Principal Software Engineer

Principal Software Engineer

Salary

$144,020.00 - $170,000.00 Annually

Location

10 Park Plaza, Boston

Job Type

Full-Time

Job Number

26-20090

Department

MBTA - Technology Innovation Division

Area

863-Technology Innovation Division

Opening Date

08/05/2026

Closing Date

8/19/2026 11:59 PM Eastern

Bargaining Unit

MBTA Exec Main Fund

Licenses / Certifications

Please see job description.

Safety Sensitive

No; this is not a Safety Sensitive position.

On-Call or 24/7

No; this position is not classified as on-call or 24/7.

Essential Classification (Emergency Staff)

No; this position is classified as non-essential (during declared States of Emergency).

• Description
• Benefits
• Questions

At the MBTA, we envision a thriving region enabled by a best-in-class transit system. Our mission is to serve the public by providing safe, reliable, and accessible transportation. MBTA's core values are built around safety, service, equity, sustainability, culture, and accessibility, and each employee that works for the MBTA performs their roles based on our vision, mission, and values. This includes attendance, participation, and contribution in local safety committee meetings as needed.

Job Summary

The Principal Software Engineer is a cross-team technical leader who architects multi-team systems, drives long-term technical strategy, and influences engineering direction. This position will collaborate closely with relevant Technology team members in UX Research and Design, Content, Product and Program to solve complex user problems efficiently. This role will reduce system-wide complexity, design scalable system architecture, align technical strategy across teams toward common business goals, lead large multi-team initiatives, and shape architectural best practices and guardrails in your cross-team domain area. The Principal Software Engineer is expected to both work toward solving complex business problems as well as identify efficiencies across teams in their domain area and align these teams toward a technical vision to implement these efficiencies along with delivering the applicable product roadmaps.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Architect multi-team systems for scalability, resilience, and maintainability.
• Lead cross-team design reviews and ensure architectural coherence.
• Break down ambiguous organizational goals into clear execution strategies.
• Identify, actively manage a backlog for and resolve systemic reliability, performance, and productivity risks in your domain area.
• Define the technical vision and strategy for their domain area.
• Influence technical roadmaps across multiple teams and domains.
• Mentor senior and lead software engineers; grow technical leadership capacity.
• Lead modernization, tooling, and/or CI/CD improvements across TID for efficiency gains.
• Facilitate alignment across engineering, UX, product, ops, and external partners to achieve business goals efficiently and effectively.
• Participate in on-call rotation of technology systems and services as needed.
• Perform all other duties and projects that may be assigned.

Additional responsibilities may include focus on one or more departments or locations. See applicable addendum for department or location specific functions.

Supervision

• One to three (1-3) direct reports.

Minimum Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelors degree from an accredited institution.
• Ten (10) or more years of relevant professional experience in software engineering with demonstrated success architecting complex systems, reducing systemic reliability risks, and shaping technical strategy.
• Five (5) years of technical leadership experience such as functional, program, or project management, driving system architecture and cross-team delivery in a modern software engineering environment.
• Experience leading end-to-end delivery of complex projects requiring ingenuity and resourcefulness, including leading multi-team technical initiatives, often requiring technical alignment from multiple teams to execute.
• Deep technical expertise across multiple domains.
• Strong architectural judgment and ability to anticipate long-term implications.
• Demonstrated experience aligning technical vision and strategy across multiple teams toward a common business or efficiency goal.
• Exceptional communication and cross-functional alignment skills.
• Demonstrated proficiency in at least two (2) programming languages from the TIOBE top 20 (https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/)
• Ability to participate in on-call rotation of technology systems and services.
• As part of the selection process, candidates will be asked to complete and pass job-related technical assessments, which may include a software design diagramming exercise and/or a timed coding exercise.

Substitutions

• A high school diploma or GED with an additional seven (7) years of directly related experience substitutes for the bachelor's degree requirement.
• An associate's degree from an accredited institution and an additional three (3) years of directly related experience substitutes for the bachelor's degree requirement.
• A master's degree in a related subject substitutes for two (2) years of general experience.
• A nationally recognized certification, or statewide/professional certification in a related field substitutes for one (1) year of experience.

Preferred Experience & Skills

• Experience driving organization-wide technical programs.
• Experience designing systems with major scale, reliability, or compliance constraints.
• Experience with Elixir.
• Experience with AWS.
• Experience in public sector, transportation agency, and/or civic technology team.
• Experience with Terraform / OpenTofu / Infrastructure as Code tools.
• Experience developing code as part of an open-source project.
• Knowledge of transit data standards (such as GTFS, GTFS-RT, TODS, TIDES)
• Advanced degree from accredited institution in computer science or similar field.

Job Conditions:

• Ability to effectively read, comprehend, communicate, and respond to instructions, orders, signs, notices, inquiries, etc. in English.
• Be at least eighteen (18) years of age, except if participating in an approved high school internship / co-op program.
• Ability to commute to assigned work locations in the Boston, MA metro area, as required by the role.
• Ability to provide internal and external customers with courteous and professional experiences.
• Ability to work effectively, independently, and as part of a diverse workforce team (or supervise, if required).
• Ability to uphold the rights and interests of the MBTA while building and maintaining effective relationships with employees and co-workers.
• Ability to adhere to rules, regulations, collective bargaining agreements (if applicable), and policies of the MBTA, including the EEO, anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, and anti-retaliation policies.
• Have a satisfactory work record for the two (2) years immediately prior to the closing date of this posting (unless if current student or recent graduate), including overall employment, job performance, discipline, and safety records (infractions and/or offenses occurring after the closing of the posting and before the filling of a vacancy may preclude a candidate from consideration for selection).
• Ability to pass a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check, comprehensive background screening, and / or medical Clinic screening, potentially including physical examination and drug and alcohol screenings.
• Ability to work all shifts and / or locations assigned, directed, or necessary for this position, including (for some transit / operations roles) up to twenty-four (24) hours per day, seven (7) days per week as necessary to accommodate severe weather conditions, emergencies, or any other circumstances that may potentially impact service or the safety of service.
• Intern / co-op staff must be enrolled full or part-time in an accredited educational program and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 for the entire duration of the internship / co-op. Additionally, interns / co-ops must have valid work authorization and U.S. Social Security Number prior to starting pre-employment screenings / pre-boarding, working in their positions, and throughout the duration of their program.

Disclaimers and Definitions:

• General Disclaimer: The statements contained in this job description are intended to describe a summary, general nature, and complexity of typical job functions and do not represent an exhaustive list of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities required of staff assigned to this position.
• Application Completion: It is each applicant's responsibility to ensure application details are entered completely and correctly, including updated work and education histories (past and current). Incomplete applications may not be considered. Attachments do not substitute for application fields. The recruitment team does not have access to existing employee data / history.
• Application Deadlines: Applicants should apply as soon as possible, as the MBTA may stop considering applicants after a sufficiently large applicant pool is established.
• Work Environment: The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here-in are representative of those an employee may encounter while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations can be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. See job description for role-specific requirements.
• Work Eligibility: All employees must be legally authorized to work in the United States and on an unrestricted basis. The MBTA does not have an employer work sponsorship program. However, if you have unrestricted work authorization, or are sponsored by a separate entity, you are welcome to apply. Further, all persons hired will require a U.S. Social Security Number prior to starting the position and employees will be required to complete a Form I-9 to verify their identity and eligibility to work in the U.S.
• Interviews: Candidates should ensure they arrive on time, are prepared, can remain for the duration, and if remote, are in a quiet place without distraction, for the interview. Candidates who do not attend their interview without advance authorization, including an email confirmation of a rescheduled time/date from Human Resources, will be considered a no-show and disqualified from consideration for the position. Related to rescheduling, on a one-time basis, and due to something emergent, you may be allowed to reschedule the interview. In addition, Human Resources may require documentation supporting the request. However, should you need to reschedule, you will need to contact your Recruiter directly by email.
• Safety Sensitive Positions: Employees working in this classification will be subject to periodic physical examinations plus random drug and alcohol testing.
• On-call or 24/7 Positions: Employees working in this classification must be available to respond to page / text / call and report to work as determined by assigned department or the Authority.
• Essential / Emergency Staff: During declared "states of emergency," employees working in this classification are required to report to work for their assigned work hours or as directed by management.
• ADA Accommodations: The MBTA makes reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If you require an accommodation during this process, please contact the MBTAs ADA Unit at 617-222-5751 or hradaaa@mbta.com.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The MBTA is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. For terms, descriptions, and definitions related to diversity, equity, inclusion, veteran status, and immediate family members that you may find on the application form, please visit mbta.com/careers-app-definitions.
• Intern / Co-Op Benefits: Employees taking part in an internship or co-op at the MBTA are eligible to receive accrued paid sick leave as well as a monthly transportation pass, based on the city from which the intern / co-op commutes to work, at no cost. However, no additional benefits are currently offered for interns or co-ops.

Employment Benefits at the MBTA

Full-Time Employees:

The MBTA offers comprehensive benefits packages. Types of benefits offered at the MBTA are subject to the union affiliation / Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) of the position to which you apply. Benefits that may apply to your position include the following:

• Insurance: Health, Dental, Vision, Life (basic and supplemental), and Long-Term Disability
• Paid Time Off (PTO): Vacation, Personal Days, Sick Leave, and Holidays
• Retirement: Pension or deferred compensation 401(a), plus MBTA contributions
• Complimentary pass for travel on the MBTA transit system (bus, train, ferry, and Commuter Rail)
• Tuition Reimbursement (up to $10,000 per year)
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) for student loans
• Commuter Choice Parking Program: Pre-tax benefits for parking
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA): Pre-tax benefits for healthcare-related expenses
• Discounted tickets for concerts, movies, travel / vacation, etc. via TicketsAtWork.com
• Shopping discounts via GovX.com
• Verizon and AT&T service discounts
• And more...

Disclaimer:

The above information is meant to be a general overview of the benefit programs offered by the MBTA, which may or may not apply to a specific position. This summary is not a contract and is not meant to change the provisions of union contracts or Authority policies and does not establish a binding practice. Please contact the assigned Recruiter directly or email hrstaffing@mbta.com for more information.

The MBTA is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer

01

Which statement most accurately describes your education and experience?

• I did not obtain a high school diploma or equivalent.
• A high school diploma or equivalent and seventeen (17) or more years of relevant professional experience in software engineering with demonstrated success architecting complex systems, reducing systemic reliability risks, and shaping technical strategy.
• An associates degree and thirteen (13) or more years of relevant professional experience in software engineering with demonstrated success architecting complex systems, reducing systemic reliability risks, and shaping technical strategy.
• A Bachelors degree from an accredited institution and ten (10) or more years of relevant professional experience in software engineering with demonstrated success architecting complex systems, reducing systemic reliability risks, and shaping technical strategy.
• A master's degree in a related subject and eight (8) or more years of relevant professional experience in software engineering with demonstrated success architecting complex systems, reducing systemic reliability risks, and shaping technical strategy.

02

Do you have a nationally recognized certification, or statewide/professional certification in a related field to substitute for one (1) year of the required experience?

• Yes
• No

03

Do you have five (5) or more years of technical leadership experience such as functional, program, or project management, driving system architecture and cross-team delivery in a modern software engineering environment?

• Yes
• No

04

Do you have experience leading end-to-end delivery of complex projects requiring ingenuity and resourcefulness, including leading multi-team technical initiatives, often requiring technical alignment from multiple teams to execute?

• Yes
• No

05

Do you have demonstrated proficiency in at least two (2) programming languages from the TIOBE top 20? Please briefly explain.

06

Do you have the ability to participate in on-call rotation of technology systems and services?

• Yes
• No

07

As part of the selection process, candidates will be asked to complete and pass job-related technical assessments, which may include a software design diagramming exercise and/or a timed coding exercise. Do you consent to participation in the assessment(s)?

• Yes
• No

08

Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?

• Yes
• No

09

Will you now or in the future require visa sponsorship to continue working in the United States (e.g. H-1B visa status)?

• Yes
• No

Required Question

Employer Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Address 10 Park Plaza

Boston, Massachusetts, 02116

Phone (617) 222-3200

Website https://www.mbta.com