Principal / Staff Software Engineer

Job Description

We are looking for a Principal / Staff Backend Software Engineer to lead the technical strategy, architecture, and implementation of our large-scale AI chat agent platform. This system is designed to support 20+ million users globally, making it one of the most ambitious backend initiatives at Nexthink.

As a Principal / Staff Engineer, you will go beyond implementation : you will set technical direction, influence cross-team design decisions, and serve as a trusted advisor to both engineering leadership and product. You’ll tackle problems of scale, reliability, and performance while partnering with AI / ML, Infra, and Security teams to build production-ready AI experiences.

This is a high-impact, high-ownership role where you’ll be entrusted to make foundational architectural decisions and mentor senior engineers, ensuring Nexthink’s AI systems are built to scale with the future.

Responsibilities

Define and drive technical vision and architectural strategy for the AI chat backend platform.

Lead design of highly scalable, low-latency, distributed systems supporting 20M+ global users.

Partner with product, infra, and AI / ML teams to align engineering strategy with business objectives.

Provide technical leadership across multiple teams, influencing design patterns, coding standards, and best practices.

Architect and deliver fault-tolerant APIs and services capable of handling large-scale real-time workloads.

Champion observability, performance, and resiliency across the stack.

Act as a mentor and multiplier, raising the technical bar and helping senior engineers grow.

Lead technical deep dives, design reviews, and roadmap alignment discussions with leadership.

Ensure security, compliance, and cost-efficiency are embedded in design from day one.

Qualifications

10+ years of backend engineering experience, with 3+ years in Staff or Principal-level roles.

Proven success designing and scaling backend systems for tens of millions of users or high-throughput real-time systems.

Expert in Java (17+), Python, or Node.js, with strong background in distributed systems, concurrency, and high availability.

Hands-on expertise in cloud-native architectures (AWS or equivalent), Kubernetes / ECS, and containerized deployments.

Strong experience building and operating mission-critical services with SLAs in production.

Deep understanding of API design, streaming data, and event-driven systems.

Exceptional communication skills — able to influence cross-functional teams and leadership with clear technical direction.

Track record of mentoring and elevating engineering teams.

Nice to Have (Differentiators)

Deep knowledge of Java frameworks (Spring Boot, Micronaut).

Advanced expertise in streaming platforms (Kafka, Pulsar, Flink, Spark).

Experience productionizing LLM-powered systems (RAG, fine-tuning, observability, evaluation frameworks).

Prior ownership of multi-region or global-scale deployments.

Background in performance optimization, latency reduction, and cost scaling at global scale.

Familiarity with GitOps, Terraform, CI / CD, and platform engineering practices.

Experience building enterprise chat or messaging systems.

Strong understanding of data security, compliance, and regulatory frameworks (SOC2, ISO, GDPR).

Additional Information

We are the pioneers and trailblazers of a global IT Market Category (DEX) that is shaping the future of how the world works, giving our customers’ IT Teams total digital visibility across their enterprise. Our innovative solutions integrate real-time analytics, automation, and employee feedback across all endpoints. This enables our IT teams to solve complex technical challenges, create ever more productive workplaces, and deliver happy, satisfied employees in the digital workplace.

With over 1000 employees across 5 continents, Nexthink operates as One Team, connecting, collaborating and innovating to continuously grow. We call our employees ‘Nexthinkers’ and our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity is second to none. We currently have over 75 nationalities working with us, from all cultures and backgrounds, speaking many different languages.

If you are looking for a change and like a nice atmosphere, lots of challenges, and having fun while working, this is a great opportunity for you!  Check what we offer :

• Permanent Contract and a competitive compensation package.
• Beautiful office with a view of Lake Geneva, conveniently located next to the Prilly-Malley train station
• Hybrid work model balancing office and remote work, with a structured approach for new hires to foster connections and onboarding.
• ️ Flexible Hours and unlimited vacation (employees have unlimited paid time off on top of the 25 days of holidays we offer) plus 3 company-paid volunteer days.
• Free access to a fitness centre inside the building.
• Reimbursement of the half-fare travel card for public transport.
• ‍ Reimbursement up to 50% of the cost of French classes.
• Fresh fruit, cookies, and soft drinks as well.
• Regular company and team events like Voluntary Days, Pizza talks, Team Building activities, hosting Meetups at the office and more!
• Bonuses for referring successful hires after three months of continuous employment.
• We offer a relocation package to people who are coming from another country.

Please note that not all the benefits listed above are available for temporary, contract, and internship roles. To ensure you have the most up-to-date information, we recommend checking with your Recruitment Partner.