Principal Software Engineer, Front-End

Principal Software Engineer, Front-End

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $180,000-$225,000 base salary, depending on experience

Location: Sandy, UT preferred; remote within the United States considered

Description:

We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer with strong front-end experience, solid Python fundamentals, and the ability to lead both technically and operationally as our product and engineering needs grow.

As a Principal Software Engineer, Front-End, you will begin as a high-impact individual contributor while you learn our product, architecture, team, and development practices. In the first few months, your focus will be hands-on technical execution: shipping meaningful product improvements, understanding our front-end patterns, and building credibility across the engineering team.

As you ramp up, this role will expand into technical leadership and light management of a small group of outsourced front-end engineers, likely two to three developers. You will help guide front-end architecture, improve engineering quality, mentor developers, review work, and ensure our outsourced team is aligned with 401GO's product and technical standards.

This role is ideal for someone who has already operated at a Staff or Principal level, enjoys staying close to the code, and has experience leading a small engineering team.

What You'll Be Doing:

• Serve as a Principal-level individual contributor on product and front-end engineering work.
• Lead front-end architecture decisions and help improve the quality, consistency, and maintainability of our user interfaces.
• Work across the stack when needed, especially with Python-based backend systems.
• Collaborate closely with product, design, operations, and engineering leadership.
• Review code, provide technical direction, and raise the bar for engineering quality.
• Help manage and guide a small team of outsourced front-end engineers after the initial ramp-up period.
• Translate product and business needs into practical, maintainable technical solutions.
• Identify technical debt and help prioritize pragmatic improvements.
• Mentor engineers and provide clear technical feedback.
• Help establish patterns, standards, and practices that allow the team to move quickly without sacrificing quality.

What You Bring:

• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Strong front-end engineering experience.
• Prior experience operating at a Staff, Principal, or equivalent senior technical level.
• Experience leading a small engineering team, either formally or informally.
• Professional Python experience.
• Strong judgment around software architecture, maintainability, testing, and code quality.
• Ability to work effectively as both a hands-on engineer and technical leader.
• Clear communication skills and the ability to work cross-functionally.
• Experience mentoring engineers and providing actionable code review feedback.
• Eligibility to work in the United States.

Bonus points for:

• Django experience.
• HTMX experience.
• Experience working with or managing outsourced engineers.
• Experience with SaaS products, fintech, payroll, benefits, retirement, or regulated industries.
• Experience improving front-end systems in a mature production application.
• Experience working in a small or scaling engineering team.

Location:

We are flexible for remote work, but candidates must be located in the United States and eligible to work in the United States.

Preference will be given to candidates located in the Salt Lake Valley who are able to work in-office at our Sandy, Utah office.

Compensation:

The expected base salary range for this role is $180,000-$225,000, depending on experience, location, and fit for the role. We may consider flexibility for exceptional candidates with deep Principal-level experience, strong front-end leadership, Python/Django expertise, and experience managing outsourced engineering teams.

Why 401GO?

At 401GO, we're not just changing retirement-we're reinventing it. As a fast-growing fintech At 401GO, we're not just changing retirement-we're reinventing it. As a fast-growing fintech startup, we've built one of the world's most advanced, fully automated retirement platforms, making it easier for hardworking Americans to save for the future.

We're a company where innovation moves quickly, great ideas are encouraged, and every team member has the opportunity to make a meaningful impact. You'll work alongside talented, collaborative people who are passionate about building exceptional products and delivering outstanding experiences for our customers.

We believe that investing in our employees is just as important as helping our clients invest in their futures. That's why we offer competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits, opportunities for professional growth, and a culture built on teamwork, ownership, and continuous improvement.

If you're looking for a place where your contributions matter, your career can grow, and you'll help shape the future of retirement, we'd love to meet you.

What We Offer

• A standout 401(k) plan (naturally!).
• Generous stock options-share in our growth and success.
• Flexible work environment-choose where you're most productive.
• Excellent benefits, including medical, dental, and vision.
• Flexible hours-because great work doesn't always happen 9-5.
• Plenty of PTO-we value work-life balance.
• A fully stocked kitchen when you're in the office.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We support a working environment that provides qualified employees and applicants with equal employment opportunity on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, age, religion, gender (including pregnancy, gender identification and/or gender nonconformity) sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, genetic information, physical or mental disability, citizenship, past, current or prospective service in the uniformed services or any other basis prohibited by federal, state, or local law.