Principal Engineer

About Us

PrepLadder is a leading ed-tech platform helping students prepare for competitive medical exams through high-quality learning content and technology-driven learning experiences for millions of learners across India.

We are looking for a Principal Engineer (Backend) to drive the technical vision and architecture of our backend platform. In this role, you will lead large-scale engineering initiatives, solve complex technical challenges, and help build highly scalable, reliable, and secure systems that power learning experiences for millions of users.

What You'll Do:

• Define and drive the backend architecture strategy across multiple products and platforms.
• Design and build highly scalable services using Python and Node.js.
• Lead the architecture of microservices, distributed systems, and event-driven workflows.
• Establish engineering standards, best practices, and technical governance across teams.
• Drive critical decisions around scalability, performance, reliability, and security.
• Partner with Engineering, Product, and Business stakeholders to align technology investments with business goals.
• Lead complex technical initiatives spanning multiple teams and systems.
• Drive adoption of modern engineering practices, observability, automation, and operational excellence.
• Guide teams through system design reviews, architecture discussions, and technical problem-solving.
• Mentor senior engineers and contribute to the long-term technical roadmap of the organization.

What We're Looking For:

• 10+ years of backend engineering experience with a strong track record of designing and scaling large systems.
• Expertise in Programming languages like Python and Node.js.
• Exposure to PHP-based systems/services is a plus.
• Extensive experience building microservices, distributed systems, and event-driven architectures.
• Strong experience with Kafka, RabbitMQ, or similar messaging systems.
• Deep understanding of backend architecture, system design, and large-scale distributed computing.
• Strong experience with AWS and/or GCP
• Experience with CI/CD, deployment automation, and engineering productivity initiatives.
• Strong understanding of SQL/NoSQL databases, caching strategies, and backend optimization.
• Proven ability to influence technical direction across teams and organizations.
• Exceptional problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder management skills.