Who we are looking for
We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer (Vice President) with deep Java expertise to serve as a recognized technical authority within Charles River Development (a State Street company). This senior individual contributor will operate with broad autonomy and significant influence, leading the modernization of mission-critical platforms toward cloud-native, distributed architectures while shaping technical strategy and engineering excellence across teams.
What you will be responsible for
Technical Leadership & Architecture
Serve as a principal technical authority for one or more key initiatives or core modules within Charles River platforms
Define and evolve system architecture, design standards, and engineering best practices across teams
Provide long‑term technical strategy and thought leadership to senior engineering leaders and executive stakeholders
Drive adoption of modern cloud architecture, frameworks, and emerging technologies where they deliver clear business value
Lead resolution of high-risk, complex, or business‑critical challenges
Software Design & Development
Analyze, design, develop, test, debug, and implement large‑scale, multi‑tier, mission‑critical enterprise systems
Lead complex enhancements that span multiple components and teams
Set a high bar for code quality, performance, scalability, security, reliability, and maintainability
Make informed trade‑offs between short‑term delivery and long‑term platform health
Remain hands‑on for the most complex or ambiguous technical problems
Engineering Excellence & Governance
Establish and enforce design review, code review, and technical governance practices
Identify systemic technical debt and lead cross‑team efforts to remediate it
Champion automated testing, CI/CD, observability, and operational excellence
Write and review unit, integration, and automation tests to ensure high‑quality deliverables
Influence engineering roadmaps to align technology investments with business strategy
Cross ‑ Team & Executive Collaboration
Partner closely with Product Management, Architecture, Client Support and Operations
Lead and coordinate cross‑team technical initiatives spanning multiple scrum teams
Translate complex technical concepts into clear recommendations for senior management and non‑technical stakeholders
Advise senior management on technical risk, platform direction, and investment priorities
Mentorship & Talent Development
Serve as a technical mentor and role model for engineers at all levels
Raise the overall technical bar through coaching, design reviews, and knowledge sharing
Influence hiring, onboarding, and technical talent development strategies
Client & Production Support
Provide expert‑level troubleshooting for large, complex, and high‑visibility client deployments
Act as an escalation point for critical production or client issues
Help design durable, long‑term solutions to recurring operational or client‑impacting problems
What we value
Demonstrated ability to operate as a principal-level individual contributor with broad organization-wide impact
Extensive experience designing, building and evolving largescale, cloud native enterprise platforms
Exceptional problem‑solving and systems thinking skills, with a deep understanding of performance, scalability, reliability, and resilience
Expert-level proficiency in object‑oriented design using Java, C++, or C#
Strong database and data modeling skills with experience in Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and/or data warehouse platforms
Experience with compiler design, optimizers, solvers, code generation, or semantic analysis is a strong plus
Exposure to Machine Learning, AI, or cognitive Computing is a plus
Strong background in financial services (e.g., Portfolio Management, Trading, Compliance, IBOR, or Wealth Management) strongly preferred
Education & Preferred Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or related field; Master’s degree preferred
10–12+ years of…