Principal Software Development Engineer

About the Role The International team is seeking a talented and driven Principal Software Development Engineer to join CarGurus' new Dublin office and lead product initiatives for our Canadian and UK markets, and play a key role in establishing the office’s culture. You’ll own the full software development lifecycle across frontend and backend, collaborating with Engineering and Product peers to design innovative solutions and tackle complex challenges for dealer-facing products.

What You'll Do

• Work closely with engineers, product managers, and stakeholders across the company to refine new product requirements and transform them into effective technical solutions.
• Own the full development lifecycle from refining initial concepts and architecting advanced features as robust microservices and modern web applications (Java/React/TypeScript), to implementing and delivering practical, high-quality systems.
• Contribute to high standards of quality by ensuring code is reliable, performant, and well-tested, with automated tests across the testing pyramid that ensure strong production health of our systems.
• Promote a culture of observability and operation excellence by helping teams leverage metrics to diagnose, mitigate, and resolve challenging production issues across multiple services and boost operational excellence.
• Use AI technologies, optimizing the software development process and driving greater efficiency across teams.
• Mentor engineers by offering guidance, actionable feedback, and insightful recommendations to support sound technical decision-making in the new Dublin hub.

What We're Looking For

• 8+ years of experience as a professional Software Engineer, including 3+ years serving as a technical lead or principal engineer.
• Deep full-stack expertise working with Java and TypeScript (or similar languages) and frameworks such as Spring Boot, Hibernate, and React.
• 5+ years of experience designing, building, deploying, scaling, testing, and evolving distributed systems using service-oriented architecture in 24/7 production environments.
• 2+ years of experience using cloud infrastructure technologies such as AWS, Terraform or similar cloud services.
• Hands-on experience working with both relational and NoSQL databases, applying the right data models to diverse needs.
• Experience in operating and troubleshooting production systems.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication abilities, with a demonstrated talent for translating technical concepts for both engineering and business audiences.
• Consistent record of being self-motivated, resourceful, and proactive in driving projects and business goals.
• An aptitude for leveraging AI tools such as Claude Code, Cursor, or similar to enhance software development and operational efficiency.
• Additional hands-on experience with LLMs is a huge plus.
• Bonus: Deep experience with server-side TypeScript and modern isomorphic frameworks (especially Remix, though Next.js or Express are also highly valued).

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary range: Not disclosed; the displayed range represents the expected annual base salary / OTE; USD; annual.
• On-Target Earnings (OTE) is inclusive of base salary and on-target commission earnings, which applies exclusively to sales roles.