Principal Engineer

About this role:
Wells Fargo is seeking a Principal Developer to lead our Developer Experience (DevEx) and Internal Developer Platform (IDP) initiatives. You will play a pivotal role in shaping the engineering experience across the organization by building scalable platforms, improving workflows, and championing tools like Backstage to streamline how developers build, deploy, and operate software.
This is a high-impact, cross-functional role that blends technical leadership, product thinking, and a deep empathy for developers.
In this role, you will:

• Platform Ownership: Define and evolve the vision for our Internal Developer Platform, ensuring it aligns with engineering and business goals. Drive the adoption and customization of our central IDP, integrating services, documentation, CI/CD, and observability tools.
• Developer Productivity: Identify friction points in the developer journey and implement solutions that improve onboarding, local development, testing, and deployment.
• Platform Engineering: Collaborate with infrastructure, SRE, and security teams to build self-service capabilities that abstract complexity and promote best practices.
• Metrics & Feedback Loops: Establish and track DevEx KPIs (e.g., DORA metrics, lead time, cognitive load) and use data to inform continuous improvement.
• Mentorship & Influence: Mentor senior engineers and influence engineering culture through thought leadership, technical guidance, and advocacy.

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years of Engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated through one or a combination of the following: work experience, training, military experience, education
• 2 + years of experience implementing or contributing to Backstage, Cortex, Port, or similar developer portals
• 5 + years of experience with understanding of developer workflows, CI/CD, service ownership, and cloud-native development
• 5 + years of experience in modern programming languages (e.g., TypeScript, Go, Python, Java)
• 3 + years of experience with Kubernetes, GitOps, observability stacks (e.g., Grafana, Prometheus), and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure)

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience working on or contributing to open-source DevEx tools.
• Familiarity with platform engineering principles and the "Platform as a Product" mindset
• Experience with tools like ArgoCD, Terraform, Helm, and service mesh technologies

Job Expectations:

• Telecommuting is not an option for this position
• This position offers a hybrid work schedule
• Relocation assistance in not available for this position
• This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship

Pay Range
Reflected is the base pay range offered for this position. Pay may vary depending on factors including but not limited to achievements, skills, experience, or work location. The range listed is just one component of the compensation package offered to candidates.
$159,000.00 - $305,000.00
Benefits
Wells Fargo provides eligible employees with a comprehensive set of benefits, many of which are listed below. Visit Benefits - Wells Fargo Jobs for an overview of the following benefit plans and programs offered to employees.

• Health benefits
• 401(k) Plan
• Paid time off
• Disability benefits
• Life insurance, critical illness insurance, and accident insurance
• Parental leave
• Critical caregiving leave
• Discounts and savings
• Commuter benefits
• Tuition reimbursement
• Scholarships for dependent children
• Adoption reimbursement

Posting End Date:
27 Jul 2025
* Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants.
We Value Equal Opportunity
Wells Fargo is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other legally protected characteristic.
Employees support our focus on building strong customer relationships balanced with a strong risk mitigating and compliance-driven culture which firmly establishes those disciplines as critical to the success of our customers and company. They are accountable for execution of all applicable risk programs (Credit, Market, Financial Crimes, Operational, Regulatory Compliance), which includes effectively following and adhering to applicable Wells Fargo policies and procedures, appropriately fulfilling risk and compliance obligations, timely and effective escalation and remediation of issues, and making sound risk decisions. There is emphasis on proactive monitoring, governance, risk identification and escalation, as well as making sound risk decisions commensurate with the business unit's risk appetite and all risk and compliance program requirements.
Applicants with Disabilities
To request a medical accommodation during the application or interview process, visit Disability Inclusion at Wells Fargo .
Drug and Alcohol Policy
Wells Fargo maintains a drug free workplace. Please see our Drug and Alcohol Policy to learn more.
Wells Fargo Recruitment and Hiring Requirements:
a. Third-Party recordings are prohibited unless authorized by Wells Fargo.
b. Wells Fargo requires you to directly represent your own experiences during the recruiting and hiring process.