Principal Software Engineer (Backend)

Here at Appian, we’re passionate about technology. We love making it, and we love using it. Joining Appian Engineering will provide you with the opportunity to learn in an environment that values cross-functional collaboration and is committed to personal and professional growth. We want to revolutionize the way people work, and in doing so, we develop the Appian platform to be simple so our customers can thrive.

As a Principal Software Engineer working on our data backend, you will have the opportunity to build high availability, distributed environments which are able to autonomously scale up and down based on customers usage patterns. You are a reference to other engineers as a member of feature teams and a trusted advisor to the architecture and product management functions. You will be solving problems of scale and flexibility that most engineers never see, building a product capable of serving our customers in ways you never imagined. Your mission will be to ensure Appian is always fast, scalable and up to whatever tasks our customers configure it to do. Your focus will be persistence and retrieval of data from various popular systems for use both internally and externally by customers.

Appian is headquartered in the McLean, Virginia area, and we are supportive of both Remote and Hybrid work environments.

To be successful in this role, you need to:

• Leverage relevant software development experience to radiate best practices and faster development.
• Manage availability, latency, scalability and efficiency of the product by engineering reliability into software and systems.
• Mentor junior software engineers by sharing best-practices and providing guidance on how to become more proficient.
• Spike robust solutions to clear architectural runway ahead of feature development.
• Share advanced/expert knowledge with others in the department, both on and off team; maintain a reputation as a key resource in those areas.
• Lead technological changes to keep the platform modern.
• Effectively communicate technical designs verbally, visually and/or in writing for small to medium sized technical audiences.
• Identify technical constraints to engineering effectiveness and lead initiatives to address them.
• Advise product management on technical opportunities and constraints.
• Identify, understand, and bring to fruition technology trends and innovations relevant to Appian.

 Some of the tools and resources we will equip you with include: 

• An on-boarding program that will provide hands-on experience with our platform, and the processes and technologies we use in the Engineering department.
• Our team works primarily with K, Java, Git; while also having the autonomy to use other technologies as needed to accomplish our goals more effectively.
• Personal Indie Time (dedicated time to build whatever you want with whomever you want) and annual hackathons that provide opportunities for growth and leadership, which are activities that inspire others and get creative juices flowing.

Basic qualifications:

• B.S. in Computer Science or related field, advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years in software development. 2+ years as a mentor or manager.
• Advanced knowledge of different persistence systems, distributed systems, and cloud infrastructure

About Appian

Before Appian was a company, it was an idea. Not about a product or a market, but about the culture needed to sustain innovation and value. Today, we help businesses build apps and workflows rapidly, with a low-code automation platform. 

Appian was founded on the belief that talented and passionate people, given the power and autonomy to excel, will deliver amazing impact. We have worked thoughtfully to create an inclusive, agile and collaborative work environment where employees feel challenged, and all voices are heard. We value and encourage cross-departmental collaboration, and actively seek opportunities to better ourselves and others. Creating impact to us means that when we deliver results, we’re focused on lasting positive change. 

Join us.

Appian Corporation is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. Further, Appian will not discriminate against applicants for inquiring about, discussing or disclosing their pay or, in certain circumstances, the pay of their co‐worker, Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at [email protected] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Requests for accommodation will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please note that only inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.

#LI-AD1

#LI-Remote