable growth. From early-stage startups to global enterprises, we work across industries to optimize our clients’ digital products through product strategy innovation, experiential design, AI solutions, and deep engineering expertise. Our commitment to quality means we deliver solutions we’re truly proud of, while our curiosity sparks innovation and breakthrough thinking. 8th Lights thrive in an environment that champions continuous education, fueling our growth through mentorship and hands-on work. We foster an open, collaborative culture grounded in honesty that builds trust, and believe true success is measured by the outcomes we create for our clients. If this kind of work and our kind of people energizes you, you’ve found the right place. Who You Are You’ve shown long-term repeated success on a variety of projects, typically over the course of 10+ years. You are a trusted expert and leader, often called upon to guide ambiguous initiatives and architect scalable solutions. You bring a blend of deep consulting acumen, technical expertise, and product thinking that drives measurable and impactful outcomes. In your previous experience, you have: Demonstrated long-term success on high-stakes consulting engagements across multiple language paradigms, stacks, ecosystems, technical environments, and client industries Built high-quality, maintainable software collaboratively, incrementally, and through an approach tailored towards the unique needs of the clients you’ve served Led the development and delivery of production-grade software using a variety of languages and frameworks, including but not limited to: Python, Java, JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Ruby, Scala, R, SQL, and Go Evaluated and strategically applied AI-assistive development tools to
Applying for this Principal Software Engineer role?
Most applicants get filtered before a human reads their resume. See if yours makes the cut.
How to Apply on Greenhouse
- Create a Greenhouse profile before applying — it saves time across multiple applications.
- Upload your resume as a PDF; the parser handles it better than Word.
- Answer all knockout questions carefully — wrong answers auto-reject before a human sees you.
- Enable email notifications to track application status in real time.
ANONYMOUS · UNFILTERED
What do employees actually say about 8th Light?
Real rants from real employees. Read before you apply.