Principal Engineer (Warehouse Engineering)

ABOUT QUINCE

Quince is a destination for builders, creators, innovators, and operators who want to come together and challenge the status quo. Our mission is simple: make really high quality essentials for really low prices, fairly and sustainably. We deliver on that mission through a unique manufacturer-to-consumer (M2C) model eliminating the layers of traditional retail that add cost and result in consumers paying more than they need to. We find, build relationships with, and work directly with the manufacturing partners behind some of the world’s finest products. From there, our teams design smart, efficient operational processes  and build and deploy proprietary technology, AI, and analytics to help us scale fast.

What began with a small assortment of elevated basics has quickly grown into a cross-category brand spanning apparel, accessories, home goods, and more. Today, tens of millions of people across a growing number of countries come - and return - to Quince because they trust us to deliver.

OUR CULTURE

Quince is a culture built for builders by builders. Our way of working starts with a blank sheet of paper. We question conventional thinking, use technology and data to uncover new opportunities, and move quickly to turn ideas into reality. We aren’t interested in replicating how others do retail. We’re building a better way - at a speed and scale unlike anything that’s been done before.

• We dream big and chase the hard problems others shy away from. Rejecting long-held assumptions is part of our company's DNA.  Where conventional wisdom says you have to choose - soft or durable, speed or rigor, quality or price - we ask why that trade-off has to exist in the first place.
• Our pace is fast and the bar is high because our customers expect a lot from us and we refuse to let them down. We believe the best results come from challenging ourselves, learning from one another, and building on each other's strengths. 
• Here, responsibility is not determined by role, tenure, or seniority. Every team member - no matter their level - has the opportunity to drive our business and shape our trajectory. 

If you’re someone who likes to imagine new possibilities and build better systems rather than plug-in to outdated ones, Quince is the place for you.

THE ROLE

Principal Engineer : Warehouse Engineering

We’re looking for a Principal Engineer : Warehouse Engineering to define the technical vision and architecture for Quince’s warehouse technology ecosystem. You will build the platforms that power inventory movement, fulfillment execution, warehouse operations, and returns across a rapidly scaling supply chain network.

In this role, you will lead the architecture of Quince’s warehouse integration platform, proprietary Warehouse Management System (WMS), and returns platform. You will solve complex problems across warehouse operations, logistics, inventory, and fulfillment while establishing scalable technical foundations for the future.

This role requires a strong combination of distributed systems expertise, operational platform experience, and technical leadership. You will influence architecture across multiple engineering teams, mentor senior engineers, partner with business and operations leaders, and help shape how Quince builds technology for a highly complex and rapidly evolving supply chain.

Responsibilities

Warehouse Integration Platform

• Architect and build a standardized integration platform connecting Quince with third-party warehouse operators and WMS platforms.
• Define integration contracts, APIs, data models, and engineering standards that minimize bespoke development for new warehouse partners.
• Build scalable mechanisms for monitoring, reconciliation, error handling, and operational visibility across warehouse integrations.
• Establish platform capabilities that simplify warehouse onboarding and improve reliability across the warehouse network.

Warehouse Management System

• Define the architecture and technical strategy for Quince’s proprietary Warehouse Management System.
• Build systems supporting inbound, outbound, inventory, fulfillment, and warehouse execution workflows.
• Design the platform to support both Quince-operated facilities and third-party warehouse operators.
• Establish scalable multi-tenant architecture, including data isolation, configuration management, access controls, and extensibility.
• Define architectural patterns that allow the WMS to evolve into a scalable platform for external warehouse operators.

Returns & Reverse Logistics

• Drive the architecture and evolution of Quince’s end-to-end returns platform.
• Design systems supporting return intake, inventory reconciliation, restocking, refurbishment, replenishment, and disposition.
• Build operational capabilities that provide visibility into reverse logistics workflows and enable efficient throughput.
• Ensure returns systems meet high standards for reliability, scalability, observability, and data integrity.

AI-Native Engineering

• Drive the adoption of AI-native engineering practices across warehouse technology.
• Identify opportunities to apply AI to exception management, warehouse operations, workflow automation, and operational decision-making.
• Partner with Data Science and Operations Research teams to productionize AI and optimization models within warehouse systems.
• Establish reliable architecture patterns for integrating AI capabilities into operational workflows while maintaining correctness and reliability.

Technical Leadership

• Define the long-term technical vision, architecture principles, and roadmap for warehouse engineering.
• Lead architecture reviews and provide technical direction across warehouse, logistics, supply chain, and platform teams.
• Establish engineering standards around scalability, reliability, observability, data integrity, and operational excellence.
• Identify architectural risks, technical debt, and systemic opportunities across warehouse technology.
• Make high-impact technical decisions while balancing immediate business needs with long-term platform scalability.

Organizational Impact

• Mentor senior and staff engineers and raise the technical bar across the engineering organization.
• Partner closely with warehouse operations, logistics, product, and business stakeholders to translate operational challenges into scalable technical solutions.
• Influence technical strategy across multiple teams and domains without relying solely on organizational authority.
• Contribute to hiring, talent development, and building a high-performing engineering organization.
• Represent warehouse engineering in broader technical and organizational initiatives.

Qualifications

Required:

• 12+ years of software engineering experience building large-scale operational, supply chain, logistics, warehouse, or similar systems.
• Proven experience architecting and scaling distributed systems and event-driven architectures in production.
• Deep expertise in designing highly reliable systems where data integrity, consistency, and operational correctness are critical.
• Experience designing integration platforms and replacing bespoke integrations with standardized, scalable frameworks.
• Strong understanding of multi-tenant architecture, data isolation, API design, configuration management, and platform extensibility.
• Experience setting technical direction across multiple engineering teams or business domains.
• Strong understanding of inventory management, fulfillment workflows, and operational system design.
• Experience balancing scalability, performance, reliability, observability, and operational complexity.
• Strong technical communication skills with the ability to influence senior engineering and business stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor senior engineers and drive engineering excellence across teams.
• Experience working with AI-enabled development workflows and/or integrating AI capabilities into production systems.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment with significant ambiguity and ownership.

Preferred:

• Direct experience designing or building Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) at scale.
• Experience working with commercial WMS platforms and understanding the trade-offs between vendor solutions and custom-built systems.
• Experience with reverse logistics, inventory condition management, refurbishment, and disposition workflows.
• Experience in e-commerce fulfillment, 3PL operations, retail, logistics, or large-scale warehouse networks.
• Strong understanding of warehouse automation, inventory accuracy, fulfillment optimization, or operational planning systems.
• Experience building multi-tenant SaaS platforms serving external customers, operators, or partners.
• Experience partnering with Data Science or Operations Research teams to productionize optimization and decision-making models.
• Experience in high-growth, technology-first organizations with highly autonomous engineering teams.

WHY QUINCE?

Joining Quince means being part of a mission-driven team reshaping retail. You will work alongside talented colleagues, tackle meaningful challenges, and contribute to building a more sustainable, accessible future for customers and partners alike.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY & HIRING INTEGRITY

Quince provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applications for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. 

Quince is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation to complete your application or to perform the essential functions of a role at Quince, please let us know by completing this accommodation form. We review all requests individually and will work with you to determine appropriate accommodations on a case-by-case basis.

Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check. Quince will conduct background checks in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Security Advisory: Beware of Frauds

At Quince, we're dedicated to recruiting top talent who share our drive for innovation. To safeguard candidates, Quince emphasizes legitimate recruitment practices. Initial communication is primarily via official Quince email addresses and LinkedIn; beware of deviations. Personal data and sensitive information will not be solicited during the application phase. Interviews are conducted via phone, in person, or through the approved platforms Google Meets or Zoom-never via messaging apps or other calling services. Offers are merit-based, communicated verbally, and followed up in writing. If personal information is requested to initiate the hiring process, rest assured it will be through secure and protected means.