Principal Software Engineer

At Shutterfly, we make life’s experiences unforgettable. We believe there is extraordinary power in the self-expression. That’s why our family of brands helps customers create products and capture moments that reflect who they uniquely are.
We are looking for a
full stack Principal Software Engineer
who sets technical direction across frontend and backend systems, with deep expertise in commerce platforms and complex, business-critical domains. This role extends beyond individual feature ownership to architectural stewardship, technical leadership, and raising the engineering bar across teams.
A successful Principal Software Engineer brings strong engineering fundamentals, an exceptional problem-solving mindset, and a high degree of curiosity—along with the adaptability to move across different areas of the platform and focus effort where the impact and need are greatest, while continuously evaluating new technologies, patterns, and industry standards to guide the platform toward a stronger long-term state.
This is ahands-on leadership role. You will write production code, lead technical design, mentor senior engineers, and actively drive the adoption ofmodern standards, AI-assisted development practiceswhere they meaningfully improve quality, velocity, and maintainability
What You’ll Do Here

• Lead the architecture, design, and evolution ofcommerce-critical services, taking end-to-end ownership of cart systems, pricing engines, promotions and discount platforms, payment processing, address validation, tax integrations, and order-fulfillment workflows and tools.
• Partner with product, UX, and business stakeholders to translate complex requirements into robust technical solutions
• Bring latest industry standards and best practices into the team, including modern frontend, backend, and platform patterns
• Guide and mentor engineering teams through architectural and technical leadership acrossfrontend and backend systems built withReact/Next.jsandJava (Spring Boot / Restlet), driving performance, consistency, and long-term scalability
• Experience designing and working with databases, includingMongoDB, with a strong understanding of data modeling and performance considerations; and use strong SQL expertise to efficiently retrieve metrics and support data-driven decisions.
• Champion a strong problem-solving culture, tackling ambiguous and high-impact technical challenges
• Evaluate, introduce, and guide adoption of AI-driven development tools and workflows (e.g., code generation, testing, observability, and automation) with clear engineering discipline
• Proactively identify and addresssystemic risks, performance bottlenecks, and architectural gaps, while driving reliability, observability, and incident readiness
• Ensure platforms are secure, compliant, and cost-effective, with a continuous focus on maintainability and long-term extensibility

The Skills You Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field
• 10+ years of hands-on experience in full-stack web application development
• Deep expertise in designing and operating high-performance, high-scale e-commerce solutions
• Strong foundation in algorithms, data structures, and system design
• Extensive full-stack experience with React, Next.js, Java (Spring Boot / Restlet), Scala, and MongoDB
• Deep understanding of distributed systems, API design, and service-oriented architectures
• Demonstrated ownership of complex business domains, preferably large-scale commerce platforms
• Proven ability to navigate ambiguity and solve high-complexity problems using sound technical judgment
• Experience designing and building systems for scalability, reliability, and performance in cloud environments (AWS preferred)
• Deepcuriosityand continuous learner who actively explores and evaluates emerging technologies
• Strongproblem-solving mindset, comfortable with ambiguity and incomplete information
• Proactively bringsmodern industry standardsand best practices into the organization
• Thoughtful adopter ofAI-driven development, focusing on real productivity and quality gains—not novelty
• Always looking to move systems toward abetter, more maintainable, and cost-effective state
• Leads throughinfluence, mentorship, and technical excellence

Supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce is important to Shutterfly not only because it directly reflects our value of Embracing our Differences, but also because it’s the right thing to do for our business and for our people. We welcome all applicants and evaluate them based on their qualifications. Learn more about our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on our Career Site.
The compensation package for this role is based on multiple factors, such as job level, responsibilities, location, and candidate experience. The base pay ranges included below are specific to the locations listed, and may not be applicable to other locations.
California : [$134,750 - $190,750]
Connecticut and New York: [$134,750 - $174,750]
Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and Washington: [$134,750 - $161,750]
Nevada: [$126,750 - $145,500]
Maryland and New Jersey: [$145,500 - $174,750]
Hawaii : [$126,750 – $152,000]
This position may be eligible for a bonus incentive, health benefits, a 401K program, and other employee perks. More details about our company benefits can be found at https://shutterflyinc.com/benefits/.
This opportunity can be remote, but candidates must reside in a state in which Shutterfly is registered to do business. This includes all US states except District of Columbia, North Dakota, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wyoming.
This position will accept applications on an ongoing basis until filled.
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