Principal Software Engineer

About the Position

Secure Every Identity, from AI to Human

Identity is the key to unlocking the potential of AI. Okta secures AI by building the trusted, neutral infrastructure that enables organizations to safely embrace this new era. This work requires a relentless drive to solve complex challenges with real-world stakes. We are looking for builders and owners who operate with speed and urgency and execute with excellence.

This is an opportunity to do career-defining work. We're all in on this mission. If you are too, let's talk.

Responsibilities

As a Principal Software Engineer on the Okta Identity Governance (OIG) team, you will be involved in the development, design, and maintenance of our product to serve enterprise customers at scale. You will be responsible for the architecture and evolution of our product features, spanning different access governance personas, and will work collaboratively across engineering, product, and design to deliver features that are secure, scalable, and delightful to use.

• Take end-to-end ownership of feature areas - from technical design through implementation, testing, deployment, and post-launch monitoring
• Design, build, and ship high-quality, production-ready features across the OIG system, with a focus on correctness, reliability, and performance
• Quickly deliver high-quality bug fixes and handle customer-reported issues
• Write clean, well-tested, maintainable code and hold yourself and teammates to a high bar for engineering quality
• Partner with our Product Development, QA, and Site Reliability Engineering teams for scoping the development and deployment work

Requirements

• 8+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 3+ years in a senior or staff-level technical leadership role
• Proven track record of architecting and delivering large-scale, distributed systems in production environments serving enterprise customers
• Deep expertise in microservices, event-driven architectures, APIs, and data modeling at scale
• Strong proficiency in one or more of: Java, Kotlin, Go, or equivalent JVM/cloud-native languages used in Okta's backend stack
• Demonstrated ability to influence without authority - driving technical alignment across multiple teams and stakeholders
• Experience designing systems that meet enterprise reliability, scalability, and security requirements (think: multi-tenancy, high availability, audit logging, RBAC/ABAC)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to make complex technical topics accessible to both engineers and non-engineers

Nice to Have

• Experience building identity, access management, or governance (IAM/IGA) products or platforms
• Familiarity with workflow engines or approval/routing systems (e.g., finite state machines, BPM-style systems)
• Experience with enterprise SaaS platforms serving large, complex customer organizations
• Hands-on experience with cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and modern observability tooling

We Offer

• Competitive salary range: $184,000-$276,000 USD annually
• Equity (where applicable)
• Comprehensive benefits, including health, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) plan
• Flexible spending account
• Paid leave (including PTO and parental leave)

About the Company

Okta is the leading independent provider of identity for the enterprise. The Okta Identity Cloud enables organizations to securely connect the right people to the right technologies at the right time. With over 7,000 pre-built integrations to applications and infrastructure providers, Okta customers can easily and securely use the best technologies for their business. More than 19,300 organizations, including JetBlue, Nordstrom, Slack, T-Mobile, Takeda, Teach for America, and Twilio, trust Okta to help protect the identities of their workforces and customers.

Okta is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, or status as a protected veteran.