Principal Backend Software Engineer (USA Remote)

When you join Turnitin, you'll be welcomed into a company that is a recognized innovator in global education. For over 25 years, Turnitin has partnered with educators and institutions to develop learning integrity solutions that recognize the enduring value of critical thinking in a rapidly changing world. Over 16,000 academic institutions, publishers, and corporations use our services in more than 185 countries around the world: Turnitin Feedback Studio, Clarity, Originality, Gradescope, ExamSoft, Similarity, and iThenticate. Protecting the value of an authentic education is at the heart of who we are.

Experience a remote-first culture that empowers you to work with purpose and accountability in a way that best suits you, supported by a comprehensive package that prioritizes your overall well-being. Our diverse community of colleagues are all unified by a shared desire to make a difference in education.

Turnitin is a global organization with team members in over 35 countries including the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, India, and the Philippines.

As a member of the GRaF (Grading and Feedback)  team, the purpose of this role is to build and maintain services related to grading and feedback functionality. The Senior Software Engineer - Backend Services will be responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining scalable, high-performance backend systems using AWS Lambda and related technologies. This role is critical in developing and optimizing our serverless architecture. Cross functionally this role will interface mainly with QA, Product, UX and Support.

Responsibilities:

• Drive the long-term technical strategy and multi-year architectural roadmap for the GRaF backend platform, defining and enforcing technical standards and best practices across the team.
• Lead the design, development, and implementation of scalable, robust, and cost-efficient backend services using AWS Lambda, RESTful APIs, and event-driven architectures.
• Act as a technical leader, providing expert technical guidance and mentorship to engineers on system design, Java best practices, code quality, and troubleshooting complex issues in production environments.
• Proactively partner with engineering, product, and architectural leadership across multiple teams to identify and resolve systemic technical debt and architectural risks.
• Oversee and ensure the continuous improvement of CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions) and the maintenance of comprehensive automated testing frameworks.

• 10+ years of professional experience in backend development.
• Expert-level proficiency in Java or another programming language suitable for AWS Lambda, with deep experience in distributed, high-scale, and high availability systems.
• Extensive experience with complex AWS serverless services (especially Lambdas & DynamoDB) and a proven track record of driving large-scale architectural decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to act independently, set technical direction, and influence cross-functional teams and senior engineers without direct authority.
• Proven experience mentoring other engineers, leading technical design reviews, and establishing engineering processes and quality standards.
• Exceptional analytical and conceptual thinking skills to resolve significant, unique, and ambiguous technical challenges.

The expected annual base salary range for this position is: $130,350/year to $217,250/year. This position is bonus eligible / commission-based.

Actual compensation will be provided in writing at the time of offer, if extended, and is determined by work location and a range of other relevant factors, including but not limited to: experience, skills, degrees, licensures, certifications, and other job-related factors. Internal equity, market and organizational factors are also considered.

Total Rewards @ Turnitin
At Turnitin, we believe Total Rewards go far beyond pay. While salary, bonus, or commission are important, they’re only part of the value you receive in exchange for your work.

Beyond compensation, you’ll experience the intrinsic rewards of unleashing your potential and making a positive impact on global education. You’ll also thrive in a culture free of politics, surrounded by humble, inclusive, and collaborative teammates.

In addition, our extrinsic rewards include generous time off and health and wellness programs that provide choice, flexibility, and a safety net for life’s challenges. You’ll also enjoy a remote-first culture that empowers you to work with purpose and accountability in the way that suits you best, all supported by a comprehensive package that prioritizes your overall well-being.

Our Mission is to ensure the integrity of global education and meaningfully improve learning outcomes.

Our Values underpin everything we do.

• Customer Centric: Our mission is focused on improving learning outcomes; we do this by putting educators and learners at the center of everything we do.
• Passion for Learning: We are committed to our own learning and growth internally. And we support education and learning around the globe.
• Integrity: Integrity is the heartbeat of Turnitin—it is the core of our products, the way we treat each other, and how we work with our customers and vendors.
• Action & Ownership: We have a bias for action. We act like owners. We are willing to change even when it’s hard.
• One Team: We strive to break down silos, collaborate effectively, and celebrate each others' successes.
• Global Mindset: We consider different perspectives and celebrate diversity. We are one team. The work we do has an impact on the world.

Global Benefits

• Remote First Culture
• Health Care Coverage
• Education Reimbursement*Competitive Paid Time Off 
• Self-Care Days
• National Holidays
• 2 Founder Days + Juneteenth Observed
• Paid Volunteer Time Off
• Charitable Contribution Match
• Monthly Wellness or Home Office Reimbursement
• Access to Employee Assistance Program (mental health platform)
• Parental Leave
• Retirement Plan with match/contribution

Seeing Beyond the Job Ad
At Turnitin, we recognize it’s unrealistic for candidates to fulfill 100% of the criteria in a job ad.  We encourage you to apply if you meet the majority of the requirements because we know that skills evolve over time. If you’re willing to learn and unleash your potential alongside us, join our team!

Turnitin, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer- vets/disabled.