Software Engineer - Remote Work
About the Company
Code for America is a nonprofit organization working to make government services more accessible, effective, and responsive to the needs of the people they serve. For more than a decade, the organization has combined technology, nonprofit expertise, and government partnerships to address community needs, reduce barriers, and improve public services. Its culture emphasizes transparency, fairness, inclusion, collaboration, and meaningful, lasting impact.
About the Role
Code for America is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to establish technical standards, guide engineering practices, and improve software delivery across multiple teams and projects. This remote position focuses on solving complex, ambiguous technical challenges and building reliable, high-quality software that helps people access essential government services. Reporting to the Senior Director of Product Engineering, the Principal Software Engineer will influence technical strategy, guide architectural decisions, mentor experienced engineers, and develop reusable capabilities that support multiple teams. The role also involves evaluating emerging technologies, including AI-enabled solutions, and translating technical, policy, and organizational developments into effective engineering strategies. Travel is expected to be no more than 10% of the time.
Key Responsibilities
Develop features that help users navigate government services more easily and receive a dignified experience. Address complex, high-impact technical challenges across teams and establish engineering standards that others can follow. Resolve ambiguous technical problems by evaluating tradeoffs across competing priorities, including speed, maintainability, and feasibility. Own architecture and data-modeling decisions for systems spanning multiple services or teams. Develop and validate approaches iteratively, turning successful solutions into reusable services, libraries, and AI-enabled components. Create technical documentation, decision records, and learning materials that support knowledge sharing across engineering teams. Define and document technical direction while anticipating cross-team challenges and explaining architectural decisions. Mentor Staff and Senior Software Engineers on technical judgment, engineering practices, and solving unfamiliar problems. Collaborate with Engineering Managers, Directors, and cross-functional partners to translate technology, policy, and organizational trends into technical strategy. Establish shared engineering standards and reference architectures, promoting adoption through reviews, reference implementations, and examples. Share effective practices across projects and help align engineering approaches across teams. Evaluate emerging frameworks, infrastructure technologies, and AI-enabled product capabilities, recommending which approaches to adopt, improve, or discontinue. Represent Engineering's technical perspective in cross-functional planning and organizational decision-making. Perform other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications
Ten or more years of software engineering experience, with deep expertise in system architecture, data modeling, web technologies, and API design. Demonstrated experience defining technical standards or patterns adopted across multiple teams. Experience solving ambiguous or previously undefined technical problems and developing solutions that other teams can adopt. Expertise across multiple programming languages, frameworks, and technology stacks, with the ability to learn unfamiliar technologies quickly. Ability to use AI coding tools responsibly, validate and refine generated code, and help establish effective practices for their use. Experience with Agile software development approaches such as Scrum, Extreme Programming (XP), Test-Driven Development (TDD), or Behavior-Driven Development (BDD). Demonstrated technical leadership across teams, including setting direction and guiding decisions in complex or constrained situations. Experience with cloud infrastructure and Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) tooling. Experience collaborating across disciplines and mentoring engineers in technical skills and professional development. Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, including the ability to explain complex technical tradeoffs to non-technical and cross-functional audiences. Strong commitment to Code for America's mission of improving government services for the people who need them most. Preferred Qualifications / Requirements Deep expertise in one or more technology or domain areas relevant to Code for America's product portfolio. Personal or professional experience with the social safety net or other government services relevant to the organization's mission. Previous experience as a tech lead, engineering manager, or in a similar leadership role before moving into a Principal individual-contributor position. Experience building and integrating AI-powered features into production systems, including evaluation and monitoring. Salary & Benefits The annual salary offer target for this role ranges from $143,884 to $176,138, depending on market and geographic location. Code for America uses transparent salary bands and generally targets the midpoint of the second quartile for new hires. Recruiters will discuss compensation during the initial phone screen. Benefits include: Health Insurance At least one no-cost health insurance option for full-time employees covering employee-only coverage. At least 80% of the cost of dependent coverage. Retirement Benefits A 100% employer match on the first 3% of employee contributions. Employees with three or more years of service receive an additional 50% match on contributions between 3% and 5%, for a maximum employer contribution of 5%. Remote Work and Equipment A company-provided laptop. A one-time $700 remote-work setup benefit, consisting of a $200 stipend in the first paycheck and up to $500 in reimbursement under the equipment policy. A $50 monthly cell phone and/or internet reimbursement. Remote work is available throughout the United States, provided the employee's primary residence remains within the country. Full-time employees work 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday. Internal meetings are generally scheduled between 10 AM and 3 PM Pacific Time, and staff are expected to be available during these hours. Professional Development A $500 annual professional development stipend, prorated at the time of hire. The ability to roll over up to $500 in unused professional development funds each year, with a maximum balance of $1,000. Training and guidance for staff who use AI in their roles, along with opportunities to develop AI-related skills. Time Off and Leave Open personal time off, subject to manager approval. At least 14 paid holidays and an organization-wide closure from Christmas Day through New Year's Day. Up to 96 hours of paid sick time annually. Seventeen weeks of paid parental and family leave. Three weeks of paid sabbatical after five years of service. Hiring Process The hiring process typically takes one to two months or longer from the time a recruiter contacts a candidate. The recruiter will discuss the process and expected timeline during the initial phone screen. Details about the standard interview process are available on Code for America's careers page. Equal Opportunity / EEO Code for America is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will not be discriminated against based on race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition, or any other category protected by applicable local, state, or federal law. Collective Bargaining Information This position is not covered by a collective bargaining agreement between Code for America and Code for America Workers United, affiliated with OPEIU, Local 1010. The agreement was ratified on January 13, 2026, and is currently in effect.