
Principal Software Engineer
Oracle · United States
- Hybrid
- Full-time
- $165,000 / year
- United States
Job highlights
- Build AI-native engineering systems for cloud operations.
- Utilize AI-assisted development and automation workflows.
- Design scalable cloud-native systems and intelligent tooling.
- Develop internal platforms and AI-enabled engineering systems.
- Mentor engineers in AI-native development practices.
About the role
About the Role
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is building the next generation of AI native engineering systems powering cloud operations, infrastructure automation, and developer productivity at scale. We are looking for a Principal Software Development Engineer (IC4) who operates as an AI native builder. This is not a traditional software engineering role centered on manual coding. Engineers on this team use AI assisted development, coding agents, and automation first workflows as the default mode of software creation. This role focuses on rapidly building intelligent systems, internal platforms, operational tooling, and cloud native services using modern AI driven engineering practices. You will work across distributed systems, automation platforms, developer experience, and operational intelligence to dramatically improve engineering velocity, reliability, and scale. Engineers on this team are expected to deeply integrate LLMs, coding copilots, agentic IDEs, and AI orchestration workflows into their daily development process. Success in this role is measured not only by code written, but by the ability to effectively leverage AI systems to accelerate delivery, automate repetitive engineering work, and solve high impact operational problems.
Responsibilities
- Design and build scalable cloud native systems, automation platforms, and intelligent operational tooling.
- Use AI assisted development workflows as the primary engineering model for software design, implementation, debugging, testing, and documentation.
- Build systems where humans supervise and orchestrate intelligent automation rather than manually executing repetitive engineering tasks.
- Rapidly prototype and productionize solutions using modern AI native development environments and agentic workflows.
- Develop internal developer platforms, APIs, operational workflows, and AI enabled engineering systems.
- Improve engineering productivity through intelligent automation, workflow orchestration, and self service tooling.
- Partner across engineering, infrastructure, and operations teams to solve complex technical and operational challenges.
- Drive operational excellence through observability, automated remediation, telemetry, and resilient system design.
- Contribute to architecture, technical strategy, and engineering best practices across the organization.
- Mentor engineers in modern AI native development practices and automation first engineering approaches.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related technical field.
- 5+ years of software engineering experience building scalable production systems.
- Strong programming skills in Java, Python, Go, or JavaScript/TypeScript.
- Experience building distributed systems, cloud native applications, APIs, or automation platforms.
- Experience with CI/CD systems, cloud infrastructure, containers, and modern software development practices.
- Strong systems thinking, debugging, and problem solving skills.
- Ability to independently drive projects in fast moving and ambiguous environments.
Preferred Qualifications
- Deep experience using AI assisted development tools such as Cursor, Copilot, Claude, Codex or similar agentic engineering environments.
- Strong understanding of AI native software development workflows, prompt driven engineering, and LLM assisted system design.
- Experience building developer productivity tooling, workflow automation systems, or operational intelligence platforms.
- Familiarity with Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, and Infrastructure as Code technologies.
- Experience with observability platforms, telemetry systems, and production operations.
- Knowledge of LLM orchestration frameworks, retrieval systems, vector databases, or AI infrastructure concepts is a plus.
- Demonstrated ability to rapidly ship high quality production systems using AI accelerated engineering workflows.
- Strong communication and cross functional collaboration skills.
About Us
Only Oracle brings together the data, infrastructure, applications, and expertise to power everything from industry innovations to life-saving care. And with AI embedded across our products and services, we help customers turn that promise into a better future for all. Discover your potential at a company leading the way in AI and cloud solutions that impact billions of lives. True innovation starts when everyone is empowered to contribute. That’s why we’re committed to growing a workforce that promotes opportunities for all with competitive benefits that support our people with flexible medical, life insurance, and retirement options. We also encourage employees to give back to their communities through our volunteer programs.
Key skills/competency
- Principal Software Engineer
- AI Native Development
- Cloud Native Systems
- Automation Platforms
- Intelligent Tooling
- Distributed Systems
- LLM Integration
- Agentic Workflows
- Developer Productivity
- CI/CD
Skills & topics
- Principal Software Engineer
- AI Native Development
- Cloud Native
- Automation
- Distributed Systems
- LLM
- Software Engineering
- Oracle
- OCI
- Developer Productivity
- Python
- Java
- Go
- JavaScript
- TypeScript
- CI/CD
- Containers
- Kubernetes
- IC4
How to get hired
- Tailor your resume: Highlight experience with AI-assisted development, LLMs, and scalable cloud systems. Quantify achievements using AI to boost productivity or solve problems.
- Showcase AI proficiency: Emphasize experience with tools like Copilot, Claude, or agentic IDEs in your application and interviews. Detail how you've integrated AI into development workflows.
- Demonstrate systems thinking: Prepare to discuss your experience building distributed systems, cloud-native applications, and automation platforms. Be ready to solve complex technical challenges.
- Highlight leadership and mentorship: As a Principal Engineer, showcase your ability to drive projects, mentor others in AI-native practices, and contribute to technical strategy.
Technical preparation
Behavioral questions
Frequently asked questions
- What is an 'AI Native Builder' role at Oracle?
- An AI Native Builder at Oracle, specifically for the Principal Software Engineer position, means you'll be pioneering software development using AI-assisted tools, coding agents, and automation-first workflows as your primary methods. This role emphasizes leveraging AI to accelerate development, improve reliability, and solve complex problems rather than traditional manual coding.
- What programming languages are most important for this Principal Software Engineer role at Oracle?
- For this Principal Software Engineer position at Oracle, strong programming skills in Java, Python, Go, or JavaScript/TypeScript are essential. The ability to apply these languages within AI-driven development environments and to build scalable, cloud-native systems is key.
- How does Oracle leverage AI in its engineering practices for this role?
- Oracle is embedding AI into its engineering practices by using LLMs, coding copilots, agentic IDEs, and AI orchestration workflows. Engineers in this Principal Software Engineer role are expected to integrate these tools deeply into their daily development process for software design, implementation, testing, and documentation.
- What is the career level for this Principal Software Engineer position at Oracle?
- This Principal Software Engineer position at Oracle is at the IC4 career level. This signifies a senior individual contributor role with significant experience and responsibility in driving technical strategy and execution.
- What are the key technical skills beyond programming languages for this Oracle role?
- Beyond programming languages, key technical skills for this Principal Software Engineer role include experience with distributed systems, cloud-native applications, APIs, automation platforms, CI/CD systems, cloud infrastructure, containers, observability platforms, and potentially Kubernetes, Docker, and Terraform. A strong understanding of AI-native software development workflows is also crucial.
- Does Oracle offer remote work for this Principal Software Engineer position?
- The job description does not explicitly state the work arrangement for this Principal Software Engineer role. However, Oracle operates globally and offers various work models. It is recommended to inquire about the specific work arrangement during the application or interview process.