8th Light
technology solutions provider
PrincipalSoftwareEngineer
Neural analysis suggests this role is
optimal for Lead candidates.
“Principal Software Engineer at 8th Light. Skills: Software architecture, AI/ML systems, Consulting, Leadership. Build trust with clients. Demonstrate technical expertise”
What You'll Achieve.
Solve meaningful challenges; Drive sustainable growth; Optimize digital products; 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; Empower developers; Align with business outcomes; Improve team and project outcomes
Industry & Context.
Solve meaningful challenges; Solve complex problems; Assess new tooling; Assess new trends; Remedy architecture-level concerns; Evaluate tradeoffs
Remote-first company, Distributed team across US, Canada, UK, Hubs in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Access to coworking spaces for global team, Engagements typically 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
Experience in Delivering and advising on enterprise-grade AI systems, including RAG pipelines, vector search, and agentic frameworks, Experience 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.
Build trust with clients
Demonstrate technical expertise
Guide technical direction
Solve complex problems
Demonstrate best practices
Advise clients on architecture
Advise clients on scalability
Advise clients on platform evolution
Collaborate on systems involving ML lifecycle
Lead feedback conversations
Articulate and document outcomes
Contribute to team health
Design high-level technical roadmaps
Maintain client relationships
Coach client engineering teams
Influence client CTOs
Influence executive decisions
Execute technical work
Identify account opportunities
Facilitate retrospectives
Facilitate strategy sessions
Facilitate technical deep-dives
Lead internal workshops
Design internal workshops
Lead client workshops
Design client workshops
Represent company in tech community
Support hiring processes
Demonstrate leadership in scalable system design
Demonstrate leadership in modular architecture
Demonstrate leadership in platform development
Demonstrate leadership in product-oriented development
Apply architectural patterns
Drive design rationale
How You'll Work.
Team & Collaboration
Collaboratively build software; Facilitate alignment and collaboration across stakeholders; Collaboratively lead stakeholders; Collaborate on systems; Collaborate with teams; Foster collaboration and connection
Communication Scope
Clearly articulate outcomes; Document outcomes
Process & Methodology
Manage engagements, Drive action items, Identify blockers, Mitigate blockers, Resolve blockers
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
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