Developer Principal

ECMC Group is a nonprofit corporation focused on helping students succeed. Headquartered in Minneapolis, ECMC Group and its family of companies provide financial tools and services, as well as funding for innovative programs to help students achieve their academic and professional goals.

Job Summary

The Developer Principal provides enterprise‑level technical leadership for application development across complex systems and initiatives. This role designs and advances secure, scalable and high‑quality software solutions while influencing architecture, development standards and delivery practices. The position applies deep technical expertise and independent judgment to solve highly complex problems and partners closely with architects and engineering leaders to align solutions with business strategy, long‑term objectives and regulatory requirements. The role provides technical leadership across teams, guides complex initiatives and mentors developers without formal supervisory responsibility.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Designs and implements large, complex applications, systems and processes that align with architectural standards and enterprise strategy

• Partners with business stakeholders and analysts to define requirements, evaluate solution options and estimate effort for complex initiatives and enhancements

• Applies independent judgment to analyze ambiguous problems and determine appropriate methods, techniques and evaluation criteria

• Provides technical leadership across large initiatives and serves as a primary technical point of contact within application development for assigned efforts

• Collaborates with architecture teams to ensure solutions align with portfolio direction, development standards and security requirements

• Influences development best practices and standards and reinforces quality through code reviews, technical guidance and mentoring

• Plans and coordinates complex implementations, ensuring quality of functional design, technical execution and operational readiness

• Provides subject matter expertise across multiple technical domains and guides resolution of complex or high‑impact issues

• Supports engineering leadership by providing financial or data input related to project estimates, capital expenditures or cost considerations as requested

• Reviews and maintains technical documentation including runbooks, operational guides and system documentation

• Performs other duties and responsibilities as assigned

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering, or related field, or equivalent professional experience

• 8+ years of professional software development experience with deep expertise in Java, including modern frameworks such as Spring / Spring Boot

• Proven experience designing and delivering large‑scale, secure and highly available Java applications in enterprise environments

• Strong understanding of software architecture, design patterns and system integration, including REST‑based and event‑driven architectures

• Extensive hands‑on experience with AWS services, such as EC2, RDS, S3, IAM, Lambda, API Gateway, SQS, or equivalent cloud‑native services

• Advanced experience with relational databases and SQL, including data modeling, performance tuning and transactional integrity

• Demonstrated ability to provide technical leadership, mentor senior developers and guide architectural decisions without formal authority

• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts for both technical and non‑technical stakeholders

• Demonstrated experience using AI‑assisted development tools (e.g., code generation, test creation, documentation) with sound judgment, including validating output quality and adhering to security and data‑handling standards 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience designing and implementing large-scale, distributed systems in a cloud-native environment (AWS preferred).

• Strong background in cloud architecture and services, including compute, storage, messaging and monitoring (e.g., AWS EC2, ECS/EKS, Lambda, SQS/SNS, CloudWatch).

• Demonstrated experience with secure coding practices, application security and building solutions in regulated or compliance-driven environments.

• Experience modernizing legacy applications, including cloud migration, refactoring, or decomposition into services.

• Proven ability to provide technical leadership, mentor senior and mid-level developers and influence architectural decisions across teams.

The pay range for this position is $180,000-$200,000. Actual compensation may vary based on factors such as relevant experience, peer and market benchmarks, and geographic location.

This position is classified as hybrid Monday - Wednesday and requires attendance in Minneapolis, MN.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

ECMC Group is committed to ensuring our diverse, inclusive, and equitable culture is built on a strong sense of belonging, where everyone feels seen, heard, and encouraged to show up as their authentic self.

ECMC Group also provides a comprehensive benefits package:  

• Health & wellness benefits: Medical, dental, and vision insurance plan options, with a generous employer subsidy. Company paid life & disability insurance, pre-tax flexible spending accounts and robust wellness programs.
• Financial benefits: Generous 401(k) plan with a company match up to 6% and additional discretionary contribution potential, holiday time off, paid time off accrual starting at 20 days/year and commuter subsidy.
• Education benefits: Tuition reimbursement up to $10,500/year for approved programs and student loan payment reimbursement up to $4,800/year. Up to $5,250 of qualifying education benefits can be reimbursed pre-tax.