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.

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.

The Mission

Moody’s Platform Engineering AI Team is transforming how Moody’s products leverage cutting-edge Machine Learning and Generative Artificial Intelligence. Our mission is to build robust infrastructure, innovative components, and scalable services that empower our business to harness tech’s full potential. We seek engineers passionate about AI with a proven track record in developing cloud-scale ML and AI-powered solutions.

The Role

As a Principal Software Engineer, you will have a pivotal role in architecting, designing, and driving the implementation of our AI platform that powers Moody’s financial products. This individual contributor role demands exceptional technical leadership and influence across the organization. You will champion best practices in software development, navigate complex technical and organizational challenges, and drive projects to successful completion. Your expertise will be instrumental in shaping the future of AI at Moody’s, making a tangible impact on our products and services.

Responsibilities
* Drive Moody’s platform capabilities that empower AI features of Moody’s financial products
* Break down complex tasks into milestones, features, and work items, ensuring successful completion of long-term initiatives.
* Stay updated with rapid industry developments in AI/ML, evaluate and implement appropriate technologies to keep Moody’s at the forefront of the GenAI revolution.
* Develop efficient cloud-scale solutions that minimize operational costs and downtime.
* Work with high throughput distributed and multi-tenant services on AWS and/or Azure
* Work within your team and across organization to plan, architect, implement, and deliver new features and experiences
* Coordinate and collaborate with peers and managers across the organization, ensuring alignment and synergy.
* Mentor and grow junior engineers, nurturing the next generation of AI talent.

Qualifications
* 10+ years of experience in building and shipping production-grade software systems or services, with expertise in AI, ML, Distributed Systems, large-scale data processing, data storage, Information Retrieval, and/or Data Mining.
* BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science or equivalent industry experience.
* Proven experience in building and operating online services and fault-tolerant distributed systems at internet scale.
* Experience running services with SLAs of 99.9% or higher.
* Hands-on experience with developing AI-powered systems and ML DevOps.
* Proven track record of building platforms used by other developers.
* Demonstrable experience shipping software and internet-scale services using REST APIs on Microsoft Azure and/or Amazon Web Services (AWS).
* Proficiency in coding with C++, C#, or Java using agile and test-driven development (TDD).
* 4+ years in cloud service development with Azure or AWS.
* Strong understanding of cloud-scale distributed design and patterns.
* Proven track record of delivering projects that include multiple components.
* Excellent problem-solving and debugging skills.
* Ability to write and debug code with a good understanding of threading and asynchronous programming fundamentals.
* Data-driven approach to solving problems iteratively and measuring success.
* Commitment to collaboration and teamwork, with the ability to deliver via influence.

Preferred Experience
* Experience with ML, AI, NLP, or Document processing.
* Excellent verbal and written communication skills to engage with both technical and non-technical stakeholders at all levels.
* Familiarity with data science processes, ML DevOps, and fundamentals of ML/AI-powered systems.
* Knowledge of secure software design concepts.
* Experience building GenAI-powered applications.
* Familiarity with big data, data science/analytics, and large-scale distributed systems.

For US-based roles only: the anticipated hiring base salary range for this position is $202,800.00 -  $294,000.00, 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.

For more information on the Securities Trading Program, please refer to the STP Quick Reference guide on ComplianceNet

Please note: STP categories are assigned by the hiring teams and are subject to change over the course of an employee’s tenure with Moody’s.