GOOSE CAREERS

Principal Software Engineer

Chicago, IL / Washington, DC
Development

About Goose

Goose is building the operating system for multi-service pet care businesses — boarding, daycare, grooming, and training. Our platform streamlines operations, enhances the customer experience, and drives revenue growth. Headquartered in Chicago, we blend modern technology with industry know-how to serve an essential but historically underserved market.

About the role

As Goose builds the operational backbone for the next generation of pet care businesses, we’re launching a new platform focused on workforce coordination, task management, and operational tooling. This is a foundational engineering leadership role responsible for shaping a zero-to-one platform spanning operational systems, web and mobile experiences, AI-powered workflows, and scalable infrastructure that powers day-to-day business operations at scale.

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What you’ll do

  • Lead the design, development, and architecture of a new operations platform focused on task management, workforce optimization, and operational tooling.
  • Build the initial versions of core systems, workflows, and user experiences from the ground up.
  • Define the foundational architecture, engineering standards, and technical direction for a new operational platform.
  • Build reliable, well-tested, and maintainable software, including secure APIs, operational systems, web applications, and mobile product experiences.
  • Design foundational systems and workflows supporting operational coordination, workforce management, and internal platform capabilities.
  • Lead development and operational ownership of customer-facing web and mobile applications, along with the supporting platform infrastructure.
  • Drive technical decisions around scalable mobile development patterns and rapid multi-platform deployment workflows.
  • Lead integrations with external systems, operational tooling, and third-party platforms.
  • Leverage AI-assisted engineering tools and workflows to improve development velocity, software quality, debugging, testing, documentation, and operational efficiency.
  • Identify opportunities to incorporate AI-powered functionality and workflows into customer-facing and operational product experiences.
  • Partner closely with product managers, operations, leadership, and engineering teams to shape product direction, operational workflows, technical strategy, and execution priorities.
  • Establish core architectural patterns, operational frameworks, and engineering best practices from the earliest stages of the platform lifecycle.
  • Identify and proactively address risks related to scalability, reliability, security, and long-term maintainability.
  • Create and maintain clear technical and product documentation for the systems and experiences you own.
  • Mentor and influence engineers across teams through technical leadership, system design guidance, and engineering best practices.

Who you are

  • A systems-minded engineer who enjoys building new products and platforms from zero to one.
  • Comfortable operating in ambiguous environments and helping shape both product and technical direction.
  • Passionate about building durable systems and scalable operational platforms.
  • Able to balance rapid iteration with strong engineering fundamentals and long-term thinking.
  • Comfortable influencing architecture and execution across multiple domains without relying solely on direct authority.

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Qualifications

  • 7+ years of professional experience building and scaling complex distributed systems.
  • Experience leading development of new products or platforms from initial concept through production launch.
  • Deep expertise designing and operating large-scale production systems and infrastructure.
  • Experience developing, releasing, and maintaining production mobile applications using modern cross-platform or rapid deployment frameworks.
  • Significant experience leading complex technical initiatives across multiple teams.
  • Strong experience designing resilient APIs, service-oriented architectures, and operationally mature systems.
  • Strong experience with TypeScript, Node.js, React.js, SQL, and AWS-native infrastructure.
  • Experience using AI-assisted development tools within engineering workflows.
  • Experience incorporating AI-powered functionality or experiences into customer-facing products.
  • Strong understanding of scalability, reliability, security, and operational excellence.
  • Proven track record influencing engineering direction and mentoring engineers across teams.
  • Excellent communication skills with the ability to align technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Our tech stack

  • Frontend: React, TypeScript, Vite, Turborepo, MUI
  • Backend: Node.js, Express, Prisma, Serverless
  • Database: Postgres (Aurora), Redshift, DynamoDB, S3
  • Compute: Lambda, Fargate, Step Functions
  • AI: Kiro, Claude, Bedrock, OpenAI
  • Infrastructure as Code: CloudFormation, CDK
  • Cloud Platform: AWS (API Gateway, Cognito, EventBridge, CloudFront, CloudWatch)

What we offer

  • Competitive salary and meaningful equity
  • Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance: 85% coverage for employees, 60% for dependents
  • Unlimited PTO (vacation, sick, personal, plus 5 company holidays)
  • Direct mentorship from one of our strongest PMs on the highest-leverage product surface at the company
  • Plenty of opportunity to grow with the company

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About Goose

Goose is a next-generation software operating system purpose-built for pet service providers

From online to front desk, Goose’s end-to-end pet care operating system helps you offer better customer experiences and earn more revenue per customer.

Learn more