Principal Engineer - Full stack

About KATIM

KATIM is a leader in the development of innovative secure communication products and solutions for governments and businesses. As part of the Space & Cyber Technologies cluster at EDGE, one of the world’s leading advanced technology groups, KATIM delivers trust in a world where cyber risks are a constant threat, and fulfils the increasing demand for advanced cyber capabilities by delivering robust, secure, end-to-end solutions centered on four core business units: Networks, Ultra Secure Mobile Devices, Applications, and Satellite Communications. Our talented team of cross functional experts continually takes-on new challenges. We work with the energy of a start-up yet the discipline of a large business to make solutions and products work for our customers at scale.

Job Purpose (specific to this role)

The Principal Full-Stack Engineer (AI-Augmented Development) leads the architecture, design, and development of secure, production-grade applications across KATIM’s AI-augmented product development organization. This role combines deep technical expertise with the ability to leverage AI tools and automation to accelerate development while maintaining the highest standards of quality, performance, and security.

You will work in an empowered, fast-paced environment where the traditional software development lifecycle is reimagined through AI augmentation. Every step — from design and coding to testing and deployment — is optimized using AI-assisted workflows, enabling the team to deliver enterprise-grade solutions at the velocity and quality typically requiring much larger organizations.

You will collaborate closely with product, design, and DevSecOps teams to translate complex mission requirements into scalable, resilient, and maintainable software systems. This role is ideal for engineers who are passionate about pushing boundaries in AI-assisted development, automation, and secure application engineering.

AI-Augmented Product Development Model (Context for the Role)

We are a lean, AI-augmented product development team delivering production-ready, enterprise-grade secure applications with the quality and velocity typically requiring 3–4x larger organizations. Every role in the traditional SDLC is either AI-augmented or automated, allowing teams to focus on design, architecture, and high-impact decision-making.

Core Principles

•   Security is integrated into every decision, from architecture to deployment.

•   Repetitive tasks are automated; human effort is focused on strategy and problem-solving.

•   Quality is measurable, enforced, and automated at every stage.

•   All system behaviors—including AI-assisted outputs—must be traceable, reviewable, and explainable. We do not ship “black box” functionality.

•   Design and implementation decisions prioritize resilience, maintainability, and interoperability in real customer environments

Key Responsibilities

Feature Development & Technical Leadership (45%)    

•    Design, develop, and ship features across mobile, web, and backend
•    Write clean, maintainable, and well-tested code
•    Leverage AI tools (Claude Code, GitHub Copilot) to accelerate development
•    Own features end-to-end from concept to production

Code Quality & Review (20%)    

•    Establish secure coding standards, automation guardrails, and enforce AI-assisted code review policies
•    Review peers' code with focus on security, performance, and maintainability
•    Refactor legacy code and reduce technical debt
•    Write comprehensive tests (unit, integration, E2E)
•    Maintain high code coverage and quality standards

Collaboration & Communication (15%)    

•    Participate in sprint planning and estimation
•    Share knowledge through documentation and presentations
•    Pair with teammates on complex problems
•    Cross-test other engineers' features

Architecture & Design (15%)    

•    Contribute to architectural decisions and ADRs
•    Design APIs and data models
•    Optimize performance and scalability
•    Propose and implement new technologies/patterns

Operations & Monitoring (5%)

•    Participate in on-call rotation
•    Investigate and fix production issues
•    Monitor application health and performance
•    Improve observability and alerting
•    Observability and security tailored for AI features

Education and Minimum Qualification

•    BS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mathematics or related field, or equivalent experience in industry / Masters preferred. 

•    8+ years software engineering experience
•    5+ years building production mobile OR web applications
•    Experience with at least 2 of: React Native, Flutter, Go, React
•    Track record of shipping features to production
•    Experience working in Agile teams
•    Strong CS fundamentals (algorithms, data structures, system design)

Key Skills

Technical Skills

Programming Languages  & Frameworks:
Mobile:
•    React Native (JavaScript/TypeScript) OR Flutter (Dart)
•    Native modules (iOS/Android)
•    State management (Redux, MobX, Riverpod)
•    Navigation, animations, offline-first

Backend: Go (Golang)
•    Goroutines, channels, context
•    RESTful API design
•    gRPC, GraphQL

Web: React, TypeScript, Next.js
•    Modern CSS (Tailwind, CSS-in-JS)
•    Performance optimization
•    Accessibility (WCAG)

Data & APIs:
•    RESTful API design and best practices
•    GraphQL (Apollo, Relay)
•    Database design (PostgreSQL, MongoDB)
•    Caching strategies (Redis, CDN)
•    API documentation (OpenAPI/Swagger)

DevOps & Infrastructure:
•    Docker containerization
•    CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI)
•    Cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure at least one)
•    Kubernetes basics
•    Infrastructure as Code (Terraform or Pulumi)

Testing:
•    Unit testing (Jest, Go testing, Flutter test)
•    Integration testing
•    E2E testing (Playwright, Detox, Cypress)
•    Test automation
•    TDD/BDD methodologies

AI-Assisted Development:
•    Proficient with Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or similar
•    Prompt engineering for code generation
•    MCP and plugin development understanding
•    AI-assisted debugging and refactoring
•    Critical evaluation of AI-generated code

Tools & Practices:
•    Git (branching, merging, rebasing)
•    Code review best practices
•    Agile/Scrum methodologies
•    Performance profiling and optimization
•    Security best practices (OWASP)

Other Highly Desirable Skills:
•    Full-stack experience (mobile + backend + web)
•    Startup or high-growth company experience
•    Open-source contributions
•    Experience mentoring junior engineers
•    Published apps in App Store or Google Play
•    Experience with AI/ML integration
•    Background in multiple programming paradigms

Specializations (Each engineer leans toward one)

Engineer A: Mobile-first (React Native/Flutter expert)
Engineer B: Backend/API-first (Go, microservices expert)
Engineer C: Web/Frontend-first (React, TypeScript expert)

Success Metrics

•    Velocity: Story points completed per sprint
•    Quality: Bug rate, code coverage, PR approval time
•    Reliability: Production incidents caused, on-call response time
•    Collaboration: PR review quality, knowledge sharing contributions
•    Innovation: AI tooling adoption, new patterns introduced

Growth Path

•    Senior Engineer, Staff Engineer, Principal Engineer
•    Increase scope of ownership (team, org, company)
•    Deeper technical expertise and architectural influence
•    Mentorship and leadership responsibilities

Personality & Work Style

•    Ownership mindset: Takes pride in code quality and user experience
•    Pragmatic: Balances perfection with shipping
•    Curious: Constantly learning new technologies and patterns
•    Collaborative: Shares knowledge generously, helps teammates
•    Problem solver: Thrives on debugging and optimization challenges
•    User-focused: Thinks about end-user impact in every decision
•    AI-curious: Embraces AI tools but validates output critically

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