Principal Engineer

The Minnesota Star Tribune is an innovative modern media organization building on an extraordinary 159-year legacy. With seven Pulitzer Prizes and numerous other accolades, we stand as a beacon of journalistic excellence in Minnesota. We are the heart and voice of the North.

Our mission is to build a better Minnesota by connecting us with the people, ideas, and stories that strengthen our communities. We’re seeking dynamic leaders who are passionate about journalism and democracy to help shape this future. If you are excited about reinventing one of our state’s most trusted institutions and leading us into a new era of growth and excellence, we want to hear from you.

The Principal Engineer at our headquarters in Minneapolis MN is the most senior individual contributor, responsible for setting the overall technical vision, architecture, and standards across Product Engineering. This role drives multi-year strategy, solves the most complex cross-team technical challenges, and influences a team of ~20 engineers without direct management responsibilities.

Key focus areas include leading architecture and AI-first development standards, contributing hands-on to high-impact initiatives, mentoring senior engineers, supporting hiring, and improving system reliability. The role also serves as a trusted technical advisor to leadership, ensuring scalable, secure, and high-performing systems.

• Define and lead the long-term technical strategy across web, services, data, ML, and platform architecture
• Establish and maintain architectural standards, reference designs, and engineering best practices across teams
• Serve as the final authority on AI-first development implementation, including tools, guardrails, and integration into the platform
• Contribute hands-on to high-impact, cross-cutting initiatives and solve the organization’s most complex technical challenges
• Prototype and productionize new technologies and patterns to drive innovation and scalability
• Mentor and coach Senior and Staff engineers; help develop engineering talent and elevate technical standards
• Lead and support hiring processes for senior-level engineering roles
• Drive reliability improvements, including incident response leadership, root cause analysis, and SLO/SLI management
• Partner with engineering and executive leadership on build vs. buy decisions, technical investments, and platform evolution
• Act as a trusted technical advisor, translating complex engineering concepts into business impact
• Continuously improve engineering processes, tools, and practices while incorporating industry best practices

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field
• Minimum of 12 years of software engineering experience, with multiple years at Staff Engineer level or equivalent
• Deep expertise in distributed systems, cloud-native architecture (AWS), and modern web technologies (e.g., Next.js, GraphQL)
• Strong experience with data platforms (e.g., Snowflake), analytics, and familiarity with ML systems
• Working knowledge of AI-first development and modern AI tooling (e.g., Copilot, Claude, agent frameworks)
• Proven track record of leading large-scale, cross-functional or org-wide technical initiatives
• Demonstrated ability to influence technical direction without direct authority
• Strong hands-on engineering skills across multiple layers of the stack (front-end, back-end, and data)
• Experience mentoring and developing Senior and Staff engineers
• Expertise in system reliability, observability, and incident management practices
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level technical communication
• Experience in media, subscription, or consumer-facing platforms preferred
• Must be currently legally authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H1B status, 0-1, TM, CPT, OPT, etc.). We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

The compensation range for this position is $137,000 - $226,000.

Compensation for the role will depend on several factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies and experience and may fall outside of the range shown.

The Minnesota Star Tribune offers a competitive total rewards package, which includes a 401(K) match, healthcare coverage – medical, dental, and vision, life, disability, paid time off, and a broad range of other benefits. Learn more at benefits.startribunecompany.com .

More about The Minnesota Star Tribune

At The Minnesota Star Tribune, we recognize that our employees are our greatest asset, and we are committed to their happiness, growth, and well-being. Here’s a snapshot of the exceptional benefits we offer:

• Modern Downtown Office: Enjoy a state-of-the-art workspace with a free fitness center, collaborative center, golf simulator, and a rooftop patio.
• Comprehensive Benefits: Includes commuting subsidy, medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Wellness & Work-Life Balance: Participate in our wellness program with financial incentives, generous paid time off, flexible holidays, one volunteer day, and two wellness days.
• Financial & Family Support: Benefit from a 401(k) with company match, paid parental and caregiving leave, hybrid work arrangements, and tuition reimbursement.
• Additional Perks: Access to an employee assistance program, pet insurance, flexible spending accounts, and health savings accounts.

2025 award winner of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in Media and News and proud recipient of Newsweek’s Greatest Midsize Workplaces 2025 recognition.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Even if you don't meet every single requirement for this role, we encourage you to apply. At The Minnesota Star Tribune, we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.