Software Engineer Principal UI/ Microservices/ SQL/ Unit Testing/ SOLID Principles

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Principal Software Engineer (UI/Microservices/SQL/Unit Testing/SOLID Principles)

Company: PNC

Location: Pittsburgh, PA / Dallas, TX, United States

Job Type: Full-Time

Category: Software Engineering / Capital Markets Technology

Date Posted: April 15, 2026

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• Develop and implement robust application architectures leveraging microservices, MVC, and CQRS patterns to ensure scalability, maintainability, and high performance within the Capital Markets technology organization.

• Serve as a technical subject matter expert and mentor to development teams, guiding them on best practices for design principles, emerging technologies, and adherence to SOLID principles.

• Design, develop, and deploy high-quality software solutions aligned with PNC’s technology stack and CI/CD standards, contributing to the enhancement of the Broker Dealer platform.

• Drive automation of manual processes and implement regulatory-driven modifications for the Fixed Income space, ensuring compliance and operational efficiency.

• Build new technology capabilities and explore agentic AI development opportunities, participating in internal hackathons to foster innovation.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is specifically for a Principal Software Engineer within PNC's Capital Markets technology team, focusing on the Fixed Income space. The core function is to enhance the Broker Dealer platform through architectural design, development of scalable microservices, automation, and regulatory compliance. The mention of agentic AI and hackathons suggests a forward-thinking team that encourages exploration of new technologies.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Define and implement scalable application architectures using microservices, MVC, and CQRS patterns, ensuring robust design and high performance.

• Act as a subject matter expert, providing technical guidance and mentorship to development teams on software engineering best practices and design principles.

• Design, develop, and deploy software solutions according to PNC’s technology stack, adhering to CI/CD standards and best practices.

• Actively participate in Agile ceremonies, functioning as an integral member of the development team to ensure collaborative and efficient project delivery.

• Implement critical enhancements, reports, and data extracts required to meet regulatory body mandates.

• Develop new technology capabilities specifically to support Capital Markets Fixed Income operations and business objectives.

• Ensure strict adherence to SOLID principles, maintain exceptional code quality through rigorous unit testing, and contribute to overall system integrity.

• Collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, including business analysts, product managers, and other engineering groups, to deliver scalable, secure, and resilient solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a senior-level engineer expected to lead architectural decisions, mentor junior engineers, and directly contribute to both strategic initiatives (new capabilities, AI exploration) and critical operational needs (regulatory compliance, process automation). The emphasis on microservices, MVC, CQRS, and SOLID principles indicates a need for deep understanding of distributed systems and software design patterns.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Experience: A minimum of 5 years of industry-relevant software engineering experience, with a strong focus on developing scalable and resilient applications.

Required Skills:

• Proven experience designing and implementing microservices architectures for distributed systems.

• Deep understanding and practical application of MVC (Model-View-Controller) frameworks.

• Proficiency in CQRS (Command Query Responsibility Segregation) patterns for effective data management.

• Strong grasp and consistent application of SOLID principles in object-oriented design.

• Proficiency in modern programming languages such as Angular, React, Java, or Python.

• Advanced proficiency in SQL and a solid understanding of relational database concepts.

• Hands-on experience with unit testing frameworks and a commitment to unit testing best practices.

• Familiarity with Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban) and experience working within Agile ceremonies.

Preferred Skills:

• Prior experience within the financial services or capital markets industry.

• Familiarity with Fixed Income trading platforms and workflows.

• Experience with agentic AI development concepts.

• Knowledge of containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).

• Experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP).

• Understanding of message queuing systems (e.g., Kafka, RabbitMQ).

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements emphasize core software engineering principles for building scalable backend and frontend systems. Given the Principal level and the financial services context, strong analytical skills, problem-solving abilities, and a proactive approach to learning new technologies (like agentic AI) are implicitly expected.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate architectural design patterns, particularly microservices, MVC, and CQRS, through visual diagrams and detailed explanations.

• Showcase examples of code quality, adherence to SOLID principles, and robust unit testing strategies through code samples or project descriptions.

• Present case studies of complex problem-solving initiatives, detailing the challenges, your approach, and the quantifiable business impact or efficiency gains.

• Highlight experience with CI/CD pipelines and deployment strategies, illustrating how you've contributed to faster, more reliable software delivery cycles.

Process Documentation:

• Prepare to discuss your process for designing and documenting complex software architectures, including decision-making frameworks for technology selection.

• Be ready to explain your approach to unit testing, test-driven development (TDD), and ensuring code coverage for critical system components.

• Document your experience with Agile development practices, including sprint planning, backlog refinement, and retrospectives, highlighting your role and contributions.

• Outline your methods for collaborating with cross-functional teams, managing stakeholder expectations, and ensuring alignment on technical solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Principal Software Engineer role, a portfolio should not just list projects but demonstrate deep technical understanding, leadership in design and implementation, and a results-oriented approach. Focus on showcasing how your technical contributions directly led to business improvements or solved complex challenges within financial technology.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for a Principal Software Engineer in the Pittsburgh, PA and Dallas, TX metropolitan areas, with 5-10 years of experience in financial technology, the estimated annual salary range is $140,000 - $180,000. This range accounts for the specialized skills in microservices, SQL, and financial systems, as well as the Principal level of responsibility.

Benefits:

• Comprehensive medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision insurance coverage.

• Health Savings Account (HSA) option available.

• Generous life insurance, short-term, and long-term disability protection.

• Competitive 401(k) plan with PNC match, and a pension plan.

• Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) for eligible employees.

• Dependent care reimbursement account and back-up child/elder care services.

• Support for family growth through adoption, surrogacy, and doula reimbursement programs.

• Educational assistance, including fully paid select programs, to support continuous learning.

• Robust wellness program with financial incentives to promote employee health and well-being.

• Paid time off, including vacation days (15-25 days depending on career level), 9 occasional absence days, and up to 11 paid holidays annually.

• Maternity/parental leave benefits.

Working Hours: Standard full-time hours, typically 40 hours per week. While the role is on-site, PNC fosters a supportive culture; specific work schedule flexibility should be discussed with the hiring manager.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is an estimate based on national averages for Principal Software Engineers with the specified experience and skills, adjusted for the cost of living and typical compensation structures in Pittsburgh and Dallas. PNC's benefits are extensive, reflecting a commitment to employee well-being and financial security, which are important considerations for senior technical roles.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Financial Services (Banking & Capital Markets). PNC operates within a highly regulated and dynamic financial sector, emphasizing stability, security, and customer trust. The Capital Markets technology organization specifically supports trading, investment, and related financial operations.

Company Size: PNC is a large, established financial institution with a significant employee base. This size offers stability, extensive resources, and structured career paths, but may also mean more formalized processes and a larger organizational matrix. For operations professionals, this can translate to opportunities to work on large-scale systems and influence broad operational strategies.

Founded: PNC Financial Services Group was founded in 1852. With a long history, the company has a deep understanding of the financial markets and a strong reputation for reliability. This longevity suggests a stable work environment and a commitment to long-term growth and innovation.

Team Structure:

• The Capital Markets technology organization is likely a specialized division within PNC's broader IT structure, comprised of multiple engineering teams focused on specific financial products or platforms. This role is within the Fixed Income domain.

• The team structure will likely involve clear reporting lines, with engineers reporting to managers or team leads, who in turn report to directors or VPs. Collaboration is key, but structure provides clarity on roles and responsibilities.

Methodology:

• Data analysis and insights are critical for financial operations, driving decisions related to risk management, trading strategies, and regulatory reporting. Expect a data-driven approach.

• Workflow planning and optimization are paramount, especially in areas like trade processing, settlement, and compliance, where efficiency directly impacts profitability and risk.

• Automation and efficiency practices are actively pursued to reduce manual intervention, minimize errors, and improve operational throughput in a high-volume environment.

Company Website: https://www.pnc.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: Understanding PNC's position as a large, established financial institution is key. Operations roles here often involve working with complex, regulated systems where stability, security, and compliance are as important as innovation. The emphasis on Fixed Income means specific domain knowledge will be highly valued.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This is a Principal Software Engineer role, indicating a senior individual contributor position. Principal engineers are expected to have deep technical expertise, a proven track record of delivering complex projects, and the ability to influence technical direction and mentor others. They often act as technical leaders and architects for significant initiatives.

Reporting Structure: The role reports into the Capital Markets technology organization, likely within the Fixed Income technology group. The direct manager would typically be a Software Engineering Manager or a Technical Lead. Collaboration will extend across various business and technology teams within PNC.

Operations Impact: This role has a direct impact on the efficiency, scalability, and reliability of PNC's Capital Markets operations, particularly within the Fixed Income trading and processing areas. By enhancing the Broker Dealer platform, automating processes, and implementing new capabilities, the engineer contributes to improved operational performance, reduced risk, and better customer experience, all of which are critical for revenue generation and profitability in financial services.

Growth Opportunities:

• Technical Specialization: Deepen expertise in microservices, CQRS, agentic AI, and specific financial technologies, potentially becoming a recognized architect or SME within PNC's Capital Markets technology.

• Leadership Development: Transition into management roles (e.g., Engineering Manager) or senior technical leadership positions (e.g., Staff/Distinguished Engineer), leading larger teams or more critical initiatives.

• Cross-Functional Mobility: Gain exposure to other areas of Capital Markets technology or even broader enterprise IT functions within PNC, leveraging acquired skills and domain knowledge.

• Continuous Learning: Participate in internal hackathons, explore emerging technologies like agentic AI, and potentially pursue certifications or advanced training relevant to financial technology and software architecture.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Principal Engineer, growth is often about increasing technical influence and scope, rather than just climbing a management ladder. The mention of agentic AI and internal hackathons suggests a culture that encourages exploration and innovation, offering avenues for growth beyond traditional development.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: PNC is an "in-office" company, indicating a preference for on-site work to foster collaboration and team cohesion. This means the role is not remote or hybrid in the traditional sense.

Office Location(s): Opportunities exist at the Dallas Innovation Center - Luna Rd (TX270) and potentially in Pittsburgh, PA. Both locations are established PNC hubs. Candidates should confirm their preferred location during the application process.

Workspace Context:

• The Dallas Innovation Center and Pittsburgh offices are likely modern facilities designed to support collaborative work. Expect a professional office environment with dedicated workspaces.

• The technology stack will include modern development tools, robust infrastructure, and access to necessary software licenses and hardware for development and testing.

• Opportunities for interaction with a diverse range of colleagues, including fellow engineers, business analysts, product managers, and other IT professionals, are abundant, fostering a dynamic and collaborative atmosphere.

Work Schedule: The standard work schedule is full-time, approximately 40 hours per week. While the role is on-site, the company culture aims to foster balance, so discussions about specific daily schedules and potential flexibility (within the on-site constraint) with the hiring manager are encouraged.

📝 Enhancement Note: The explicit "in-office" requirement is a crucial detail for candidates seeking remote or hybrid flexibility. The presence of an "Innovation Center" in Dallas suggests a focus on forward-thinking technology development within PNC, even within an on-site model.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A recruiter will likely review your application, focusing on essential qualifications like experience with microservices, SQL, SOLID, and financial services.

• Technical Assessment: Expect one or more technical interviews. These may include:

  • Coding Challenges: Live coding exercises or take-home assignments focusing on microservices, SQL, or algorithm design.
  • System Design: A discussion or whiteboard session on designing scalable systems, particularly microservices architectures, for specific use cases.
  • Conceptual Questions: In-depth questions on SOLID principles, design patterns (MVC, CQRS), unit testing strategies, and performance optimization.

• Behavioral/Situational Interviews: Questions assessing your problem-solving approach, teamwork, leadership potential, and how you handle challenging situations.

• Hiring Manager/Team Lead Interview: A discussion to assess cultural fit, alignment with team dynamics, and overall suitability for the Principal role.

• Final Round (Potentially): May involve a presentation of past work or a more in-depth discussion with senior leadership.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight Architectural Contributions: For each project, clearly articulate your role in designing the architecture, especially for microservices, MVC, and CQRS implementations. Use diagrams to illustrate complex systems.

• Demonstrate Code Quality & Testing: Showcase examples of well-structured, maintainable code. Emphasize your approach to unit testing and how you ensure code quality and robustness.

• Quantify Impact: Whenever possible, provide metrics on the impact of your work. For example, "Reduced processing time by X%," "Increased system uptime to Y%," or "Enabled new regulatory reporting feature that reduced compliance risk."

• Showcase Problem-Solving: Detail challenging technical problems you've encountered and how you systematically approached and solved them, focusing on your thought process and technical solutions.

• Tailor to the Role: Emphasize experience with SQL, modern programming languages (Java, Python, Angular, React), and any financial services or capital markets background.

Challenge Preparation:

• System Design: Practice designing scalable microservices architectures for common financial scenarios (e.g., trade execution, account management, compliance checks). Consider trade-offs, scalability, fault tolerance, and security.

• Coding: Brush up on data structures, algorithms, and object-oriented programming. Practice writing clean, efficient SQL queries and implementing unit tests.

• Principles: Be ready to explain SOLID principles and design patterns (MVC, CQRS) with practical examples of where and why you've used them.

• Agile & CI/CD: Understand how you contribute to Agile teams and your experience with CI/CD tools and practices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process for a Principal Engineer role at a large financial institution like PNC will be thorough. Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate not just technical proficiency but also leadership, architectural thinking, and a deep understanding of software engineering best practices within a regulated environment.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Programming Languages: Java, Python, Angular, React.

• Architectural Patterns: Microservices, MVC, CQRS.

• Databases: SQL (Relational Databases).

• Testing Frameworks: JUnit, Mockito (for Java), Pytest (for Python), Jest, React Testing Library (for JavaScript/React), Karma, Jasmine (for Angular).

• Version Control: Git (likely via platforms like GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket).

Analytics & Reporting:

• While not explicitly mentioned for this role, tools like Splunk, ELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana), or cloud-native logging/monitoring services would be common for application diagnostics and performance analysis.

CRM & Automation:

• CI/CD Tools: Jenkins, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps, or similar for build automation, testing, and deployment.

• Containerization: Docker for packaging applications, Kubernetes for orchestration (potential).

• Message Queues: Kafka, RabbitMQ, or similar technologies for inter-service communication (potential).

• API Gateway: Tools like Apigee, Kong, or cloud-specific gateways for managing microservices.

📝 Enhancement Note: The technology stack is centered around modern web development, microservices, and robust backend systems. Proficiency in SQL and unit testing is critical. Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and containerization is highly advantageous for a Principal Engineer role in this environment.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Customer Focused: Prioritizing customer needs and satisfaction in all technology decisions, ensuring solutions deliver value and enhance the client experience in financial services.

• Managing Risk: A fundamental value in financial institutions. This involves understanding and mitigating risks associated with software development, deployment, and operations to align with PNC's Enterprise Risk Management Framework.

• Innovation: Embracing new technologies and methodologies, such as agentic AI and internal hackathons, to drive continuous improvement and stay ahead in the competitive financial landscape.

• Collaboration: Fostering a team-oriented environment where open communication, knowledge sharing, and collective problem-solving are encouraged across development, business, and IT functions.

• Quality & Reliability: A commitment to delivering high-quality, robust, and secure software solutions that are maintainable and performant, essential for critical financial systems.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Integration: Expect close collaboration with business units (Capital Markets, Fixed Income), product management, compliance, and other technology departments to ensure alignment and successful project outcomes.

• Process Review & Feedback: A culture that encourages constructive feedback on code, designs, and processes to drive continuous improvement and learning.

• Knowledge Sharing: Active participation in code reviews, design discussions, and potentially internal tech talks or brown bag sessions to disseminate knowledge and best practices across the engineering team.

📝 Enhancement Note: PNC's core values of "Customer Focused" and "Managing Risk" are paramount in the financial services industry. For a Principal Engineer, demonstrating how your technical contributions align with these values, particularly in ensuring the security, stability, and compliance of financial systems, will be crucial.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Navigating Legacy Systems: While modernizing, there may be integrations with or dependencies on older systems, requiring careful design to ensure seamless operation and data integrity.

• Regulatory Compliance: The financial industry is heavily regulated. Ensuring all software solutions meet stringent compliance requirements for reporting and operations can be complex and demanding.

• Scalability & Performance: Building and maintaining highly scalable and performant systems that can handle high transaction volumes and market volatility is a constant challenge in capital markets.

• Adopting New Technologies: Balancing the adoption of emerging technologies like agentic AI with the need for stability and proven reliability in a regulated environment requires strategic planning and careful implementation.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Operations Skill Advancement: Gain deep expertise in Capital Markets Fixed Income technology, microservices architecture, and advanced security practices relevant to financial services.

• Industry Conference & Certification: Opportunities to attend relevant industry conferences (e.g., FinTech, software architecture) and pursue certifications in cloud technologies, security, or specific financial domains.

• Mentorship & Leadership: As a Principal Engineer, you'll have opportunities to mentor junior engineers, lead technical initiatives, and potentially explore leadership pathways within PNC's technology organization.

• Exploration of AI: Direct involvement in exploring agentic AI development and participating in internal hackathons provides a unique opportunity to develop cutting-edge skills.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are typical for a senior role in a regulated, high-stakes industry. The growth opportunities are significant, particularly for those interested in specializing further in financial technology, AI, or taking on technical leadership roles.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Microservices Architecture: "Describe a complex microservices architecture you designed or significantly contributed to. What were the key challenges, trade-offs, and how did you ensure scalability and resilience?" (Focus on CQRS, API design, inter-service communication).

• SOLID Principles Application: "Provide an example of how you applied the Single Responsibility Principle or the Dependency Inversion Principle to solve a specific design problem. What was the impact on code maintainability and testability?"

• SQL Performance Optimization: "How would you diagnose and resolve performance issues with a complex SQL query impacting a critical financial system? What tools and techniques would you use?"

• Agile & Teamwork: "Describe your role in an Agile team. How do you contribute to sprint planning, estimation, and retrospectives? How do you handle disagreements within the team?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• Risk Management: "How do you ensure that your software development practices align with enterprise risk management frameworks, especially in a regulated industry like finance?"

• Innovation vs. Stability: "How do you balance the need to innovate with new technologies (like AI) against the requirement for stability and compliance in a financial services environment?"

• Collaboration: "Describe a time you had to collaborate with a non-technical stakeholder (e.g., business unit, compliance) to deliver a technical solution. How did you ensure clear communication and alignment?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Case Study Structure: For each significant project, structure your presentation using: Situation (the business problem), Task (your objective), Action (your technical approach, design choices, tools used), and Result (quantifiable outcomes, lessons learned).

• Metrics & ROI: Clearly present the metrics that demonstrate the success of your solutions. For example, if you automated a process, show the reduction in manual effort, error rates, or time saved. If you improved performance, show the speed-up.

• Visual Aids: Use diagrams (architecture, flowcharts) to explain complex systems. Show code snippets (selectively) to illustrate good practices or specific solutions.

• Conciseness: Be prepared to present your key projects within a set timeframe, focusing on the most relevant aspects for the Principal Software Engineer role at PNC.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a Principal role, expect questions that probe your depth of knowledge, architectural vision, and ability to lead. Be prepared to articulate your thought process and justify your technical decisions with clear reasoning and evidence from your experience.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Principal Software Engineer position:

• Submit your application through the provided Workday link.

• Tailor your resume: Highlight specific experience with microservices, MVC, CQRS, SOLID principles, SQL, unit testing, and any relevant programming languages (Java, Python, Angular, React). Quantify achievements with metrics where possible.

• Prepare your portfolio: Curate 2-3 key projects that showcase your architectural design skills, problem-solving abilities, and impact on system performance or efficiency. Focus on examples relevant to financial services or complex systems.

• Practice interview responses: Rehearse answers to common technical and behavioral questions, particularly those related to system design, code quality, and working in regulated environments.

• Research PNC: Understand PNC's position in the financial market, its commitment to innovation (e.g., AI, hackathons), and its core values, especially "Customer Focused" and "Managing Risk."

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

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