Senior Principal Engineer - Engineering Experience - Remote

8901 - Corp Office West Crk - 12800 Tuckahoe Creek Parkway, Richmond, Virginia, 23238

CarMax, the way your career should be!
About this job

At CarMax, we are industry disruptors. At the heart of our innovation is new digital products. Working on many different aspects of the customer experience, our Senior Principal Engineers research and discover new opportunities and shape products to fulfill them. From inception to completion, you will develop tools and technology, learning quickly from our spirit of experimentation. You will have a direct impact on improving the performance of our business and ensuring customers can buy the vehicles they want in a way that is right for them!

Senior Principal Engineer - Engineering Experience

What you will do - Essential Responsibilities

• Work closely with fellow engineers across the full software development lifecycle to understand their challenges and needs, ensuring that they have the tools and support necessary to succeed in their roles.
• Design and implement best practices that elevate developer experience, leveraging AI-driven tools for code generation, review, and automation within the SDLC.
• Establish intelligent monitoring and observability platforms that use machine learning to proactively detect, prevent, diagnose, and resolve issues across hundreds of application instances, ensuring consistent reliability and streamlined maintenance.
• Collaborate in integrating AI solutions that enhance workflow efficiency, accelerate delivery, and support continuous improvement of application quality and developer productivity.
• Continuously evaluate emerging trends in AI, generative AI/LLM capabilities, and software engineering to ensure our developer practices and SDLC remain at the forefront of industry innovation and operational excellence.
• Lead efforts that embed reliability, SRE best practices, and cost effectiveness throughout the enterprise.
• Collaborate with colleagues in product design, product management and systems architecture to develop experimental solutions and bring great ideas to life.
• Market your innovative ideas internally and evolve them according to feedback and critique within an agile environment.
• Stay on top of industry trends and best practice to continuously improve what we do and ensure our customer experience is the best it can be.
• Provide leadership and mentoring to engineers.

Purpose of the role

Senior Principal Engineers in the Engineering Experience group partner with Engineers and Solution Architects to develop solutions and implement standards that ensure an unrivaled customer experience. You are an expert in your craft and seen as a platform and implementation owner, actively contributing to the industry with a passion for continuous learning, and acting as a change agent for adopting emerging AI and reliability practices.

Senior Principal Engineers practice hands-on development, oversee the technical tasks of others, and own the standards and best practices. Our Senior Principal Engineers act as technical mentors to others, excel in supporting multiple areas of the business, and strive to improve developer experience, helping fellow engineers have a better day at work.

It takes a passion for technology to develop ground-breaking products. Working collaboratively and creatively as part of a close-knit product team, you will be part of the development process from end to end: consulting users, carrying out experiments, tackling complex business problems, and implementing new products. You can balance customer needs with business goals and know how to deliver technical solutions that enhance business value. Creative, curious, and highly analytical, you never stop learning and thrive on constant change in the digital marketplace.

Qualifications and Requirements

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Decision Science, Engineering, Statistics, or a related field, or equivalent alternative education, skills, and/or practical experience is required and 8+ years of relevant work experience OR
• Master's Degree in Computer Science, Decision Science, Engineering, Statistics, or a related field, or equivalent alternative education, skills, and/or practical experience is required and 6+ years of relevant work experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Expert experience as a software developer working with product teams
• Expert knowledge of programming languages/platforms such as C#, .NET, Azure, cloud-based SaaS, and PaaS solutions is preferred.
• Expert knowledge of relational databases such as MS and SQL server are preferred.
• Extensive experience with API design and integration is preferred.
• Exceptional communication skills

Software Specific Qualifications and Requirements

Experience in the following required:

• AI/ML integration into SDLC
• AI-driven observability and reliability
• AI-based developer tooling
• Python for AI/ML development and integration
• Infrastructure as Code automation
• Advanced Microsoft .NET (C#)
• Microsoft Azure
• API designs
• Automated/Performance Testing
• Stateless/Sessions Design
• Distributed Servers
• Continuous Integration
• Security and Data Protection
• Data Storage Solutions
• Reusable Code and Libraries6
• Server-Side Logic
• Database Schemas
• Data Migration and Scripting
• Authentication/Authorization
• Security Compliance
• Unit Testing

Experience in the following preferred:

• HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript
• JavaScript Frameworks (ReactJS)
• Responsive design
• Microsoft SQL Server Scripting and Data Models
• W3C Standards
• Web Server/IIS Configuration
• Container Orchestration (Kubernetes, Docker)

Work Location and Arrangement: Work location is flexible if approved by the Company

Work Authorization:  Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Sponsorship will not be considered for this specific role. 

The Compensation Range for this position is:​ $147500- $221300​

Full-Time Associates enjoy health benefits including medical/dental/vision, wealth benefits including 401k plan, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, access to spending accounts, as well as paid time off benefits. More details can be found at benefits.carmax.com​

About CarMax

CarMax disrupted the auto industry by delivering the honest, transparent and high-integrity experience customers want and deserve. This innovative thinking around the way cars are bought and sold has helped us become the nation's largest retailer of used cars, with over 250 locations nationwide.

Our amazing team of more than 25,000 associates work together to deliver iconic customer experiences. Along the way, we help every associate grow their career and achieve their best, at work and in their community.  We are recognized for our commitment to training and diversity and are one of the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For®.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:

CarMax is committed to bringing together people from different backgrounds and perspectives, providing employees with a safe, welcoming, and inclusive work environment.

CarMax is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Upon an applicant's request, CarMax will consider reasonable accommodation to complete the CarMax Job Application.

Client-provided location(s): Richmond, VA

Job ID: carmax-10573_JR-164220

Employment Type: FULL_TIME

Posted: 2025-08-27T18:33:44