Principal Software Engineer - 11498

Coupa makes margins multiply through its community-generated AI and industry-leading total spend management platform for businesses large and small. Coupa AI is informed by trillions of dollars of direct and indirect spend data across a global network of 10M+ buyers and suppliers. We empower you with the ability to predict, prescribe, and automate smarter, more profitable business decisions to improve operating margins.Why join Coupa?• Pioneering Technology: At Coupa, we're at the forefront of innovation, leveraging the latest technology to empower our customers with greater efficiency and visibility in their spend.• Collaborative Culture: We value collaboration and teamwork, and our culture is driven by transparency, openness, and a shared commitment to excellence.• Global Impact: Join a company where your work has a global, measurable impact on our clients, the business, and each other.Learn more on Life at Coupa blog and hear from our employees about their experiences working at Coupa. The Impact of a Principal Software Engineer at Coupa:We're building out a new engineering pod in Mexico, and we need a Principal Engineer who will set the technical bar for what this team becomes. A Principal Engineer at Coupa is a hands-on, talented, innovative, and practical individual with functional experience to design, implement, and support products and product components on a predictable schedule. This is a senior IC role with equal parts hands-on execution and strategic technical leadership - you'll shape architecture, drive product-led growth, and be a force-multiplier for the engineers around you.You'll work closely with a California-based Product Manager and peers in India and California, moving at startup pace within a platform that already operates at a serious scale. Our north star is growth: converting suppliers who discover the platform into registered, active users, and helping the best of them unlock paid features. Your technical decisions will directly influence how suppliers experience Coupa - and how quickly they see value from it.We're hypothesis-driven and data-backed. We form a thesis, ship something, measure it, learn, and iterate. Fast.What You'll Do:Architect and ship production code across the full stack - this is a hands-on role, and it stays that wayOwn the technical strategy for product-led growth on the CSP platform: activation, retention, conversion, and monetizationLead the design and development of new architecture and major functional upgrades for the most advanced capabilities of the Coupa Supplier Platform; build solid expertise of the entire Coupa application suite and leverage this knowledge to better design application and data frameworksEngage cross-organizational teams such as Product Management, Integrations, Services, Support, and Operations to ensure the success of overall software development, implementation, and deploymentDemonstrate wide knowledge of architecture standards and patterns, a passion for advocating their correct usage, and excellent communication skills - documenting solutions and presenting them to governing bodies for review and approvalChampion a high-velocity delivery culture - small iterations, continuous deployment, regular releasesDrive data-informed decisions: instrument features, interpret results, and guide what gets built nextWhat You Will Bring to Coupa:15+ years of experience building and shipping enterprise-scale software, with a proven track record as a Principal or equivalent IC driving product-led growthDeep expertise in enterprise application architecture, especially in Spend Management domains (Procurement, Sourcing, Financial Transactions)Extensive experience designing and operating multi-tenant systems, including leading high-level architecture across multiple business domainsStrong full-stack engineering skills with deep proficiency in TypeScript and hands-on experience with Ruby on RailsAdvanced knowledge of architectural patterns (monoliths, microservices, micro-frontends) and enterprise software development lifecycle practicesHighly autonomous problem-solver with excellent communication skills, experience in distributed teams, and hands-on use of AI-assisted development tools like Claude CodeCoupa complies with relevant laws and regulations regarding equal opportunity and offers a welcoming and inclusive work environment. Decisions related to hiring, compensation, training, or evaluating performance are made fairly, and we provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified candidates and employees.Please be advised that inquiries or resumes from recruiters will not be accepted.By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you have read Coupa's Privacy Policy and understand that Coupa receives/collects your application, including your personal data, for the purposes of managing Coupa's ongoing recruitment and placement activities, including for employment purposes in the event of a successful application and for notification of future job opportunities if you did not succeed the first time. You will find more details about how your application is processed, the purposes of processing, and how long we retain your application in our Privacy Policy.We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

Back to blog

Common Interview Questions And Answers

1. HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR DAY?

This is what this question poses: When do you focus and start working seriously? What are the hours you work optimally? Are you a night owl? A morning bird? Remote teams can be made up of people working on different shifts and around the world, so you won't necessarily be stuck in the 9-5 schedule if it's not for you...

2. HOW DO YOU USE THE DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS?

When you're working on a remote team, there's no way to chat in the hallway between meetings or catch up on the latest project during an office carpool. Therefore, virtual communication will be absolutely essential to get your work done...

3. WHAT IS "WORKING REMOTE" REALLY FOR YOU?

Many people want to work remotely because of the flexibility it allows. You can work anywhere and at any time of the day...

4. WHAT DO YOU NEED IN YOUR PHYSICAL WORKSPACE TO SUCCEED IN YOUR WORK?

With this question, companies are looking to see what equipment they may need to provide you with and to verify how aware you are of what remote working could mean for you physically and logistically...

5. HOW DO YOU PROCESS INFORMATION?

Several years ago, I was working in a team to plan a big event. My supervisor made us all work as a team before the big day. One of our activities has been to find out how each of us processes information...

6. HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE CALENDAR AND THE PROGRAM? WHICH APPLICATIONS / SYSTEM DO YOU USE?

Or you may receive even more specific questions, such as: What's on your calendar? Do you plan blocks of time to do certain types of work? Do you have an open calendar that everyone can see?...

7. HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE FILES, LINKS, AND TABS ON YOUR COMPUTER?

Just like your schedule, how you track files and other information is very important. After all, everything is digital!...

8. HOW TO PRIORITIZE WORK?

The day I watched Marie Forleo's film separating the important from the urgent, my life changed. Not all remote jobs start fast, but most of them are...

9. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A MEETING AND PREPARE A MEETING? WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING DURING THE MEETING?

Just as communication is essential when working remotely, so is organization. Because you won't have those opportunities in the elevator or a casual conversation in the lunchroom, you should take advantage of the little time you have in a video or phone conference...

10. HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY ON A DAILY BASIS, IN YOUR WORK AND FOR YOUR PLEASURE?

This is a great question because it shows your comfort level with technology, which is very important for a remote worker because you will be working with technology over time...