The Role
The Principal Software Engineer will lead architectural decisions, mentor teams, and enhance scalable systems across the Consumer Experiences team, focusing on quality and observability.
Summary Generated by Built In
About Quizlet:
At Quizlet, our mission is to help every learner achieve their outcomes in the most effective and delightful way. Our $1B+ learning platform serves tens of millions of students every month, including two-thirds of U.S. high schoolers and half of U.S. college students, powering over 2 billion learning interactions monthly.
We blend cognitive science with machine learning to personalize and enhance the learning experience for students, professionals, and lifelong learners alike. We’re energized by the potential to power more learners through multiple approaches and various tools.
Let’s Build the Future of Learning
Join us to design and deliver AI-powered learning tools that scale across the world and unlock human potential.
About the Team:
The Consumer Experiences team at Quizlet delivers delightful study experiences to our learners wherever and however they want to study.
About the Role:
We’re looking for a Principal Engineer to advance our ability to build scalable systems, experiences, and APIs. You will provide technical leadership across our Consumer Experience team. You’ll drive architectural approaches and decisions and design rigor across our engineering teams.
In this role, you will influence our tech choices and drive an engineering culture of high ownership with a special focus on quality and observability. You’ll work with your fellow leaders in engineering to help uplevel our engineering culture across Quizlet and help build our new London-based engineering culture from the ground up.
We’re happy to share that this is an onsite position. To help foster team collaboration, we require that employees be in the office at a minimum of three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday and as needed by your manager or the company. We believe that this working environment facilitates increased work efficiency, team partnership, and supports growth as an employee and organization.
In this role, you will:
- Report to the VP of Engineering and contribute as a key member of the leadership team
- Serve as a subject matter expert and drive best practices across the organization with respect to software architecture
- Influence the overall target architecture of our product, aligning with engineers, leadership, and stakeholders at all levels
- Mentor teams in the design and implementation of complex systems, fostering a culture of innovation and technical excellence
- Ensure the delivery of high-quality, scalable, and resilient systems that meet business goals and customer needs
- Drive strategic technology decisions working with engineering leaders, and stakeholders across the organization
- Lead code reviews, architectural discussions, and troubleshooting sessions to ensure the highest standards of development
- Proactively anticipate and identify potential challenges, risks, and scaling issues in the quarters and years ahead while avoiding overengineered systems
What you bring to the table:
- 10+ years of software development experience with expertise in frontend systems
- Demonstrated ability in system architecture and design, understanding of design patterns, and ability to solve complex technical design challenges, with attention to scalability and performance concerns
- Experience designing and implementing high performance APIs
- The desire to work across team boundaries to understand the needs of our product development teams, and partner with infrastructure teams
- Strong problem solving skills, and attention to the little details needed to make informed decisions
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Track record of planning and executing technical initiatives involving multiple stakeholders and complex requirements, applying strategic prioritization
- Excitement about the impact your work could have on the lives of students and teachers every day
Bonus points if you have:
- Professional experience at all levels of the tech stack (web, mobile, and backend)
- Experience leading organizations through complex migrations and refactors
- Prior management experience with teams of 20+
Compensation, Benefits & Perks:
- Quizlet is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Salary transparency helps to mitigate unfair hiring practices when it comes to discrimination and pay gaps. Total compensation for this role is market competitive, including a starting base salary of $266,748 - $400,122, depending on location and experience, as well as company stock options
- Collaborate with your manager and team to create a healthy work-life balance
- 20 vacation days (and we expect you to take them!)
- Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance (100% employee and 75% dependent PPO, HMO, VSP Choice)
- Employer-sponsored 401k plan with company match
- Access to LinkedIn Learning and other resources to support professional growth
- Paid Family Leave, FSA, HSA, Commuter benefits, and Wellness benefits
- 40 hours of annual paid time off to participate in volunteer programs of choice
Why Join Quizlet?
🌎 Massive reach: 60M+ users, 1B+ interactions per week
🧠 Cutting-edge tech: Generative AI, adaptive learning, cognitive science
📈 Strong momentum: Top-tier investors, sustainable business, real traction
🎯 Mission-first: Work that makes a difference in people’s lives
🤝 Inclusive culture: Committed to equity, diversity, and belonging
We strive to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome!
We work to create a holistic interview process, where both Quizlet and candidates have an opportunity to view what it would be like to work together, in exploring a mutually beneficial partnership.
We provide a transparent setting that gives a comprehensive view of who we are!
In Closing:
At Quizlet, we’re excited about passionate people joining our team—even if you don’t check every box on the requirements list. We value unique perspectives and believe everyone has something meaningful to contribute. Our culture is all about taking initiative, learning through challenges, and striving for high-quality work while staying curious and open to new ideas. We believe in honest, respectful communication, thoughtful collaboration, and creating a supportive space where everyone can grow and succeed together.”
Quizlet’s success as an online learning community depends on a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
As an equal opportunity employer and a tech company committed to societal change, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. Come join us!
To All Recruiters and Placement Agencies:
At this time, Quizlet does not accept unsolicited agency resumes and/or profiles.
Please do not forward unsolicited agency resumes to our website or to any Quizlet employee. Quizlet will not pay fees to any third-party agency or firm nor will it be responsible for any agency fees associated with unsolicited resumes. All unsolicited resumes received will be considered the property of Quizlet.
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The Company
What We Do
Quizlet is a leading consumer learning brand that builds learning tools to inspire and empower students and teachers. Our team is already supporting a user base of over 60 million active users a month. We're also among the top 20 U.S. websites and top education apps for iOS and Android - and it's only the beginning. We’re a fast-growing Series C startup, valued at $1 Billion and backed by Union Square Ventures, Costanoa Venture Capital, Icon Ventures, Owl Ventures, Altos Ventures and General Atlantic.
With our massive reach and focus on delivering high-quality innovative learning tools, we're having a major global impact on education.
