ServiceNow

Principal Software Engineer

ServiceNow • $221K — $387K *
Santa Clara, CA 95051In-Person
Enterprise Technology
11 - 15 years of experience
Today
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Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 12+ years of engineering experience, particularly in distributed systems architecture.
  • Strong backend development skills in Java, Python, Go, or equivalent, used in scalable production environments.
  • Expertise in billing, licensing, or metering systems with insight into finance, sales, and engineering integrations.
  • Solid understanding of distributed systems principles including fault tolerance and data consistency.
  • Proficient in database design, performance tuning, and handling OLTP/OLAP trade-offs.
  • Familiarity with Kubernetes and container orchestration for production services.
  • Strong technical influence skills with the ability to lead through collaboration.

Responsibilities

  • Define and drive the technical vision and architecture for the licensing and billing platform.
  • Establish and maintain integration contracts across multiple teams to ensure data consistency and mitigate risks.
  • Design solutions aligned with business calendar constraints such as billing cycles and dispute SLAs.
  • Own the reliability of production systems, actively engaging in root-cause analysis and long-term resolutions.
  • Shape billing strategies, particularly for AI-driven products and evolving usage models.
  • Lead complex technical discussions and design reviews, mentoring engineers on architecture standards.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional leaders to align the platform roadmap with business needs.

Benefits

  • Health plans including flexible spending accounts.
  • 401(k) plan with company match.
  • Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP).
  • Matching donations for charitable contributions.
  • Flexible time away plan for work-life balance.
  • Family leave programs.
Full Job Description
Job Description

About the Team

We are looking for an experienced Principal Software Engineer to own the end-to-end architecture of the platform that manages how our customers are licensed, metered, and billed for their subscriptions. This platform is the system of record for customer entitlements, usage measurement, overage calculation, and invoicing across the customer lifecycle - spanning finance, sales, engineering, and customer-facing experience.

At our scale, this is fundamentally a distributed systems problem: metering usage in real time across an evolving catalog of consumption-based and subscription pricing models, with strict requirements for accuracy, auditability, and low-latency processing. You will be the technical anchor ensuring these systems, owned across many interconnected teams, work coherently as one platform.

What you get to do in this role:
  • Define and drive the technical vision and end-to-end architecture for the entitlement, usage metering, overage, and billing platform
  • Define and maintain the data model and integration contracts across finance, sales/CRM, engineering, and customer-facing portals - and resolve cross-system risks such as data consistency, latency, and ownership gaps before they surface as production or billing issues
  • Design for correctness under business-calendar constraints - billing cycles, dispute SLAs, and reconciliation windows
  • Own production reliability for the platform - participate in on-call, guide root-cause analysis, and resolve systemic issues rather than applying one-off patches
  • Shape billing and metering strategy for AI-driven products - including token-based consumption, agentic workflows, and MCP-based agent actions
  • Guide teams through complex technical decisions and design reviews, establishing architecture standards for changes that touch the shared platform, and mentor senior/staff engineers on system design and cross-team tradeoffs
  • Partner with Product, Finance, Sales Operations, and Engineering leadership to align platform roadmap with business needs


Qualifications

To be successful in this role you have:
  • 12+ years of engineering experience (or equivalent depth), with significant time in distributed systems architecture
  • Solid backend development experience in Java, Python, Go or equivalent, used in production at scale.
  • Domain expertise in billing, licensing, or metering systems, with working knowledge of how these translate across finance, sales, and engineering
  • Excellent fundamentals in distributed systems - consistency, fault tolerance, idempotency, exactly-once processing, and stream/batch data pipelines, including high-volume telemetry and event ingestion
  • Solid fundamentals in databases and data modelling - schema design, performance tuning, and trade-offs across OLTP/OLAP stores
  • Working knowledge of Kubernetes and container orchestration - deployment topologies, scaling and resource management, and operating stateful services in production
  • Proven experience architecting systems that span multiple teams/orgs with independent ownership boundaries
  • Proven experience architecting systems that span multiple teams/orgs with clearly defined ownership boundaries
  • Excellent hands-on engineering ability - comfortable prototyping, validating architectural decisions through code, and contributing directly on critical-path components
  • Ability to operate as a Principal IC by leading through technical credibility, collaboration, and influence rather than formal authority

Nice to Have
  • Experience with enterprise SaaS licensing or subscription-management platforms
  • Experience with usage-based billing integrations
  • Experience designing or evolving pricing/metering models for AI, agentic, or MCP-based products
  • Familiarity with M&A technical integration - bringing acquired products' usage/billing data into an existing platform


For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $221,200 - $387,100, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.

Additional Information

Work Personas

We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow provides cloud-based solutions that define, structure, manage, and automate services for enterprise operations in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and other countries. The company offers service management solutions, including incident, problem, change, request, and cost management as well as service catalogs; and IT, HR, facilities, and field service management solutions. It also provides IT operations management solutions covering service mapping, delivery, and assurance solutions; business management solutions such as financial management, project portfolio suite, vendor performance management, and performance analytics as well as governance, risk, and compliance; and application development services.

ServiceNow Careers

Join the dynamic team at ServiceNow, a global leader in digital workflow solutions, where innovation and leadership converge to shape the future of work. At ServiceNow, we offer more than just job opportunities; we provide a platform for professional growth and a chance to be part of a culture that values diversity, creativity, and continuous learning.

Work You’ll Do

Embark on a career journey with ServiceNow and contribute to the world’s leading enterprises' digital transformation. Our team is at the forefront of developing cutting-edge technologies that improve how people work. With ServiceNow, you will use your skills to impact businesses and industries profoundly, driving efficiency and innovation.

Join Our Market-Leading Team

ServiceNow is not just another technology company. We are a team that thrives on diversity and leadership, fostering an inclusive environment that promotes growth and development. Our commitment to diversity training ensures that every team member can achieve their potential.

Innovative Work

ServiceNow is home to more than 10,000 dedicated professionals who lead the charge in digital workflows and enterprise solutions. As part of our team, you will engage in projects that merge technology with practical applications, creating revolutionary products that advance how services are delivered and managed.

Career Development

At ServiceNow, your career trajectory is filled with boundless opportunities. We support your growth with robust training programs, leadership development courses, and access to global challenges. Whether you are looking for an internship, full-time position, or leadership role, ServiceNow equips you with the tools to excel.

Be Part of a Great Team

Working at ServiceNow means being part of a community that values teamwork and innovation. Our collaborative environment encourages networking and sharing ideas, making our workplace vibrant and dynamic. The benefits of joining ServiceNow extend beyond comprehensive health and wellness; they include fostering professional connections and friendships that last a lifetime.

Explore Job Opportunities and Internships

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a recent graduate, ServiceNow offers a range of employment options to suit your career goals. From internships that provide real-world experience to full-time positions that challenge you to leverage your expertise, we are committed to hiring the best talent.

Stay Connected

Join Our Team Search open positions that match your skills and interests. At ServiceNow, we look for passionate, curious, and solution-driven team players. Explore the possibilities that await you at a company that is committed to your professional success.

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ServiceNow Careers

Empowering professionals to achieve more, ServiceNow is where careers are future-proofed, and ambitions are realized. Join us in our journey of growth and innovation.
Learn more about ServiceNow
Size
16,881 employees
Market Cap
$76.5 billion
Industry
Information Technology
Net Income
$118.5 million
Founded
2004
5 Year Trend
+33.5%
Revenue
$4.5 billion
NASDAQ
NOW
* Ladders Estimates

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