- Pioneering Technology: At Coupa, we're at the forefront of innovation, leveraging the latest technology to empower our customers with greater efficiency and visibility in their spend.
- Collaborative Culture: We value collaboration and teamwork, and our culture is driven by transparency, openness, and a shared commitment to excellence.
- Global Impact: Join a company where your work has a global, measurable impact on our clients, the business, and each other.
The Impact of a Principal Software Engineer at Coupa:
The Principal Software Engineer will serve as a backend architect and visionary leader, responsible for the overall design, strategy, and implementation of our core .NET services. You will tackle our most complex technical and business challenges, leading without authority and serving as a key strategic partner to VPs of Engineering and Architecture.
Your work will directly impact the productivity of hundreds of engineers and the performance of a platform that serves the world's largest enterprises. This role requires a leader who can operate at both 30,000 feet—crafting long-term vision—and 3 feet—diving deep into C# code alongside our top engineers to solve critical problems.
What You’ll Do:
- Architectural Vision & Strategy: Define and drive the long-term vision and multi-year strategy for Coupa's backend .NET architecture. Make strategic decisions on migrating legacy monoliths to highly scalable, cloud-native microservices.
- Enterprise-Wide Technical Leadership: Act as a lead contributor on key or critical projects with broad design issues. Provide technical advice and counsel that impacts the technical and business direction of the entire company, extending across several departments.
- Pave the Engineering Path: Establish and enforce best practices for API-driven services (REST, GraphQL), microservice orchestration, data transport, and platform monitoring across all backend initiatives.
- Drive Innovation: Evaluate and implement cutting-edge technologies in distributed computing, asynchronous messaging (Kafka), and integrate AI/ML platform tooling directly into core business spend capabilities.
- Cross-Department Delivery: Take responsibility for the delivery of complex backend services on set timelines by coordinating seamlessly across multiple engineering departments and product teams.
- Mentorship & Standards: Serve as a subject matter expert on a wide range of specialty areas. Mentor Senior and Lead engineers, elevating the craft of backend engineering at Coupa.
What You Will Bring to Coupa
- Experience: 15+ years of Software Engineering experience within an enterprise-grade B2B SaaS environment, with significant leadership and architectural roles.
- Core Technical Mastery:
- Deep, proven expertise in C# and the modern .NET ecosystem (.NET 8/10).
- Extensive experience designing and scaling API-driven services and event-driven microservice architectures.
- Profound understanding of modern cloud ecosystems (AWS, Azure), container orchestration (Kubernetes), and high-throughput transaction processing.
- Database & Data Architecture: Expert in SQL Server, NoSQL, relational database management, query optimization, and managing large-scale data processing under heavy concurrent loads.
- Strategic Influence: Proven ability to influence and lead cross-functional teams without formal authority, driving alignment on complex technical decisions across senior leadership.
- Execution in Ambiguity: A track record of thriving in ambiguity, transforming complex, high-level business problems into structured, actionable, and resilient technical solutions.
- Education: Advanced degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
- Global Wellness Days: Enjoy two designated, company-wide paid wellness days off each year (typically the first Friday in March and the last Friday in September) so the entire global team can unplug, step away, and recharge together .
- Birthday Time-Off: Celebrate your day! Coupa provides a paid day off on your birthday or another day of your choice within your birthday month .
- Volunteer Time Off (VTO): Giving back is in our DNA. We offer 40 hours of paid VTO annually to support the community initiatives and volunteer programs you are passionate about .
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Access free, confidential, 24/7/365 counseling and resources for emotional support, work-life solutions, financial advice, legal guidance, and support for new parents .
- Business Travel Protection: Travel with peace of mind. Zurich Travel Assist provides medical, safety, pre-trip planning, and emergency support during any business travel .
- Referral Bonus Program: Share the Coupa experience! Receive generous monetary referral bonuses when you successfully refer talented friends or acquaintances who are hired into open roles .
Skills Required
- 15+ years of software engineering experience in an enterprise-grade B2B SaaS environment
- Significant technical leadership and software architecture experience
- Deep expertise in C# and the modern .NET ecosystem, including .NET 8 or .NET 10
- Experience designing and scaling API-driven services and event-driven microservice architectures
- Experience with AWS and Azure cloud ecosystems
- Experience with Kubernetes and container orchestration
- Expertise in SQL Server, NoSQL, relational database management, query optimization, and large-scale data processing
- Ability to influence and lead cross-functional teams without formal authority
- Experience translating complex business problems into structured, resilient technical solutions
- Advanced degree in Computer Science or Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
Coupa Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as comprehensive from day one for employees and dependents, including medical, dental, vision, mental-health resources, and an Employee Assistance Program. Materials also highlight well-being initiatives that extend support to employees’ households.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Flexible Time Off, paid parental leave, floating holidays, and 40 hours of annual volunteer time are prominently featured. Outside the U.S., a global minimum of 25 vacation days is noted.
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Retirement Support — A retirement savings program with a company match is offered, including a 401(k) plan. While exact match percentages are not publicly listed on the careers page, matching is presented as part of the total rewards package.
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What We Do
Coupa is a global technology company that helps businesses run smarter by connecting all the ways they spend money — from procurement and expenses to payments and supply chain decisions — in one intelligent platform. In simple terms, Coupa gives organizations the visibility and control they need to make better financial choices, reduce waste, and drive real impact. It’s where technology meets purpose: helping companies manage their resources more responsibly while creating a positive ripple across their people, partners, and the planet.
Why Work With Us
At Coupa, we prioritize an inclusive and empathetic workplace where every voice is valued. Our teams are proactive and accountable, ensuring we collaborate effectively to achieve our goals. The foundation of our culture rests on our people; we believe in fostering an environment that encourages innovation and curiosity.
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Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
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