Principal Backend Developer

Parallels has an immediate opening for this role

Push the boundaries of tech. In your sweatpants.

We’re looking for an experienced Principal Backend Developer to help us change the way the world works, with anytime, anywhere, any-device productivity. Here, you’ll lead the architectural vision and technical strategy for our core systems. You will act as the technical authority for a team of 7-8 engineers, focusing heavily on high-level design, cloud apps architecture, and system boundaries.

The Top Creative And Technical Minds Could Work Anywhere. So Why Are So Many Of Them Choosing Parallels? Here Are Three Reasons

• This is the moment. It’s an exciting time at Parallels, with strong leadership, a refreshed brand, and a whole new approach to changing the way the world works. We’re at the forefront of a movement, and we want you to ride this wave with us.
• We want you to be you . Too often, companies tell you about their culture and then expect you to fit it. Our culture is built from the people who work here. We want you to feel safe to be who you are, take risks, and show us what you’ve got.
• It’s your world. We know you have a life. We want to be part of it, but not all of it. At Parallels, we’re serious about empowering people to work when, how, and where they want. Couch? Sweatpants? Cool with us. We believe that happy employees mean happy customers. That’s why we hire amazing people and get out of their way.
  
  

Sound good so far? Awesome. Let’s talk more about the _____ role and see if we’re destined to be together.

As a Principal Backend Developer, You Will

• Write code for the most complex, critical system mechanisms. While you won't be fixing everyday bugs, you will implement the most critical mechanisms, and features for the business. Help teammates when needed.
• Define technical strategy, tech stack, and how code is organized across repositories. Make critical build-vs-buy decisions, including evaluating whether to proceed with internal implementation vs. using a 3rd-party tool.
• Architect secure and scalable integration patterns across the system, establishing best practices for 3rd-party communication, identity management, and SSO/SCIM integrations.
• Redefine system architecture & design by auditing existing microservices and implementing strict bounded contexts.
• Design robust, scalable, and standardized APIs. Take ownership of the cloud architecture strategy with a strong emphasis on backend resilience, fault tolerance, and performance.
• Act as the technical cornerstone for the engineering team. Partner directly with engineering leadership to define and enforce technical standards. You will have the organizational backing to drive complex architectural transitions across a team of 7-8 engineers.
  
  

What YOU Bring To The Team

• Extensive Backend Experience with a proven track record in principal or architect-level roles designing complex, distributed systems.
• Deep, authoritative knowledge of Python and backend ecosystem. Django, FastAPI, RabbitMQ, Celery, Kafka, Postgresql, Redis, etc
• Architectural mastery in refactoring complex systems, untangling dependencies, and selecting optimal architectures. Experienced in implementing Hexagonal architecture systems, understanding of Domain-Driven Design (DDD), Clean Architecture in enterprise applications, with clear judgment on when to apply these approaches and how they differ.
• Experience implementing identity management in enterprise applications. Solid understanding of enterprise identity management, including SCIM provisioning, OAuth2, OpenID Connect, and SAML.
• Strong background in designing client APIs. Not just individual APIs or groups, but the entire API schema of a system.
• Cloud & Infrastructure: Deep understanding of cloud architecture, containerization, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Demonstrated ability to influence engineering practices, drive technical consensus, and lead complex architectural transitions across multiple teams.
• You understand how to design strict system boundaries and TDD contracts that enable AI agents to safely generate implementation code. You will build the architectural skeleton and interfaces, ensuring AI accelerates development without introducing spaghetti code or degrading system quality.
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments.
  
  

Nice to have

• Experience with Azure as a cloud platform.
• Experience designing and implementing GraphQL APIs.
• Experience with Kubernetes or other orchestration tools
• Polyglot background (e.g., experience with Golang, Rust, or C for performance-critical domains).
  
  

Parallels: helps users leverage the best technology out there, whether it’s Windows, Mac, Chrome OS, iOS, Android, or the cloud.  

What are you waiting for? Apply now! We can’t wait to meet you.

(FYI, we’re lucky to have a lot of interest and we so appreciate your application, though please note that we’ll only contact you if you’ve been selected for an interview.)

About Parallels

Parallels is a top VDI/EUC product helping businesses since 1999. Whether it’s desktop or cloud, on-prem or hybrid, Parallels has a solution to help your company optimize the speed and security of your work environment at an affordable price.

It is our policy and practice to offer equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, age, religion, national origin, sex, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetics, or any other protected characteristic.  

Parallels is committed to an inclusive, barrier-free recruitment and selection process and work environment. If you are contacted for a job opportunity, please advise us of any accommodation that are required. Appropriate accommodation will be provided upon request as required by

Total Compensation Range - $140,000 -$170,000