Job Information
UKG Principal Software Development Engineer in Washington, District Of Columbia
Why UKG:
At UKG, the work you do matters. The code you ship, the decisions you make, and the care you show a customer all add up to real impact. Today, tens of millions of workers start and end their days with our workforce operating platform. Helping people get paid, grow in their careers, and shape the future of their industries. That’s what we do.
We never stop learning. We never stop challenging the norm. We push for better, and we celebrate the wins along the way. Here, you’ll get flexibility that’s real, benefits you can count on, and a team that succeeds together. Because at UKG, your work matters—and so do you.
About the Role
We are seeking a Principal Software Development Engineer in Enterprise Solutions and Experience (ESE) org to lead the architecture and development of a cloud-native onboarding platform that enables engineering teams to seamlessly deploy and operate services across multi-cloud environments including Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure, and AWS.
This role will drive the design of scalable SaaS platform services built on microservices architecture, Kubernetes, and modern DevOps practices, enabling standardized cloud onboarding, automation, and governance across multiple teams.
As a Principal Engineer, you will act as a technical leader and architect, influencing platform strategy, mentoring engineers, and ensuring engineering excellence across distributed cloud systems.
Key Responsibilities
Architecture & Platform Strategy
Lead the architecture and design of a cloud onboarding platform that enables teams to provision and manage resources across AWS, Azure, and GCP.
Define cloud-native architectural patterns using microservices, APIs, event-driven architectures, and containerized workloads.
Establish reference architectures, design standards, and platform capabilities that support scalable SaaS services.
Ensure systems are designed for high availability, scalability, security, and resilience.
Platform Development
Design and build highly scalable backend services and APIs supporting cloud onboarding workflows and automation.
Develop microservices deployed in Kubernetes environments using modern programming languages such as Java, Go, or Python.
Build reusable platform components enabling self-service cloud onboarding for engineering teams.
Integrate platform services with cloud-native capabilities including identity, networking, compute, and storage services.
Multi-Cloud Platform Engineering
Design and implement solutions supporting multi-cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP).
Develop automation frameworks for infrastructure provisioning and lifecycle management.
Implement Infrastructure as Code (Terraform or similar tools) to enable repeatable and secure cloud provisioning.
Create abstraction layers and platform tooling that simplify multi-cloud operations and governance.
DevOps & Operational Excellence
Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment frameworks.
Implement observability, monitoring, and logging solutions to ensure system reliability and performance.
Drive site reliability engineering practices, including SLAs, SLOs, and incident response processes.
Participate in production support, troubleshooting, and root cause analysis to continuously improve system stability.
Technical Leadership
Serve as a technical leader across engineering teams, influencing architecture and engineering practices.
Mentor engineers on cloud-native development, distributed systems, and microservices best practices.
Partner with product managers, architects, DevOps teams, and security teams to drive platform strategy and adoption.
Lead design reviews and guide the long-term evolution of the platform.
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
10+ years of software development experience designing and building scalable distributed systems.
Deep experience with microservices architecture and cloud-native application development.
Strong experience working with public cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
Hands-on experience with Kubernetes and containerized application development.
Strong backend development experience using Java, Go, Python, or similar languages.
Experience implementing Infrastructure as Code (Terraform or similar).
Experience designing large-scale distributed SaaS platforms.
Strong understanding of cloud security, networking, and identity management.
Experience implementing CI/CD pipelines and DevOps automation.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience building internal developer platforms or cloud onboarding systems.
Experience with event-driven architectures and messaging systems (Kafka, Pub/Sub, SNS/SQS, Event Hub).
Experience with service mesh technologies such as Istio or Linkerd.
Experience implementing GitOps practices.
Experience supporting multi-cloud architectures in enterprise environments.
Strong experience working in Agile/Scrum development environments.
Company Overview:
UKG is the Workforce Operating Platform that puts workforce understanding to work. With the world's largest collection of workforce insights, and people-first AI, our ability to reveal unseen ways to build trust, amplify productivity, and empower talent, is unmatched. It's this expertise that equips our customers with the intelligence to solve any challenge in any industry — because great organizations know their workforce is their competitive edge. Learn more at ukg.com.
Equal Opportunity Employer
UKG is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, disability, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected categories.
View The EEO Know Your Rights poster (https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-10/EEOC_KnowYourRights_screen_reader_10_20.pdf)
UKG participates in E-Verify. View the E-Verify posters here (https://www.e-verify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/EVerifyParticipationPoster.pdf) .
It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.
Disability Accommodation in the Application and Interview Process
For individuals with disabilities that need additional assistance at any point in the application and interview process, please email UKGCareers@ukg.com .
The pay range for this position is $145,600.00 to $209,300.00 USD. The actual base pay offered may vary depending on skills, experience, job-related knowledge and work location. In addition to base pay, employees may be eligible to participate in a performance-based bonus plan and to receive restricted stock unit awards as part of total compensation. Learn more about UKG’s benefits and rewards at https://www.ukg.com/about-us/careers/benefits
It is the policy of Ultimate Software to promote and assure equal employment opportunity for all current and prospective Peeps without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, veteran status, and any other legally protected status entitled to protection under federal, state, or local anti-discrimination laws. This policy governs all matters related to recruitment, advertising, and initial selection of employment. It shall also apply to all other aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, compensation, promotion, demotion, transfer, lay-offs, terminations, leave of absence, and training opportunities.