Principal - Software Eng

Ally and Your Career

Ally Financial only succeeds when its people do - and that’s more than some cliché people put on job postings. We love this stuff! We see our people as, well, people - with interests, families, friends, dreams, and causes that are all important to them. Our focus is on the health and safety of our teammates as well as work-life balance and diversity and inclusion. From generous benefits to a variety of employee resource groups, we strive to build paths that encourage employees to stretch themselves professionally. We want to help you grow, develop, and learn new things. You’re constantly evolving, so shouldn’t your opportunities be, too?

Work Schedule: Ally designates roles as (1) fully on-site, (2) hybrid, or (3) fully remote. Hybrid roles are generally expected to be in the office a certain number of days per week as indicated by your manager. Your hiring manager will discuss this role's specific work requirements with you during the hiring process. All work requirements are subject to change at any time based on leader discretion and/or business need.

The Opportunity

At Ally, you get a startup feel, but experience the benefits of a company that has worked out the kinks and is fulfilling its purpose. We are always evolving and see that as a good thing. From owning our work to seeing its impact in the real world, our team is relentless in finding new ways technology can help make experiences better and help people. We are problem solvers, we value diverse thinking, we support one another, and we challenge ourselves to think bigger in the journey to deliver customer-obsessed tech solutions. To read more about what our tech team does, be sure to visit our tech blog at ally.tech

We are seeking a hands-on Principal Software Engineer to lead the design, development, and support of dealer-facing applications that power critical business interactions and digital experiences. This role will drive the delivery of secure, scalable, and high-performing platforms across front-end, back-end, APIs, and cloud infrastructure, with strong focus on usability, reliability, integration, and production excellence.

As a Manager, you will provide technical leadership across architecture, implementation, release management, and operational support while partnering with product, business, and engineering teams to continuously improve dealer experience and platform stability. You will also mentor engineers, shape engineering standards, and help build resilient solutions that support evolving dealer and business needs.

At this time, Ally will not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization for this position.

The Work Itself

The Work Itself

• Full-Stack Technical Expertise. Lead end-to-end full-stack engineering across front-end, back-end, APIs, data, and cloud infrastructure for dealer-facing applications, with a focus on usability, performance, resiliency, security, and maintainability.
• Backend: Strong hands-on experience with Node.js, NestJS, and TypeScript for building secure, performant REST APIs and microservices that support dealer-facing experiences; expertise in API design, asynchronous processing, error handling, enterprise system integration, and relational databases such as Postgres or Oracle; strong understanding of production support, issue triage, and operational stability
• AWS backend stack: Lambda, API Gateway, Step Functions, S3, and CloudFront, with the ability to design event-driven and serverless application patterns; Terraform, IAM, Secrets Manager, and Parameter Store for secure configuration and repeatable infrastructure provisioning; CloudWatch for logging, metrics, alerting, and production observability.
• Frontend: Strong hands-on experience with React.js, Next.js, TypeScript, and modern CSS practices to build performant, responsive, and accessible dealer-facing user interfaces; familiarity with API integration patterns, usability-focused implementation, DevOps practices, and AWS deployment models.
• Frontend architecture: Experience with micro frontend architecture, module federation, reusable component design, and client/server state management using tools such as React Query, Redux, or Zustand
• Architecture & Delivery
  • Collaborate with architects, product partners, and cross-functional teams to define application architecture, integration patterns, and scalable technical solutions that improve dealer workflows and experience
  • Translate business and dealer workflow requirements into technical designs, implementation plans, and scalable solution components
  • Own and coordinate release management activities for dealer-facing applications, including planning, dependency tracking, deployment readiness, rollback strategy, production validation, and post-release support
  • Identify technical risks related to architecture, scalability, security, production stability, and dealer impact, and propose practical mitigation strategies
  • Participate in sprint planning, technical estimation, dependency management, support prioritization, and delivery commitments with clear engineering ownership
  • Liaison between product, architecture, and development team members.
  • Works directly with product owners to ensure stories contain the right balance of technical direction, best practices, and level of detail.
• Coordinates projects with Engineering and Operations team to reduce impact on application development teams, including build-out of new development environments.
• Drives continuous improvement through coaching, pair programming, code review processes, and round table discussions.
• Instills strong focus and best practices for creation and maintenance of high-quality deliverables.
• Communicates effectively with senior leadership and other development teams.
• Sets technical expectations, and provides guidance as needed.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 7+ years of relevant experience or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or equivalent

Preferred Qualifications

• 8+ years of software development experience delivering scalable enterprise applications
• 3+ years in a technical lead or principal engineer role with ownership of architecture, delivery, and engineering standards
• Proven ability to lead end-to-end engineering for dealer-facing applications with strong focus on usability, reliability, performance, and business impact
• Mentor and coach junior and mid-level developers through technical guidance, code reviews, and hands-on collaboration

How We'll Have Your Back

Ally's compensation program offers market-competitive base pay and pay-for-performance incentives (bonuses) based on achieving personal and company goals. Our Total Rewards program includes industry-leading compensation and benefits plus additional incentives that are designed to meet your needs and those of your family so you can get the most out of your career and your life, including:

Time Away: Program starts at 20 paid time off days in addition to 11 paid holidays and 8 hours of volunteer time off yearly (time off days are prorated based on start date and program varies based on full or part-time status and management level).

Planning for the Future: plan for the near and long term with an industry-leading 401K retirement savings plan with matching and company contributions, student loan pay downs and 529 educational save up assistance programs, tuition reimbursement, employee stock purchase plan, and financial learning center and financial coach access.

Supporting your Health & Well-being: flexible health and insurance options including medical, dental and vision, employee, spouse and child life insurance, short- and long-term disability, pre-tax Health Savings Account with employer contributions, Healthcare FSA, critical illness, accident & hospital indemnity insurance, and a total well-being program that helps you and your family stay on track physically, socially, emotionally, and financially.

Building a Family: adoption, surrogacy and fertility assistance as well as paid parental and caregiver leave, Dependent Day Care FSA back-up child and adult/elder care days and childcare discounts.

Work-Life Integration: other benefits including Mentally Fit Employee Assistance Program, subsidized and discounted Weight Watchers® program and other employee discount programs.

Other Compensations: depending on the role for which you are considered, you may be eligible for travel allowances, relocation assistance, a signing bonus and/or equity.

To view more detailed information about Ally’s Total Rewards, please visit this link: https://www.ally.com/content/dam/pdf/corporate/ally-total-rewards-snapshot.pdf

Who We Are:

Ally Financial is a customer-centric, leading digital financial services company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions. We are relentlessly focused on "Doing it Right" and being a trusted financial-services provider to our consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. For more information, visit www.ally.com.

Ally is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy status, marital status, military or veteran status, genetic disposition or any other reason protected by law.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if after review of the position expectations, you believe that you may need a medical accommodation to fulfill the duties of this role, please email [email protected] with details of your accommodation request.

Base Pay Range

$110,000.00 - $180,000.00

An individual's position in the range is determined by the specific role, the scope and responsibilities of the role, work experience, education, certification(s), training, and additional qualifications. We review internal pay, the competitive market, and business environment prior to extending an offer.

Incentive Compensation:

This position is eligible to participate in our annual incentive plan.