Position OverviewAs a Software Engineer Principal - Ansible/Python within PNC's Technology organization, you can be based in Pittsburgh, PA; Strongsville, OH; Cleveland, OH; Birmingham, AL; Phoenix, AZ; Lakewood, CO; Dallas, TX.
PNC is an in-office company that fosters a supportive culture where employees can thrive and achieve balance. We encourage candidates to connect with their recruiter and hiring manager to understand workplace expectations and ensure the role aligns with their goals.
PNC will not provide sponsorship for employment visas or participate in STEM OPT for this position.
Job DescriptionThe Software Engineer Principal is a part of a team responsible for modernizing legacy technology by moving to an Ansible‑based backend and Python‑driven automation, with a strong emphasis on reliability and operational readiness.
Focused on technology and business resiliency, They will own and build systems that support high availability, disaster recovery, and automated failover between data centers.
This is a hands‑on individual contributor role with technical leadership responsibilities. The engineer spends most of the time building and operating systems, while also guiding technical direction and supporting team members.
Core Responsibilities
- Design, build, and maintain backend infrastructure that supports high availability and automated failover between data centers
- Architect and implement resiliency solutions for distributed systems, including failover and failback workflows
- Develop and manage automation for recovery operations using Ansible and Python
- Lead disaster recovery testing and validate system resiliency and readiness
- Collaborate closely with architects to align designs with long‑term resiliency goals
- Partner with product owners to plan work, refine requirements, and size epics and user stories
- Work within an Agile delivery environment, contributing to planning and execution
- Establish and promote best practices for reliability, recovery, and continuity engineering
- Mentor junior engineers through technical guidance and hands‑on collaboration
- Contribute directly to backend development and operational improvements as needed
- Operate as a senior individual contributor with a player‑coach mindset, spending most time on hands‑on development while providing technical leadership
Preferred Technical Skills - Hands‑on expertise with Ansible for infrastructure automation and orchestration of failover workflows
- Strong Python experience building automation, services, and resiliency tooling
- Strong experience with backend engineering in distributed systems
- Experience with distributed task processing using Celery, including asynchronous workflows, retries, and scheduling
- Solid understanding of high availability, disaster recovery, and resiliency architectures
- Experience designing systems that handle failure scenarios gracefully
- Experience building application programming interfaces using FastAPI
- Familiarity with relational database access using SQLAlchemy or SQLModel
Preferred Experience- Aligns business strategy with software solutions.
- Proposes, designs & codes software solutions to address complex business needs. Oversees technical and procedural documentation required.
- Leads complex problem solving.
- Provides technical guidance and support to colleagues and solution development.
- Displays an innovative approach to apply modern principles, methodologies and tools to advance business initiatives and capabilities.
PNC Employees take pride in our reputation and to continue building upon that we expect our employees to be:
- Customer Focused - Knowledgeable of the values and practices that align customer needs and satisfaction as primary considerations in all business decisions and able to leverage that information in creating customized customer solutions.
- Managing Risk - Assessing and effectively managing all of the risks associated with their business objectives and activities to ensure they adhere to and support PNC's Enterprise Risk Management Framework.
QualificationsSuccessful candidates must demonstrate appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities for a role. Listed below are skills, competencies, work experience, education, and required certifications/licensures needed to be successful in this position.
Preferred SkillsAnsible (Software), Application Development, Back-End Development, Business Management, Customer Solutions, Design, Group Problem Solving, Process Improvements, Python (Programming Language), Release Management, Software Solutions, User Experience (UX) Design
CompetenciesApplication Design, Architecture, Packaged Application Integration, Product and Vendor Evaluation, Software Process Improvement (SPI), System Development Life Cycle, Technical Troubleshooting
Work ExperienceRoles at this level typically require a university / college degree, with 5+ years of industry-relevant experience. Specific certifications are often required. In lieu of a degree, a comparable combination of education, job specific certification(s), and experience (including military service) may be considered.
EducationBachelors
CertificationsNo Required Certification(s)
LicensesNo Required License(s)
Pay TransparencyBase Salary: $91,000.00 – $185,900.00
Salaries may vary based on geographic location, market data and on individual skills, experience, and education. This role is incentive eligible with the payment based upon company, business and/or individual performance.
Application WindowGenerally, this opening is expected to be posted for two business days from 05/27/2026, although it may be longer with business discretion.
BenefitsPNC offers a comprehensive range of benefits to help meet your needs now and in the future. Depending on your eligibility, options for full-time employees include: medical/prescription drug coverage (with a Health Savings Account feature), dental and vision options; employee and spouse/child life insurance; short and long-term disability protection; 401(k) with PNC match, pension and stock purchase plans; dependent care reimbursement account; back-up child/elder care; adoption, surrogacy, and doula reimbursement; educational assistance, including select programs fully paid; a robust wellness program with financial incentives.
In addition, PNC generally provides the following paid time off, depending on your eligibility: maternity and/or parental leave; up to 11 paid holidays each year; 9 occasional absence days each year, unless otherwise required by law; between 15 to 25 vacation days each year, depending on career level; and years of service.
To learn more about these and other programs, including benefits for full time and part-time employees, visitpncthrive.com.
