Staff Software Engineer - Full Stack (Java/React)

Overview

Are you searching for an opportunity to play a key role in driving the dramatic growth of a highly successful software company?

At Poppulo, we’re working on what’s next in communications and workplace technology. As a pioneer in this industry, we understand that meaningfully reaching every employee is hard. And so is managing office space in a hybrid world. And so is improving the customer and guest experience. We exist to make each of these things easier. We exist to bring harmony to our customers. 

And we do that at enterprise scale. Our omnichannel employee communications, customer communications, and workplace experience platform is trusted by over 6,000 organizations today, reaching more than 35M employees and delivering content to 500,000+ digital signs.

We know there’s no such thing as a “perfect" candidate - we’re all a work in progress and are growing new skills and capabilities all the time. We encourage you to apply for a position with Poppulo even if you don’t meet 100% of the requirements. We believe in fostering an environment where there is a diversity of perspectives, in hopes that we can all thrive.

Job Summary

We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer to drive the technical excellence and scalability of our SaaS Employee Communications platform. You will serve as a technical leader and hands-on contributor in your team - designing and implementing complex features, improving system performance and reliability, and mentoring other engineers.

This role bridges the gap between Senior Engineers and Software Architects. You will translate architectural vision into robust, maintainable implementations and influence architectural evolution through deep technical insight and delivery excellence.

The ideal candidate brings deep SaaS expertise, hands-on experience with AWS managed & serverless technologies and a solid understanding of distributed system design.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of complex, high-impact systems and services. Translate architectural blueprints into scalable, production-grade solutions.
• Design and implement microservices and APIs with strong emphasis on scalability, observability, and reliability.
• Own major features or components from design through deployment, including performance optimization, resilience, and cost efficiency.
• Mentor senior and mid-level engineers, conduct code reviews, and uphold best practices in coding, design, testing, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Work closely with Architects, Product Managers, and DevOps to ensure architectural alignment, consistent design patterns, and high-quality delivery.
• Build and optimize services leveraging AWS serverless, Event Driven and container-based technologies (Lambda, ECS, SNS, SQS, DynamoDB, Event-Bridge, RDS, etc.).
• Ensure systems adhere to authentication, authorization, and compliance standards (OAuth2, OIDC, RBAC, etc.).
• Identify areas for system and process improvements, including performance, scalability, and developer productivity.
• Advocate for self-learning, research and innovation.
• Accountable for coding standards, processes and software engineering skills.
• Use metrics and analytics to anticipate future engineering needs.
• Ensure systems compliant to data protection and privacy requirements including GDPR, HIPAA, and PII data handling best practices.
• Proactively identify solutions, improvements and tech-debt.
  
  

• 8+ years of software development experience, with a track record of technical leadership in complex, distributed systems.
• Strong experience in either Node.js / TypeScript, including asynchronous programming and modular architecture or Java (Spring Boot, Concurrency, Multi-threading, RESTful services) and React (or similar modern front-end frameworks).
• Proven understanding of distributed systems, multi-tenancy, RBAC, and SaaS security principles.
• Hands-on experience with Microservices Architecture, Docker, Kubernetes, and AWS.
• Experience with Observability best practices (metrics, logging, tracing and alerting)
• Strong understanding of event-driven systems (Kafka, SNS/SQS, Event-Bridge, Kinesis).
• Experience with GraphQL Federation and implementation.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, Git workflows, and automated testing (JUnit, Jest, Playwright, etc.).
• Proven ability to design for scalability, performance, and fault tolerance in multi-tenant SaaS environments.
• Knowledge of GDPR a plus.
• Familiarity with infrastructure as code (Terraform, CDK) and observability stacks.
• Excellent communication skills with both technical and business stakeholders and a proven ability to influence across teams and functions. 
• Passion for continuous learning and technical excellence.
• Comfortable leading by example and driving engineering best practices.
  
  

• We are a values-driven organization that encourages our employees to bring their authentic selves to work every day and empowers everyone to make a tangible impact on our products, clients, and culture. We offer a dynamic environment with driven, fun, and flexible individuals who thrive on challenge and responsibility. This is an opportunity to contribute to our culture and join a company that’s on the move.
• We live the Poppulo values each day, as they are key to everything we do.
  
  

We show up authentically, are self-aware and always strive to be better.

• See it. Own it. Solve it. We proactively innovate and solve for our customers and each other. We set an example with high standards for our work. We foster a culture of learning, acknowledging our successes and our failures.
• Together We’re Better We value and celebrate our diversity. We learn from others, respecting their expertise, and focus on building trust. That's what makes us a team.
• Named a Great Place to Work in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, we are a fast-growing global technology company, with offices in Ireland, the US, and the UK.
• Poppulo is an equal opportunity employer.
• Named a Great Place to Work in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, we are a fast-growing global technology company, with offices in Ireland, the US, and the UK. Poppulo is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to protecting your privacy. For details on how we collect, use, and protect your personal information, please refer to our Job Applicant Privacy Policy.