Principal Software Architect at Teal Communications, Inc.
Kirkland, WA
—
Jun 29, 2026
Kirkland, WA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A hands-on principal-level engineering role focused on designing, building, and testing backend services for a cloud-based IoT and telecommunications platform. The work spans architecture, feature development, code review, and mentoring, using Java, Spring, MongoDB, MySQL, and AWS in an Agile setting. It suits a seasoned software engineer with deep Java expertise who is comfortable working across distributed time zones with teams in Seattle and Europe.
Senior level · 10+ years · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA · Full-time
Advertised as Principal, but the requirements read as Senior.
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 470 people in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 350–620
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $167,280 (middle half $132,800–$211,860).
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (8)
The title is 'Principal Software Architect' but the role's actual scope — hands-on backend development, mentoring, code reviews, and working within a team — aligns with a Senior individual contributor, not a true org-wide Principal. The posting itself emphasizes 'extremely hands-on' delivery work. Seniority is assessed as Senior accordingly.
Java and Spring are the only skills stated with firm language ('Strong to expert knowledge') and a specific year range (10-12 years) in the requirements body; they are treated as hard gates.
MongoDB, MySQL, and AWS are explicitly framed as 'highly preferred' in the What You'll Bring section, so they are marked preferred rather than required.
Jira and Bitbucket appear in the role description narrative as tools the role 'will require', making them effectively required for day-to-day work.
JavaScript, Node.js, and AI-assisted development tools (GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude) are explicitly called out as 'a plus' or 'huge plus' — marked preferred.
The role is described as remote-eligible in the benefits section, but the Location section specifies the ideal candidate will be in Greater Seattle and available for in-person work at Kirkland, WA at least 2 days per week — this is a hybrid role, not fully remote; remote is set to false.
A Bachelor's degree is listed as 'preferred' with 'or equivalent experience' — no hard degree requirement exists.
Compensation is described only as 'Competitive Salary & Equity Package (DOE)' — no figures provided.
Read the full posting
The employer publishes the full description on their own site — read it there ↗. Or sign in to read it here — it's free, and it also lets you track this application.