Principal Platform 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 seeking Principal Platform Engineers to architect the foundational systems that enable other teams to build effectively. In this role, you'll focus on platform-level products where your API design, architectural patterns, and documentation directly influence how multiple development teams operate.
Platform products in scope:
- TimeBack: Educational platform that powers Alpha School's 2-hour learning model (99th percentile test results)
- Incept: Content generation platform that produces personalized educational content across multiple learning applications
- Crossover: AI-powered hiring platform that processes tens of thousands of applicants monthly
- This role emphasizes design: 50% authoring specifications, API contracts, and technical decisions; 30% building complex platform capabilities; 20% conducting reviews and providing guidance. You hold technical authority over architectural choices. Once aligned with the team, your specifications become binding.
Lean team of accomplished engineers, extensive ownership, minimal bureaucracy. You design, build, and own your work.
What you will be doing
- Authoring specifications prior to implementation
- Designing APIs that ensure backward compatibility and extensibility
- Creating Important Technical Decision (ITD) documents with supporting rationale
- Implementing complex platform capabilities
- Conducting pull request reviews to ensure architectural consistency
What you will NOT be doing
- Extensive team leadership or managing people
- Developing simple application-layer products
- Attending endless meetings
- Pure architecture work without hands-on implementation
Candidate requirements
- At least 5 years of professional software development experience
- At least 2 years designing systems where other teams consumed your APIs or relied on your architectural decisions
- Demonstrated history of authoring technical specifications or technical decisions that were implemented by others
- Experience integrating AI tools into development workflow
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.
Pass
proctored test.
Accept job offer.
Frequently asked questions
Reviews
Meet some people who've landed similar jobs
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.
Join the world's largest community of 
AI-first remote workers.