Principal Engineer - Freight Automation SaaS Platform

Chicago, IL

Job ID: 11227

Job Title: Principal Engineer - Freight Automation SaaS Platform

Job Type: Full-time/Work from home

Our client is a freight-minded technology solutions provider leveraging automation to solve operational bottlenecks that drag on logistics companies. Their objective is to complement the services of capacity providers by allowing them to operate more efficiently and with more precision. They are at a pivotal stage of their business and are setting the foundation to scale their solution to meet increasing market demands.

As our client’s first engineering hire, you will play a pivotal role in defining the technical vision for our platform. Reporting directly to the CTO, you will work closely with the founding team to set the direction of the product, determine the technology stack, and create scalable, secure, and maintainable solutions. This is a unique opportunity to be part of a founding team and directly impact the company’s growth. The role may also involve occasional customer-facing responsibilities to understand user needs and ensure our solutions deliver maximum value.

Responsibilities:

• Define and implement the technology stack and architecture for the SaaS platform.
• Collaborate with the CTO and founding team to translate business goals into technical deliverables.
• Design, build, and deploy robust and scalable systems to automate freight execution.
• Establish best practices for software development, testing, and deployment.
• Hire, mentor, and manage a team of developers as the company grows.
• Lead technical discussions and be the go-to person for complex problem-solving.
• Ensure code quality, performance, and security standards are upheld.
• Occasionally engage with customers to gather feedback, troubleshoot issues, and align on product requirements.
• Work hands-on with the codebase while balancing leadership responsibilities.

Experience:

• Proven experience as a software engineer, with at least 3 years in a leadership or architect role.
• Prior experience working in a startup environment, with a demonstrated ability to adapt and thrive in fast-paced, dynamic settings.
• Expertise in designing and building SaaS platforms, preferably in logistics or related industries.
• Strong knowledge of cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience with database design, APIs, and microservices architecture.
• Familiarity with DevOps practices and infrastructure-as-code tools (e.g., Terraform, Kubernetes).
• Passion for building scalable systems and a solid understanding of performance optimization.
• Experience with freight logistics, supply chain, or transportation management systems preferred.
• Knowledge of machine learning or optimization algorithms in logistics preferred.
• Hands-on experience with event-driven architecture and messaging queues preferred.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively across teams.

This position offers a competitive base salary.