Principal Software Development Engineer

Employment Type: Full-Time
Location: India - Remote
Salary: $30,000–$45,000 USD per year
Work Arrangement: 100% Remote - India Only

Job Overview

This is an expert-level position responsible for working with Product Development architects, management, and product managers to ensure products meet technical and business requirements. The role involves high-level research and analysis related to software design and development, solving complex problems, and establishing technical standards and best practices.

This role sits at the heart of ELB Learning’s flagship Lectora Online product as it enters an exciting period of modernization, including the delivery of new AI-powered authoring features. The successful candidate will be a senior member of a small, high-trust engineering team and will own significant architectural decisions across the product.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and code units/modules that meet functional, non-functional, and quality requirements on schedule.

• Provide accurate time estimates and complete scheduled tasks on time.

• Perform unit/module testing, troubleshoot issues, fix bugs, and implement enhancements.

• Evaluate software performance and recommend improvements.

• Write and maintain technical documentation and provide technical content for product documentation.

• Lead improvements to Product Development practices and procedures.

• Participate in design and code reviews.

• Support QA and technical support teams in identifying and resolving system problems.

• Mentor and develop less experienced Software Engineers.

• Conduct strategic research and design for major technical areas.

• Serve as a subject matter expert and own a major component of the product.

• Work closely with Product Management, Architecture, Marketing, QA, and other stakeholders.

• Participate in backlog grooming and communicate project status, risks, and issues.

• Provide leadership for test automation, test planning, triage, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement.

• Develop and execute automated and customer-focused test cases.

• Help establish and influence testing strategies across product areas.

Education & Experience

A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field is required; a Master’s degree is preferred. Additional leadership training is beneficial.

Candidates should have 6+ years of software development experience, extensive experience working with complex products, expert-level knowledge across multiple product areas, and previous experience in a technical lead role with the ability to mentor other engineers.

Skills & Competencies

• Expert-level design, debugging, and coding skills.

• Strong problem-solving, analytical, and requirements analysis skills.

• Strong written and verbal communication.

• Technical leadership and mentoring ability.

• Strong teamwork and cross-functional collaboration.

• Defect root-cause identification and analysis.

• Ability to prioritize workload, manage time effectively, and provide accurate estimates.

• Self-motivated and proactive approach to problem solving.

• Familiarity with learning technologies is preferred.

Required Technical Skills

• Java 8: Deep expertise in server-side application development.

• J2EE: Web applications, Servlets, and Filters.

• JavaScript/TypeScript: Experience with modern web front-end frameworks.

• MySQL: Schema design, query optimization, and performance tuning.

• Apache Tomcat: Configuration, deployment, and tuning.

• Strong understanding of web application architecture, REST APIs, and multi-tenant SaaS patterns.

Preferred Technical Skills

Experience migrating monolithic architectures to modern frameworks, particularly Vue 3 and Tailwind CSS, is strongly preferred. Familiarity with cloud platforms, particularly AWS, and CI/CD pipelines is also valuable.

Nice to Have

• Exposure to AI/LLM-powered product features.

• Experience in the eLearning or content authoring industry.