Principal Developer - IT

United Airlines is seeking a Principal Developer to shape the future of customer data, identity, and media technologies. This is a hands-on, individual contributor role—ideal for a builder who thrives at the intersection of data platforms, identity resolution, privacy, and digital experiences.

You will design and develop high-scale, distributed platforms that power personalized, data-driven engagement using AWS technologies. Responsibilities include coding, architecture, and integration across customer data platforms (CDP), identity graphs, and audience activation—on and off properties. You will apply deep expertise in privacy, universal identities, , and working knowledge of Agentic AI and vector embedding, while ensuring solutions meet enterprise and regulatory standards.

You have experience building packaged, reusable software products that can be deployed at scale and will apply this mindset to cloud-native, AWS-powered systems supporting customer-facing and marketing activation use cases. You understand modern DXP architectures, AI/ML solutions, and high-throughput data flows, translating them into products that deliver business value.

• Lead and contribute hands-on across the full software lifecycle—from requirements and technical specs to architecture, design, and Agile delivery—supporting high-scale, high-reliability customer data and identity platforms that handle millions of interactions smoothly
• Act as a technical force multiplier: set direction, define engineering standards, guide architectural strategy, and mentor talent, while driving modernization, efficiency, and innovation in identity solutions
• Ensure compliance with privacy and data governance standards while balancing innovation with trust
• Create packaged, reusable components that scale across teams and products, leveraging AWS and cloud-native services to optimize scalability, performance, and resilience
• Explore and embed AI/ML models for smarter identity matching, activation, and customer insights; propose and implement innovative solutions to complex problems
• Experience with Generative AI, RAG, and GraphRAG patterns
• Design models to predict next-best-action, customer behavior, and customer relations using unified CDP data
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (product, business, IT, data engineering/analytics) to drive alignment and achieve business objectives

• Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology, Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
• 7–10+ years in an information technology solutions architect role
• 3 years in a customer identity management role
• Deep expertise in Customer Data Platforms (CDP), Identity Resolution, Identity Graphs, Digital Identifiers, and Privacy
• Strong understanding of audience activation and universal identities
• Advanced knowledge of AWS cloud services and relevant technologies for system integration and enhancement
• Proficiency in programming languages and technologies (Java, Python, .NET)
• Proficient in stateful/stateless models with batch, real-time, and hybrid caching approaches for CDP
• Hands-on coding experience across relevant languages, frameworks, and cloud stacks
• Understanding of digital experience platforms and data-driven personalization integrations
• Experience designing and scaling solutions on AWS cloud-native products
• Must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship; reliable attendance

• Master’s degree in Computer Science or Software Engineering
• Experience in airline or similar industry to understand booking, order, loyalty concepts
• Expertise with AWS Neptune Graph DB, Cloud ETL, Streams and event-driven architecture
• Familiarity with AI/ML-driven applications and their impact on customer engagement
• Familiarity with graph query languages such as Gremlin or Cypher

The base pay range for this role is $ to $. This range may vary based on factors such as experience, education, and skills. The position is eligible for bonus and/or long-term incentive compensation.

You may be eligible for competitive benefits including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, parental leave, employee assistance program, commuter, paid holidays, PTO, 401(k), and flight privileges.

United Airlines is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status, or any other protected category under applicable law. We provide reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. To request an accommodation, contact