Principal Software Engineer

By making evidence the heart of security, we help customers stay ahead of ever-changing cyber-attacks.

Corelight is the cybersecurity company that transforms network and cloud activity into evidence. Evidence that elite defenders use to proactively hunt for threats, accelerate response to cyber incidents, gain complete network visibility and create powerful analytics using machine-learning and behavioral analysis tools. Easily deployed, and available in traditional and SaaS-based formats, Corelight is the fastest-growing Network Detection and Response (NDR) platform in the industry. And we are the only NDR platform that leverages the power of Open Source projects in addition to our own technology to deliver Intrusion Detection (IDS), Network Security Monitoring (NSM), and Smart PCAP solutions. We sell to some of the most sensitive, mission critical large enterprises and government agencies in the world.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Drive end-to-end software architecture and system design across multiple products and components, from concept to production.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (engineering, product, operations, customer success) to design cohesive solutions that span multiple domains.
• Translate high-level business needs into technical strategies, ensuring scalability, reliability, and performance.
• Provide architectural oversight and technical leadership across multiple engineering teams, ensuring consistency in design principles and technology choices.
• Guide products from initial design discussions (paper concepts, prototypes) through implementation, integration, testing, deployment, and monitoring in production.
• Act as a technical advisor for critical design decisions, trade-offs, and long-term product evolution.
• Mentor and grow senior and lead engineers, building technical depth and leadership capacity across the organization.
• Establish and evangelize engineering best practices, including CI/CD, observability, automated testing, and security-first design.
• Partner with Product Management and leadership to align technology roadmaps with product strategy and customer needs.
• Represent engineering in high-level stakeholder discussions, technical deep-dives, and customer engagements when needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• 12+ years of software development experience on Linux or other Unix-style platforms, with a proven track record of delivering large-scale systems.
• Deep expertise in at least two core programming languages (e.g., Golang, C++, Rust, or Java).
• Strong experience designing and scaling distributed systems, multi-component architectures, and APIs.
• Proficiency with CI/CD pipelines, automation, and DevOps practices (e.g., GitLab CI/CD, Jenkins).
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Azure) and hybrid architectures.
• Expertise with containers and orchestration tools (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Strong background in system performance optimization, monitoring, and resilience.
• Proven ability to lead technical discussions and make architectural trade-offs at the organizational level.
• Experience guiding teams through Agile development processes and coordinating across multiple squads.
• Solid knowledge of databases (SQL and NoSQL), multi-threaded applications, and distributed data management.
• Experience with open source workflows, tooling, and contribution practices.

Bonus requirements

• Experience designing and driving end-to-end solutions that span multiple products or services.
• Strong background in Enterprise, Security, or Network products.
• Experience with network traffic analysis, packet captures, and tools like Zeek and Suricata.
• Experience influencing product strategy and roadmap through technical vision.
• Prior experience in a Principal Engineer, Staff Engineer, or similar high-level technical leadership role.
• Cloud certifications (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform) or advanced certifications in architecture and distributed systems.

We are proud of our culture and values - driving diversity of background and thought, low-ego results, applied curiosity and tireless service to our customers and community. Corelight is committed to a geographically dispersed yet connected employee base with employees working from home and office locations around the world. Fueled by an accelerating revenue stream, and investments from top-tier venture capital organizations such as Crowdstrike, Accel and Insight - we are rapidly expanding our team.

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Notice of Pay Transparency:
The compensation for this position may vary depending on factors such as your location, skills and experience. Depending on the nature and seniority of the role, a percentage of compensation may come in the form of a commission-based or discretionary bonus. Equity and additional benefits will also be awarded.

Compensation Range

$225,000-$276,000 USD