
Principal Software Engineer (PMTS), Full Stack
Qualified · United States
- Hybrid
- Full-time
- $260,000 / year
- United States
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Job highlights
- Lead technical strategy for major product areas.
- Architect complex full-stack systems.
- Build AI-powered experiences using LLMs.
- Mentor engineers and raise engineering standards.
- Drive cross-team initiatives from concept to launch.
About the role
About Salesforce
Salesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans with agents drive customer success together. Here, ambition meets action. Tech meets trust. And innovation isn’t a buzzword — it’s a way of life. The world of work as we know it is changing and we're looking for Trailblazers who are passionate about bettering business and the world through AI, driving innovation, and keeping Salesforce's core values at the heart of it all. Ready to level-up your career at the company leading workforce transformation in the agentic era? You’re in the right place! Agentforce is the future of AI, and you are the future of Salesforce.Engineering at Qualified
Engineering at Qualified is a high-ownership, high-velocity environment where engineers ship customer-facing product to real enterprises at scale. We’re building at the frontier of AI + product: developing agentic software and embedding AI directly into our platform, using modern toolchains and processes that help engineers move faster while staying focused on high-impact problem solving. Following our acquisition by Salesforce, we continue to operate with the pace and ownership of a startup—backed by the distribution, resources, and long-term runway of a global enterprise. Engineers have true end-to-end ownership from idea to production: scoping, implementation, testing, deployment, monitoring, and iterative improvement based on real customer feedback. You’ll work alongside a high-talent-density team that cares deeply about craft, performance, reliability, and user experience—and that raises the bar through collaboration, code review, and strong engineering principles. The result is accelerated growth and impact: you’ll make architecture decisions, solve meaningful system design challenges, and see your work land quickly with customers—without layers of approvals slowing you down.The Role
As a Principal Engineer on the Product Team, you’ll set technical direction for broad, business-critical areas of the product and drive execution across multiple teams and stakeholders. You’ll take the most ambiguous, highest-leverage problems—where the right approach is not obvious—and turn them into durable systems, scalable architectures, and repeatable delivery patterns. You’ll partner with product and design leadership to shape strategy and roadmap, and you’ll translate goals into clear technical plans, milestones, and success metrics. You’ll also help us translate emerging AI capabilities into practical, reliable product experiences—choosing the right techniques for the job, designing clean interfaces between AI components and the rest of the system, and ensuring the resulting features are observable, testable, and maintainable.What You’ll Do
- Define and drive technical strategy for major product areas, ensuring long-term scalability, reliability, and developer velocity
- Lead large, cross-team initiatives from concept through launch and iteration (including sequencing, dependency management, and stakeholder alignment)
- Architect and evolve complex systems spanning frontend, backend services, and data models; make pragmatic tradeoffs that optimize for customer outcomes and operational excellence
- Establish and evolve engineering standards (architecture patterns, testing strategy, performance budgets, reliability/observability practices) that scale across teams
- Build AI-powered experiences using LLMs, embeddings, and related techniques where they create real user value, with strong engineering around evaluation, observability, and iteration
- Proactively identify and eliminate systemic risks: reliability gaps, performance bottlenecks, scaling constraints, and operational toil
- Mentor and develop engineers across levels; amplify impact by coaching technical leaders and raising the bar for design and execution
- Communicate clearly and influence effectively across engineering, product, design, and leadership—especially during high-ambiguity decisions
Who You Are
- Deep experience shipping and operating production full-stack web applications at scale
- Demonstrated ability to set technical direction and drive alignment across multiple teams or workstreams
- Strong track record delivering large, complex initiatives with meaningful dependencies and cross-functional stakeholders
- Excellent systems thinking: you can reason about architecture, performance, reliability, and developer experience as a cohesive whole
- Hands-on experience applying AI/ML in product (LLMs, embeddings, or similar), with strong judgment about evaluation, safety/reliability, and user trust
- Comfortable operating in ambiguity and creating clarity: framing problems, defining approaches, and making decisions that stick
- Strong communicator: you can write and speak clearly to different audiences and drive decisions through influence
- Product-minded: you care about UX and customer outcomes, not just implementation
- Ownership mindset and bias for action
- Experience with modern web frameworks (Rails/React/Postgres/AWS is a plus; adaptability matters most)
Nice to Have
- Experience with enterprise SaaS (especially B2B marketing or sales tech)
- Experience with real-time systems (chat, messaging, event-driven)
- Familiarity with Salesforce/CRM integrations
- Experience building agentic systems or autonomous tool-using workflows
- Experience defining reliability practices (SLIs/SLOs), incident response improvements, or observability standards
- Startup experience and rapid shipping
Why Join Qualified
- Build real product with real impact: Ship customer-facing features that directly improve pipeline generation and the day-to-day workflows of go-to-market teams at major enterprises.
- Work across the full stack: Own meaningful slices of the product across frontend, backend, and data—optimizing for speed, quality, and maintainability.
- AI as a core product surface: Help turn new AI capabilities into dependable experiences that customers trust, with strong engineering around evaluation, observability, and iteration.
- High bar, low bureaucracy: Work with a team that values craft and decisive execution, where strong ideas win and shipping is the default.
- Room to grow: Take on larger technical and product scope over time—leading projects, influencing architecture, and leveling up quickly.
Key skills/competency
Principal Software Engineer, Full Stack Engineer, Software Development, System Architecture, AI/ML, LLMs, Embeddings, Scalability, Reliability, Performance Optimization, Technical Leadership, Cross-functional Collaboration.Skills & topics
- Principal Software Engineer
- Full Stack Engineer
- Software Development
- System Architecture
- AI/ML
- LLM
- Embeddings
- Scalability
- Reliability
- Performance Optimization
- Technical Leadership
- Salesforce
- Qualified
- Web Application Development
- Enterprise SaaS
How to get hired
- Tailor your resume: Highlight full-stack development, AI/ML experience, and systems architecture relevant to Principal Software Engineer roles.
- Showcase impact: Quantify achievements in shipping production applications and leading complex initiatives at scale.
- Prepare for technical deep dives: Brush up on system design, performance optimization, and AI/ML integration strategies.
- Understand Salesforce culture: Research their core values, AI focus, and commitment to innovation and equality.
- Craft your narrative: Be ready to discuss your experience in ambiguous situations and driving technical direction.
Technical preparation
Master full-stack architecture and design patterns.,Practice system design for scalability and reliability.,Prepare for AI/ML integration and LLM application.,Review modern web frameworks (Rails, React, AWS).
Behavioral questions
Discuss leading ambiguous technical initiatives.,Explain how you drive alignment across teams.,Share an example of architecting complex systems.,Describe your approach to mentoring engineers.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the application deadline for the Principal Software Engineer role at Salesforce?
- Applications for the Principal Software Engineer position at Salesforce will be accepted until June 15, 2026. It's advisable to apply well before this date to ensure your application is fully considered.
- What is the typical salary range for a Principal Software Engineer at Salesforce?
- The typical base salary range for this Principal Software Engineer position is $172,500 - $260,100 annually. In select areas like the San Francisco and New York City metropolitan areas, the range is $207,800 - $285,800 annually. For Ontario, it's CAD 154,700 to CAD 204,700, and for British Columbia, it's CAD 154,700 to CAD 212,800. This range excludes bonuses, equity, and benefits.
- Does Salesforce use AI in their hiring process for Principal Software Engineer roles?
- Yes, Salesforce utilizes AI tools to help recruiters assess resumes and qualifications. However, human decision-makers always make the final selection and hiring decisions for roles like Principal Software Engineer. You can find more information in their Candidate Privacy Statement.
- What are the key technical skills required for the Principal Software Engineer role?
- Key technical skills include deep experience in shipping and operating production full-stack web applications, strong systems thinking for architecture, performance, and reliability, and hands-on experience with AI/ML in product, such as LLMs and embeddings. Experience with modern web frameworks like Rails, React, Postgres, and AWS is a plus.
- What does 'high-ownership, high-velocity environment' mean for engineers at Qualified/Salesforce?
- It means engineers have significant responsibility ('high-ownership') for their work from idea to production, including scoping, implementation, testing, and monitoring. 'High-velocity' signifies a fast-paced environment where engineers ship customer-facing products quickly and efficiently, benefiting from startup-like agility backed by enterprise resources.
- How does the acquisition by Salesforce affect the engineering culture at Qualified?
- Following the acquisition, Qualified continues to operate with the pace and ownership of a startup while gaining the distribution, resources, and long-term runway of a global enterprise like Salesforce. This provides engineers with accelerated growth and impact opportunities.
- What is the role of AI in this Principal Software Engineer position?
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