Staff /Principal Engineer

Description

Who are we?

Zencity is a mission-driven startup re-inventing the way governments hear from, understand, and engage with their residents. Our community input & insights platform and community survey solution use advanced NLP and ML algorithms to help government organizations make data-driven decisions. Our global team of urban enthusiasts and data geeks works with over 400 cities - from Los Angeles, to Chicago, to Austin. If you're passionate about joining a growing and dynamic company focused on leveraging data and tech to work on real-world challenges and radically improve life in cities - your place is with us!

What is the role?

This is not a typical full-stack position. We're looking for an exceptional Staff / Principal Engineer who can own complex technical domains, shape system architecture, and lead end-to-end development while remaining 100% hands-on. You will report directly to the VP R&D, work closely with them on technical strategy and architecture, gradually take ownership of architectural responsibilities across the platform, and become one of the company's leading technical voices. Along the way you'll help mayors and other city leaders understand their residents and their city in more effective ways, improving the lives of millions of citizens around the world.

Key Responsibilities

• Own complex product domains from architecture through production
• Lead end-to-end feature development across frontend, backend, and cloud
• Drive architectural decisions and technical direction across the platform
• Design and build scalable distributed systems
• Design and develop AI-powered capabilities as part of the core product
• Work closely with the VP R&D on technical strategy and architecture
• Mentor engineers through technical leadership (without people management)
• Serve as one of the company's technical leaders, influencing engineering standards and long-term technical strategy

Requirements

• 7+ years of software engineering experience, with significant experience leading architecture and complex technical initiatives
• Background as a Staff Engineer, Principal Engineer, Software Architect, or highly experienced Technical Lead
• Strong system design and software architecture experience
• Proven experience with agentic coding (Claude Code / Codex / Cursor)
• Proven experience owning complex technical domains end-to-end
• Experience owning architecture and leading technical direction in a product startup environment
• Deep expertise with Node.js, TypeScript, and React
• Cloud experience, preferably AWS
• Familiarity with containers and Kubernetes
• Great interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate with product, design, and go-to-market teams
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, delivery-driven environment

It's even better if you have:

• Designed and built a POC or product/service from the ground up in a current or previous role
• A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent relevant experience
• Experience working with local government