About the role

Role overview

Shutterfly is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to provide hands-on technical direction across frontend and backend systems. The role is responsible for architectural stewardship, technical leadership, and raising engineering standards—while continuously evaluating new technologies and practices to improve the platform’s long-term state.

Responsibilities

Lead architecture, design, and evolution of commerce-critical services with end-to-end ownership across:
- Cart systems, pricing engines, promotions/discount platforms
- Payment processing, address validation, tax integrations
- Order-fulfillment workflows and tools
Partner with product, UX, and business stakeholders to translate complex requirements into robust technical solutions
Drive adoption of modern frontend, backend, and platform patterns and best practices
Guide and mentor teams through architectural and technical leadership across React/Next.js and Java-based services
Design and work with databases, including MongoDB, with strong data modeling and performance considerations
Apply strong SQL skills to retrieve metrics and support data-driven decisions
Lead problem-solving for ambiguous, high-impact technical challenges
Evaluate and guide adoption of AI-assisted development tools/workflows (e.g., code generation, testing, observability, automation)
Proactively identify and address systemic risks, performance bottlenecks, and architectural gaps; drive reliability and observability
Ensure services are secure, compliant, cost-effective, and maintainable with long-term extensibility
Actively implement production code and lead technical design

Requirements

10+ years of hands-on full-stack web application development
Deep expertise building and operating high-performance, high-scale e-commerce solutions
Strong fundamentals in algorithms, data structures, and system design
Deep full-stack experience with:
- React/Next.js
- Java (Spring Boot / Restlet)
- Scala
- MongoDB
Strong knowledge of distributed systems, API design, and service-oriented architectures
Demonstrated ownership of complex business domains (preferably large-scale commerce)
Cloud scalability/reliability/performance design experience (AWS preferred)
Ability to navigate ambiguity and make sound technical judgments

Nice-to-haves

Experience using AI-driven development workflows with engineering discipline
Proven incident readiness, observability, and reliability leadership

About Shutterfly

Shutterfly is a consumer brand and technology company focused on helping customers create personalized products and capture meaningful moments. It operates commerce-critical platforms and services across areas like ordering, pricing, promotions, payments, and fulfillment. The role emphasizes technical leadership in full-stack systems supporting high-scale e-commerce experiences.