Principal Engineer

Principal Engineer – Houston, TX – Remote Lead the Evolution of Product & Software Development Processes Partner with Product Managers to Bridge Product and Engineering Client-Facing Role Focused on Scalable, Modern Delivery Practices We’re looking for a Principal Engineer to serve as the technical lead on a client engagement focused on advancing Product Development Life Cycle (PDLC) and Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) maturity. Working closely with two Product Managers, you will help establish best practices that align product strategy with engineering execution, driving scalable and efficient delivery across the organization. What You’ll Do Assess current engineering and delivery processes to identify gaps in PDLC and SDLC Define and implement scalable best practices for architecture, development workflows, and software delivery Advise engineering leadership on strategic software delivery decisions and process improvements Collaborate closely with product teams to ensure engineering aligns with product discovery and roadmaps Develop reusable standards, frameworks, and documentation to support consistent engineering practices Promote adoption of DevOps, quality assurance, and architectural best practices across teams Coach engineers and technical leaders to elevate technical rigor and maturity across delivery practices What You Bring 10 years of software engineering experience, including 3 years in principal or staff-level roles Demonstrated success shaping engineering practices at the organizational or multi-team level Expertise in modern SDLC methodologies, including CI/CD, DevOps, automated testing, and version control Strong knowledge of Agile and Lean product development frameworks Exceptional communication skills and experience working directly with clients and cross-functional teams Nice to Have Prior consulting or enterprise transformation experience Background in regulated or compliance-heavy industries Familiarity with value stream mapping, software process audits, or similar methodologies