Principal Software Engineer
Goose
Software Engineering
Washington, DC, USA · Chicago, IL, USA
Posted on May 28, 2026
About Goose
Goose is building the operating system for multi-service pet care businesses — boarding, daycare, grooming, and training. Our platform streamlines operations, enhances the customer experience, and drives revenue growth. Headquartered in Chicago, we blend modern technology with industry know-how to serve an essential but historically underserved market.
About the role
As Goose builds the operational backbone for the next generation of pet care businesses, we’re launching a new platform focused on workforce coordination, task management, and operational tooling. This is a foundational engineering leadership role responsible for shaping a zero-to-one platform spanning operational systems, web and mobile experiences, AI-powered workflows, and scalable infrastructure that powers day-to-day business operations at scale.
What you’ll do
- Lead the design, development, and architecture of a new operations platform focused on task management, workforce optimization, and operational tooling.
- Build the initial versions of core systems, workflows, and user experiences from the ground up.
- Define the foundational architecture, engineering standards, and technical direction for a new operational platform.
- Build reliable, well-tested, and maintainable software, including secure APIs, operational systems, web applications, and mobile product experiences.
- Design foundational systems and workflows supporting operational coordination, workforce management, and internal platform capabilities.
- Lead development and operational ownership of customer-facing web and mobile applications, along with the supporting platform infrastructure.
- Drive technical decisions around scalable mobile development patterns and rapid multi-platform deployment workflows.
- Lead integrations with external systems, operational tooling, and third-party platforms.
- Leverage AI-assisted engineering tools and workflows to improve development velocity, software quality, debugging, testing, documentation, and operational efficiency.
- Identify opportunities to incorporate AI-powered functionality and workflows into customer-facing and operational product experiences.
- Partner closely with product managers, operations, leadership, and engineering teams to shape product direction, operational workflows, technical strategy, and execution priorities.
- Establish core architectural patterns, operational frameworks, and engineering best practices from the earliest stages of the platform lifecycle.
- Identify and proactively address risks related to scalability, reliability, security, and long-term maintainability.
- Create and maintain clear technical and product documentation for the systems and experiences you own.
- Mentor and influence engineers across teams through technical leadership, system design guidance, and engineering best practices.
Who you are
- A systems-minded engineer who enjoys building new products and platforms from zero to one.
- Comfortable operating in ambiguous environments and helping shape both product and technical direction.
- Passionate about building durable systems and scalable operational platforms.
- Able to balance rapid iteration with strong engineering fundamentals and long-term thinking.
- Comfortable influencing architecture and execution across multiple domains without relying solely on direct authority.
Qualifications
- 7+ years of professional experience building and scaling complex distributed systems.
- Experience leading development of new products or platforms from initial concept through production launch.
- Deep expertise designing and operating large-scale production systems and infrastructure.
- Experience developing, releasing, and maintaining production mobile applications using modern cross-platform or rapid deployment frameworks.
- Significant experience leading complex technical initiatives across multiple teams.
- Strong experience designing resilient APIs, service-oriented architectures, and operationally mature systems.
- Strong experience with TypeScript, Node.js, React.js, SQL, and AWS-native infrastructure.
- Experience using AI-assisted development tools within engineering workflows.
- Experience incorporating AI-powered functionality or experiences into customer-facing products.
- Strong understanding of scalability, reliability, security, and operational excellence.
- Proven track record influencing engineering direction and mentoring engineers across teams.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to align technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Our tech stack
- Frontend: React, TypeScript, Vite, Turborepo, MUI
- Backend: Node.js, Express, Prisma, Serverless
- Database: Postgres (Aurora), Redshift, DynamoDB, S3
- Compute: Lambda, Fargate, Step Functions
- AI: Kiro, Claude, Bedrock, OpenAI
- Infrastructure as Code: CloudFormation, CDK
- Cloud Platform: AWS (API Gateway, Cognito, EventBridge, CloudFront, CloudWatch)
What we offer
- Competitive salary and meaningful equity
- Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance: 85% coverage for employees, 60% for dependents
- Unlimited PTO (vacation, sick, personal, plus 5 company holidays)
- Direct mentorship from one of our strongest PMs on the highest-leverage product surface at the company
- Plenty of opportunity to grow with the company