This Principal Engineer role at GoDaddy is a highly autonomous, hands-on technical leadership position designed for a seasoned systems thinker and technical architect. The role focuses on spearheading architectural analysis, pioneering AI and automation initiatives, and driving observability infrastructure to enhance product stability and customer satisfaction. Responsibilities include leading systematic technical discovery by deeply analyzing the codebase to identify bottlenecks and designing stabilization and modernization strategies. You will architect AI-enabled automation systems such as intelligent triage and anomaly detection to significantly improve product reliability and user experience. Additionally, you will design and implement observability strategies using tools like Grafana, setting technical visibility standards and reducing Mean Time to Resolution through comprehensive instrumentation. As a technical decision-maker, you will decompose complex problems, document architectural decisions, establish engineering standards, and mentor senior engineers via code reviews and pairing sessions to elevate the team’s capabilities. Collaboration with Product Management and Architecture teams is key to align technical strategy with business goals, advocating for technical investments that deliver long-term success. Candidates should have 7+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 3 years in leadership roles such as Staff/Principal Engineer, Tech Lead, or Architect. Proven experience includes leading technical initiatives, refactoring and stabilizing large legacy codebases, architecting production-grade AI/ML solutions, and applying expert knowledge in observability engineering with tools like Datadog and Grafana. Additional qualifications may include deep WordPress ecosystem expertise, cloud platform solution architecture (AWS, Azure, GCP), and proficiency with AWS services, Terraform, and Ansible. GoDaddy offers a competitive benefits package with paid time off, retirement savings options, bonus eligibility, equity grants, health benefits, and family-friendly policies. The company values diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in its culture and workforce, supporting a mission to empower entrepreneurs globally. It is an equal opportunity employer committed to fair employment practices. The role is remote based in Serbia, with occasional visits to offices for collaboration.