Principal Software Engineer, Turnitin
Fullstack/Backend Technologies
Plagiarism detection software
Be an early applicant
Plagiarism detection software
501-1000 employees
Be an early applicant
501-1000 employees
Company mission
To ensure the integrity of global education and research.
Role
Who you are
- Significant experience building and operating large-scale backend systems
- Strong expertise in Java and modern cloud technologies
- Experience with AWS serverless services such as Lambda, DynamoDB, API Gateway, SNS, SQS, and EventBridge, as well as Kubernetes (K8s) and related cloud-native technologies
- Experience with CI/CD tools, including build, deployment, and test automation
- Strong understanding of distributed systems, APIs, scalability, and software architecture
- Experience influencing technical direction and leading complex engineering initiatives
- Excellent collaboration and communication skills within distributed teams
- Passion for mentoring and supporting the growth of other engineers
- At Turnitin, we recognize it’s unrealistic for candidates to fulfill 100% of the criteria in a job ad. We encourage you to apply if you meet the majority of the requirements because we know that skills evolve over time. If you’re willing to learn and unleash your potential alongside us, join our team!
Desirable
- Experience with AI/ML technologies
- Experience in SaaS or EdTech environments
- Familiarity with modern frontend technologies such as React
What the job involves
- We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join our Shared Services team and help shape the technical direction of core platform capabilities used across Turnitin products
- This is a highly influential individual contributor role for an experienced engineer with deep expertise in backend development, cloud-native architectures, and large-scale distributed systems
- You will partner with engineering leaders, architects, and product teams to deliver scalable, reliable, and secure solutions that support millions of users worldwide
- Lead the design and development of shared backend services and platform capabilities
- Drive architectural decisions and technical strategy across multiple teams
- Build scalable, highly available cloud-native solutions using Java and AWS technologies
- Mentor engineers and promote engineering excellence throughout the organization
- Collaborate with product, architecture, and engineering teams to solve complex technical challenges
- Champion best practices in software quality, performance, reliability, and security
Our take
Turnitin has a global reputation for being one of the best plagiarism detection software's on the market. It’s well-earned, too. Besides simple paraphrasing plagiarism, its software also employs sophisticated techniques like identifying macro replacement and analysing metadata to weed out essay mill papers.
Academic plagiarism has become increasingly complex over the years, exacerbated in part by the COVID period of online schooling, and in part by a skyrocketing rise in computer literacy and plagiarism tricks. Software like Turnitin is therefore playing an increasingly crucial role in maintaining academic integrity. Additionally, it helps understaffed institutions ease the burden placed on a teaching workforce which are, in some regions, perilously close to collapse.
Turnitin is not without its issues, however. Some institutions lean too heavily on the software, and essay mills have begun using Turnitin software to prove product authenticity. Historically, Turnitin has neatly addressed these problems by releasing new or improved capabilities including Chat GPT screening updates in 2023. If it can continue to demonstrate remarkable competence and proactive development in this regard, Turnitin’s glowing reputation seems assured.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
9% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Company benefits
- Social impact programs
- Charity donation matching
- Paid volunteer days
- Employee Resource Groups
- Great Place To Work community
- Virtual and in-person team events
- Tuition reimbursement
- Action & Ownership recognition
- Focused development plan
- Access to LinkedIn Learning
- Annual learning festival
- Remote-first working arrangements
- Mental health & coaching support
- Wellness/Home office allowance
- Company & national holidays
- Self-care days
Company HQ
Downtown, Oakland, CA
Leadership
Chris Caren
(CEO)Held a number of senior positions at major corporations, including serving as a GM at Microsoft, and a board member at Avetta, Liaison International, Illuminate Education, and The IRONMAN Group. They are additionally a member of YPO and chairman of Procare Solutions.
Salary benchmarks
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