Principal Software Engineer
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 29, 2026. First seen by Alion on Jun 26, 2026. Gradion scores A on the Alion truth index.
We’re hiring rockstars.
We're looking for engineers who still like the hard problems.
Gradion is hiring a Principal Software Engineer to work across our teams and projects on the things that need serious engineering judgment: architecture, system design, scalability, performance, reliability, technical debt, and new technology.
This is a hands-on individual contributor role. You'll design systems, write code, prototype ideas, debug the failures nobody else can reproduce, review the implementations that matter, and work alongside engineers and Tech Leads wherever deeper expertise is needed.
Your influence here won't come from managing people. It comes from the systems you improve, the technical decisions you shape, and the engineers who get better for having worked with you.
AI is part of the job
We're building an AI-first engineering organization, and we want to get further than AI-assisted coding. You'll work with LLMs, AI APIs, agents, RAG, and evaluation, applied to problems in our own engineering and in the products we build for clients.
We're not trying to put AI into everything. We want to find the places where it pays off, build those properly, and write down what we learn so other teams can pick it up.
What this role is really about
- Own architecture and design decisions on the hardest systems in our portfolio
- Write code, prototype, and debug alongside the teams rather than from a distance
- Review the implementations that carry the most risk, and raise the bar through the work itself
- Find where AI pays off, build it properly, and turn what works into something other teams can reuse
- Work with Tech Leads on scalability, performance, reliability, and technical debt
- Evaluate new technology, prototype it, make a call, and write down the reasoning
- Work with clients and non-engineering stakeholders to turn vague problems into technical direction
What we're looking for
- 10+ years building and running production software, and still writing code today
- Depth in system design and architecture: scalability, performance, distributed systems, reliability
- A track record of setting technical direction across several teams, or on one large and long-running program
- Quick to find your way around an unfamiliar codebase. Deep in at least one language and comfortable in several
- Tech stack (not strictly limited to): Python, Go, Node.js, Java, Cloud Native (AWS/GCP), Docker/Kubernetes...
- Hands-on experience with LLM-based systems. Things you have built, not only read about: AI APIs, prompt and context design, and at least one of agents, RAG, or evaluation
- Judgment about when not to build something, when to pay down debt, and when to say no
- The ability to mentor senior engineers and change their minds without formal authority
- Comfort working directly with clients and non-engineering stakeholders
- A habit of following where the field is going
Nice to have
- Production AI systems at scale: evaluation harnesses, guardrails, cost and latency tuning
- Depth in one of our domains: data platforms, cybersecurity, robotics, enterprise systems
- Internal tooling or platform work that made other teams faster
- Open source contributions, conference talks, or technical writing
Why Gradion
ou’d be joining Vietnam’s Best IT Company, recognized by ITViec for 8 consecutive years, including 2 successive years as the Winner.
That reputation didn’t happen overnight. It’s built on 23 years of shipping real digital platforms and Deep Tech solutions for 100+ enterprise clients, backed by more than 300 specialists across 7 countries.
From AI and data to cybersecurity, robotics, and enterprise platforms, the work here gives you something a single-product environment rarely can: a much wider technical surface area.
Different systems. Different industries. Different problems worth going deep on.
If you want Principal Engineer scope without stepping away from engineering, let’s talk.
Why You’ll Love Working Here
- Gradion Vietnam (formerly NFQ Vietnam) has been recognized by ITViec for 8 consecutive years, including 2 successive years as the Winner.
- Collaborate with engineers, technical leaders, and clients across global markets.
- Experiment with AI-native engineering, emerging technologies, and real-world AI applications - not just demos.
- No unnecessary bureaucracy. We care about the quality of your thinking and the impact of your work.
- Attractive salary, performance-based bonus, and benefits that reflect your impact.
- Up to 2 months’ performance bonus, twice-yearly performance reviews, premium healthcare, 15 days annual leave, full salary during probation, hybrid working, tech communities, global projects, and continuous learning opportunities.
Working time: Monday - Friday, 9 AM - 6 PM
Locations: Ho Chi Minh City · Da Nang · Remote from Hanoi or Can Tho
Data protection
According to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), and Vietnam's Decree 13/2023/ND-CP, while also ensuring compliance with other applicable local data protection laws in the jurisdictions where we operate, including but not limited to Vietnam, Thailand, Egypt, Singapore, Germany, and Saudi Arabia, Gradion applies the “Personal Data Protection Policy” to all candidates to ensure compliance with the laws.
By submitting your application to Gradion, you agree to allow us to process your provided information in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Policy that you have carefully read, understood, and agreed to in its entirety at Link.