Principal Software Architect (San Diego)

About Carlsmed
Our mission is to improve outcomes and decrease the cost of healthcare for spine surgery and beyond. The Carlsmed aprevo® personalized surgery platform is designed to improve the standard of care for spine surgery one patient at a time.
Position Description
The Principal Software Architect will work on software projects supporting Carlsmed’s proprietary implants, instrumentation, and design automation systems for personalized surgery. In this role, you will provide technical leadership and define scalable architectures that support both current needs and future growth. You will collaborate with engineering teams and senior leadership to align technical strategy with business objectives, guide key architectural decisions, establish best practices, and mentor engineers across the organization.
Responsibilities
Define and drive the technical vision and roadmap for our entire platform
Design scalable, maintainable architectures for complex distributed systems
Establish technical standards and best practices across the organization
Lead architectural reviews and provide technical governance
Make critical technology choices that impact the entire organization
Mentor senior engineers and technical leads in architectural thinking
Drive innovation and keep our technology stack modern and competitive
Collaborate with senior leadership to align technical strategy with business goals
Identify and mitigate technical risks across the organization
Guide teams in implementing Node.js-based microservices architecture
Design and govern GraphQL schema architecture across multiple services
Establish patterns for scalable React applications and component libraries
Architect database solutions using PostgreSQL for high-scale applications
Define API standards and integration patterns across the platform
Lead proof-of-concept initiatives for new technologies
Drive technical spikes to validate architectural decisions
Skills and Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field
10–15 years of experience building software systems, including 5+ years of experience leading development teams, required
Experience with spine or orthopedics highly desired
Excellent verbal and written communication
Ability to perform high quality work with speed
Willingness to wear multiple hats when needed to enable excellent patient outcomes
Deep expertise in Node.js ecosystem and distributed systems
Advanced knowledge of GraphQL, including federation and gateway patterns
Expert-level understanding of React architecture and performance optimization
Extensive experience with PostgreSQL at scale, including sharding and replication
Proven track record of leading large-scale technical initiatives
Strong understanding of system design, scalability, and performance
Experience with high-traffic, distributed systems
Excellence in technical communication and documentation
Track record of mentoring senior engineers and technical leads
Experience with Prisma in large-scale applications preferred
Knowledge of modern application frameworks like Remix preferred
iOS architecture experience for enterprise applications preferred
Experience with multiple cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure) preferred
Background in API gateway and service mesh technologies preferred
Experience with event-driven architectures and message queuing preferred
Knowledge of security best practices and compliance requirements preferred
Equal Opportunity Employer
Carlsmed is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. Carlsmed is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance or accommodations due to a disability, please let us know.
Compensation
The anticipated annual base salary range for this position is $210,000 - $230,000. Individual compensation is determined based on factors such as experience, skills, education, certifications, and geographic location.
In addition to base salary, eligible employees may participate in incentive compensation programs and receive a comprehensive benefits package. Our benefits reflect our commitment to the health and well-being of our employees and their families and include 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums, a 401(k) plan with employer matching, and unlimited paid time off (PTO). Your recruiter can provide additional details about our total rewards package during the hiring process.

Employment type
Full-Time

Work arrangement
No