Principal Engineer $200,000 USD/year Pay is set based on global value, not the local market.
Most roles = hourly rate x 40 hrs x 50 weeks
Description
We are expanding the reach of platforms relied upon by thousands of students and teams:
- TimeBack: Educational platform driving Alpha School's 2-hour learning model (99th percentile test results).
- Incept: Content generation platform producing all personalized educational content for multiple learning applications deployed at Alpha School.
- Crossover: AI-powered hiring platform handling tens of thousands of applicants monthly, staffing schools and companies worldwide.
You will take ownership of one of these platforms and dedicate the majority of your time to constructing the most complex components of the codebase with a small team (3-5 experienced engineers, no junior developers). The architectural choices you make directly impact whether other teams can build new applications quickly, integrate seamlessly, and deliver value to students. Correct decisions unlock substantial leverage. Incorrect ones generate integration failures and eliminate velocity for multiple teams.
You are responsible for building and operating what you design. You define quality standards and establish patterns for your platform. Our process is spec-driven: design precedes implementation, planning comes before building. Expect high autonomy, no committees, no review boards. You will work in a small, cohesive team where accountability for what you ship is paramount.
What you will be doing
- Technical Leadership: Make critical architectural decisions and define technical patterns that the team will follow.
- AI Leadership: Champion the adoption of emerging AI workflows and develop high-value playbooks.
- Implementation: Construct the intricate, mission-critical portions of the codebase in collaboration with your team.
- Quality Reviews: Verify that your team adheres to established patterns and upholds quality benchmarks.
What you will NOT be doing
- Acting as an architect without writing code
- Spending time in endless meetings
- Managing people (this is a technical leadership position, not a people management role)
- Maintaining legacy systems or handling internal IT infrastructure
Candidate requirements
- A minimum of 5 years of professional software development experience building software products
- A minimum of 3 years serving as either a lead engineer (reviewing others' work) or architect (making key technical decisions)
- Demonstrated experience working on platform-level products where other teams consumed your APIs
- Deep engagement with AI tools, actively experimenting and pushing boundaries
Meet the hiring manager
Applying for a role? Here’s what to expect.
Crossover's skill assessment process combines innovative AI power with decades of human research, to take the guesswork, human bias, and pointless filters out of recruiting high-performing teams.
Chat-style
screening interview.
Cognitive 
aptitude test.
Prove real-world 
job skills.
Interview with the hiring manager.
Accept job offer.
Pass
proctored test.
Frequently asked questions
About the role
Reviews
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Recruitment sucks. So we’re fixing it.
The Olympics of work
It’s super hard to qualify—extreme quality standards ensure every single team member is at the top of their game.
Premium pay for premium talent
Over 50% of new hires double or triple their previous pay. Why? Because that’s what the best person in the world is worth.
Shortlist by skills, not bias
We don’t care where you went to school, what color your hair is, or whether we can pronounce your name. Just prove you’ve got the skills.
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