Principal Software Engineer

At Champion, we believe that the biggest growth catalyst doesn't lie outside, but within. It's not about more, but about untapping the potential from opportunity that already exists — from within your champions and yourself. As a product and a company, we're set on creating deeper partnerships with organizations and their champions so every person can do more, together.

But Champion doesn't just represent business growth. It represents individual and professional growth. Champion embodies our passion to build and cultivate an excellent company where we celebrate and advocate for what makes each team member a champion. We seek members with winning mindsets, creative and diverse thinking, and the desire to be all in.

Who We Are Looking For

As an early-stage startup, you will be part of the starting lineup — and at this level, you'll help define it.

We're looking for a seasoned Senior or Principal Engineer who brings deep technical expertise, strong architectural instincts, and the leadership presence to raise the bar across the entire engineering organization. You'll be a driving force behind our product, shaping both the technical vision and the culture of the team. We have great momentum with our initial product and a growing customer base — now we need someone who can help us scale intelligently and build for what's next.

What You'll Do

• Architect and lead the design of scalable, high-performance systems across our full stack using TypeScript, Node.js, Python, and React
• Drive technical strategy — evaluate tradeoffs, establish patterns, and make foundational decisions that will shape the platform for years to come
• Own complex, ambiguous problems end-to-end, from discovery through delivery, with minimal direction
• Design and build data infrastructure — data pipelines, warehousing solutions, and the data models that power product analytics and customer insights
• Develop and integrate ML-powered features where applicable, including model evaluation, feature engineering, and productionizing models at scale (strong plus)
• Mentor and grow engineers at all levels through code reviews, design discussions, and technical guidance
• Partner cross-functionally with Product and Design to refine roadmap items into well-scoped, high-impact work
• Leverage AI-powered developer tooling (e.g., Claude Code, GitHub Copilot) to accelerate delivery, improve code quality, and set a standard for how the team integrates these tools into everyday workflows
• Champion (pun intended) extensible, secure, and observable software patterns across the organization

What You'll Need

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a track record of leading technical initiatives on high-performing teams
• Deep proficiency in TypeScript, Node.js, React, Vu, and/or Python; strong ability to ramp quickly on new technologies as the stack evolves
• Demonstrated experience architecting and operating distributed systems, microservices, and REST APIs at scale
• Strong hands-on experience with Cloud platforms (AWS or Google Cloud), including infrastructure design and cost-conscious scaling
• Advanced SQL proficiency and experience with relational database design, query optimization, and schema evolution
• Experience with data warehousing and data pipeline development (e.g., Snowflake, BigQuery, dbt, Airflow) — strong plus
• Exposure to machine learning workflows — feature engineering, model serving, or MLOps — in a production environment (strong plus)
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders in a remote-first environment
• A strong testing discipline, including unit, integration, and end-to-end testing strategies

Additional Information

• $140k – $180k annual salary based on experience
• Comprehensive benefits, including healthcare, dental, and vision coverage for employees
• Meaningful equity grants
• Monthly equipment stipend to cover laptop, monitor, and any software or equipment you may need
• Hybrid or fully remote position
  • Local team members (preferred) come into the office approximately 2x per week (flexible)
  • Remote team members travel to the office approximately 2–4x per year for training, corporate events, or other business needs

Values We Live By

Go On Offense — We champion a culture of experimentation and adaptation, unafraid to maneuver as circumstances evolve, and we play to win.

Be Better Than Yesterday — In our arena of growth, every day is a new game.

Get Curious, Not Critical — We learn in a deeper, more meaningful way, driving greater impact.

Check Your Ego at the Door — We are curious, collaborative, open to feedback, and all in to do whatever it takes. The best idea wins, no matter who it comes from.

One Team, One Goal — We believe and understand that we all impact the collective goal.

Champion is an equal-opportunity employer, and we value diversity at our company. We don't discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.