Principal Software Engineer

At Moody's, we unite the brightest minds to turn today’s risks into tomorrow’s opportunities. We do this by striving to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome to be who they are—with the freedom to exchange ideas, think innovatively, and listen to each other and customers in meaningful ways. Moody’s is transforming how the world sees risk. As a global leader in ratings and integrated risk assessment, we’re advancing AI to move from insight to action—enabling intelligence that not only understands complexity but responds to it. We decode risk to unlock opportunity, helping our clients navigate uncertainty with clarity, speed, and confidence.

If you are excited about this opportunity but do not meet every single requirement, please apply! You still may be a great fit for this role or other open roles. We are seeking candidates who model our values: invest in every relationship, lead with curiosity, champion diverse perspectives, turn inputs into actions, and uphold trust through integrity. 

Skills and Competencies

Enterprise-Scale Software Engineering
Over 20 years of experience designing and developing multi-tiered, distributed systems with a focus on scalability, fault tolerance, and performance optimization.

Cloud Infrastructure & Architecture
Deep expertise in AWS services (EC2, Lambda, S3, CloudFormation) and designing cloud-native applications using container orchestration (Kubernetes, Docker, ECS or Fargate).

Data Engineering & Storage Systems
Proficient in relational (PostgreSQL, MySQL) and NoSQL (MongoDB, DynamoDB) databases, with experience in data modeling and access patterns for high-throughput data workloads.

Microservices & API Design
Strong background in building and integrating RESTful APIs, microservices using Spring Boot, Node.js, and messaging systems like Kafka, RabbitMQ, and ActiveMQ.

Search & Indexing Technologies
Hands-on experience with GNR IBM application, Solr, Lucene, and ElasticSearch for building scalable search solutions

Agile Leadership & Team Enablement
Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams, drive Agile practices (SCRUM, CI/CD), and mentor engineers while owning mission-critical systems.

Testing & Quality Engineering
Expertise in test-driven development using JUnit, TestNG, and Mockito, ensuring reliability and maintainability of Grid applications.

AI Driven Engineering

Demonstrated proficiency in artificial intelligence concepts, with hands-on experience using AI tools to streamline workflows and enhance operational efficiency. Proven ability to implement AI-powered solutions to solve business challenges. Demonstrates a growing awareness of AI risk management and a commitment to responsible and ethical AI use.

Education

Minimum Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related major from top institutions, Masters degree is a plus

Responsibilities

As a Principal Engineer, you will serve as a senior technical leader within the software engineering organization. You will be responsible for driving architectural decisions, mentoring engineering teams, and ensuring the delivery of high-quality, scalable, and maintainable software solutions. This role emphasizes deep technical expertise, cross-functional collaboration, and strategic influence across multiple initiatives.

• Technical Leadership
  Act as a technical lead for engineering teams, guiding the design and implementation of complex software systems and ensuring alignment with architectural standards and business goals.
• Solution Design & Ownership
  Lead the design and development of business-critical features and epics. Take ownership of end-to-end delivery, including implementation, testing, and deployment.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
  Partner with Business Analysts, Product Owners, QA, and DevOps teams to interpret requirements, provide technical feedback, and ensure seamless integration across the software development lifecycle.
• Engineering Excellence
  Define and uphold coding standards, conduct code reviews, and lead refactoring efforts to improve code quality, performance, and maintainability.
• Mentorship & Knowledge Sharing
  Provide technical mentorship to engineers across teams. Conduct training sessions and promote knowledge sharing to elevate engineering capabilities.
• Continuous Improvement
  Drive continuous improvement in engineering practices, including Agile methodologies, CI/CD pipelines, and test automation frameworks.
• Issue Resolution & Client Communication
  Investigate and resolve complex software issues. Collaborate with client-facing teams to communicate technical resolutions effectively.

About the team

Our Screening team is responsible for building and maintaining scalable solutions that support entity screening, watchlist matching, and compliance workflows across Moody’s platforms.

We contribute to Moody’s by:

• Enhancing risk detection capabilities through advanced search and matching technologies.
• Supporting global compliance initiatives with robust and configurable screening tools.
• Driving innovation in entity resolution and data quality across multiple business units.

By joining our team, you will be part of exciting work in AI-powered search technologies, global compliance systems, and enterprise-scale engineering, with opportunities to collaborate across locations including King of Prussia, New York, and London.

For US-based roles only: the anticipated hiring base salary range for this position is $167,000.00 - $242,150.00, depending on factors such as experience, education, level, skills, and location. This range is based on a full-time position. In addition to base salary, this role is eligible for incentive compensation. Moody’s also offers a competitive benefits package, including not but limited to medical, dental, vision, parental leave, paid time off, a 401(k) plan with employee and company contribution opportunities, life, disability, and accident insurance, a discounted employee stock purchase plan, and tuition reimbursement.

Moody’s is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, gender, age, religion or creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital or familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Moody’s also provides reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities or based on a sincerely held religious belief in accordance with applicable laws. If you need to inquire about a reasonable accommodation, or need assistance with completing the application process, please email accommodations@moodys.com. This contact information is for accommodation requests only, and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications

For San Francisco positions, qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered for employment consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

This position may be considered a promotional opportunity, pursuant to the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act.

Click here to view our full EEO policy statement. Click here for more information on your EEO rights under the law. Click here to view our Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination statement. Click here to view our Notice to New York City Applicants.
Candidates for Moody's Corporation may be asked to disclose securities holdings pursuant to Moody’s Policy for Securities Trading and the requirements of the position. Employment is contingent upon compliance with the Policy, including remediation of positions in those holdings as necessary.