Principal Software Engineer, Release Engineering
Job description
POS-32873
About the Team
HubSpot's Developer Acceleration group empowers over 2,000 engineers to build, test, and deploy their code at scale. The release engineering team owns the full delivery pipeline — from pull request to production — and is responsible for hundreds of thousands of builds per day, including tens of thousands of QA deployments.
We're in the middle of a fundamental shift. Agentic AI is changing what release engineering can look like — from AI-powered QA agents that evaluate every deploy, to systems that can reason about risk, surface anomalies, and make autonomous decisions in the delivery pipeline. The team is actively building toward this future, and the opportunity for someone who can help shape it is significant.
The team owns and evolves some of the most critical foundational systems inside HubSpot's engineering organization, including build infrastructure, test orchestration, deployment pipelines, and the tooling that underpins incident management and production reliability. This is not a team focused on maintaining existing systems. It is an engineering organization responsible for rethinking how software gets shipped at scale — and what becomes possible when intelligent agents are embedded throughout that process.
About the Role
We're looking for a Principal Software Engineer to help define the technical future of release engineering at HubSpot — at the intersection of large-scale distributed systems and agentic AI.
The role of AI in software delivery is no longer theoretical. We're actively deploying AI agents across our build, test, and deploy pipeline, and we're only at the beginning of understanding what's possible. This is a rare opportunity to work on infrastructure problems that very few engineers have encountered — at a scale that demands novel approaches — while helping to define what AI-native release engineering looks like in practice.
At HubSpot, Principal Engineers are expected to stay close to the code, lead high-impact initiatives end-to-end, and influence technical direction well beyond a single team. This role is for someone who can move between infrastructure architecture, agentic AI systems, and large-scale delivery pipeline design while remaining a hands-on builder throughout
Key Expectations
Own the future of HubSpot's release engineering platform
- Shape the technical direction for the build, test, and deploy systems that underpin how HubSpot ships software.
- Drive architectural decisions across pipeline design, test infrastructure, deployment orchestration, and developer ergonomics.
- Help define what the next generation of HubSpot's delivery platform should look like — not just how to operate the current one.
Be a deeply hands-on, high-leverage builder
- Write production code regularly and lead complex initiatives from idea to rollout.
- Design and implement AI-powered QA agents that run on every deploy, reducing risk and increasing confidence in continuous delivery.
- Turn ambiguous infrastructure problems into simple, scalable systems and clear technical direction.
Rethink testing and delivery infrastructure for a new era
- Challenge 10-year-old assumptions about build systems and deployment pipelines given what's actually possible today.
- Rethink testing infrastructure for a world where software behavior is increasingly non-deterministic.
- Drive the roadmap toward 500+ deploys per minute, identifying and eliminating bottlenecks across the delivery pipeline.
Influence across the broader engineering org
- Partner with engineering leaders to align release engineering direction with what HubSpot needs to build next.
- Work horizontally across teams to guide technical tradeoffs, rationalize configuration and change management across concurrent teams, and raise the architectural bar for platform work.
- Act as a multiplier through design reviews, technical mentoring, and principled decision-making on the most critical systems in the space.
What You Bring
- Deep experience building and evolving large-scale distributed systems, particularly in CI/CD, build infrastructure, release engineering, or foundational backend platforms.
- Strong architectural instincts with a bias toward simplicity, clarity, and long-term platform leverage — and a healthy skepticism toward complexity that isn't earned.
- Experience operating at hyperscaler or platform-provider scale.
- A track record of owning and delivering complex, cross-team technical initiatives with org-wide or company-level impact.
- A hands-on mindset. You lead by building, debugging, reviewing, and shipping — not by staying removed from the systems you influence.
- The ability to move into unfamiliar technical territory quickly, form strong opinions grounded in first principles, and help teams make better long-term decisions.
Why This Role Matters
HubSpot's engineering productivity depends on a delivery platform that is not only reliable, but fast, intelligent, and built for the scale we're operating at today — and the scale we're building toward. The Principal Software Engineer in Developer Acceleration will help determine how that platform evolves, how AI changes what's possible in software delivery, and how thousands of engineers across HubSpot ship better software, faster.
Pay & Benefits
The cash compensation below includes base salary, on-target commission for employees in eligible roles, and annual bonus targets under HubSpot’s bonus plan for eligible roles. In addition to cash compensation, some roles are eligible to participate in HubSpot’s equity plan to receive restricted stock units (RSUs). Some roles may also be eligible for overtime pay. Individual compensation packages are tailored to your skills, experience, qualifications, and other job-related reasons.
This resource will help guide how we recommend thinking about the range you see. Learn more about HubSpot’s compensation philosophy.
Benefits are also an important piece of your total compensation package. Explore the benefits and perks HubSpot offers to help employees grow better.
At HubSpot, fair compensation practices aren’t just about checking off the box for legal compliance. It’s about living out our value of transparency with our employees, candidates, and community.
Annual Cash Compensation Range:$266,200—$425,900 USD
At HubSpot, we value both flexibility and connection. Whether you’re a Remote employee or work from the Office, we want you to start your journey here by building strong connections with your team and peers. If you are joining our Engineering team, you will be required to attend a regional HubSpot office for in-person onboarding. If you join our broader Product team, you’ll also attend other in-person events, such as your Product Group Summit and other gatherings, to continue building on those connections.
If you require an accommodation due to travel limitations or other reasons, please inform your recruiter during the hiring process. We are committed to supporting candidates who may need alternative arrangements
About HubSpot
HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS) is an AI-powered customer platform with all the software, integrations, and resources customers need to connect marketing, sales, and service. HubSpot's connected platform enables businesses to grow faster by focusing on what matters most: customers.
At HubSpot, bold is our baseline. Our employees around the globe move fast, stay customer-obsessed, and win together. Our culture is grounded in four commitments: Solve for the Customer, Be Bold, Learn Fast, Align, Adapt & Go!, and Deliver with HEART. These commitments shape how we work, lead, and grow.
We’re building a company where people can do their best work. We focus on brilliant work, not badge swipes. By combining clarity, ownership, and trust, we create space for big thinking and meaningful progress. And we know that when our employees grow, our customers do too.
Recognized globally for our award-winning culture by Comparably, Glassdoor, Fortune, and more, HubSpot is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, with employees and offices around the world.
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