O

Oracle

Builds databases, business apps and cloud services

Principal Systems Software Engineer

Full-Time
$146.3k - $306.4k/yr+ Bonus + Equity + Compensation deferral
Senior
Nashville, TN, USA+1 moreMore locations: United States
In Person
Software EngineeringSystems Software Engineering

About the job

Requirements
  • Expertise in large-scale systems software, firmware integration, hardware provisioning, fleet automation, software architecture, reliability, performance, security, diagnosability, and fault isolation.
  • Ability to define architecture and influence silicon, board, and firmware roadmaps for hyperscale systems.
  • Ability to lead multi-quarter initiatives from prototype through production hardening.
  • Ability to design foundational software, analyze requirements, and work through all phases of the software development lifecycle.
  • Ability to conduct debugging, troubleshooting, testing, quality assurance, error logging, monitoring, and observability for highly complex software systems.
  • Ability to resolve complex application programming interface functionality and integration issues, including API versioning, lifecycle, and interoperability.
  • Ability to provide expert technical guidance on customer-reported issues, root causes, mitigation, product maintenance, and defect handling.
  • Knowledge of secure software development practices, coding standards, architectural standards, industry best practices, and automated security review solutions.
  • Ability to lead maintenance, upgrades, patching, automation, testing, and debugging operations that preserve service availability, health, support, and reliability.
  • Ability to manage timelines, deliverables, and budgets for critical high-impact initiatives and adapt resources and timelines to changing priorities.
  • Ability to lead advanced problem-solving efforts, identify root causes, and implement preventive solutions.
  • Ability to develop metrics for improvement initiatives and evaluate the effectiveness of updated processes and workflows.
  • Deep industry knowledge and expertise in relevant systems software and architecture domains.
  • Ability to contribute to candidate interviews, candidate assessment, and hiring decisions.
Responsibilities
  • Define architecture for large-scale systems software, firmware integration, and fleet automation across multiple teams and products.
  • Build frameworks for validation, conformance, and rapid incident mitigation.
  • Contribute to architectural direction for system software and management paradigms across server, storage, networking, and graphics processing unit subsystems.
  • Drive the definition and evolution of hardware provisioning solutions for next-generation hardware platforms across engineering, operations, and global data centers.
  • Lead the integration of system firmware with emerging hardware in collaboration with silicon, board, and firmware teams.
  • Partner with engineering, security, and vendor teams to improve system performance, security, diagnosability, and provisioning workflows.
  • Lead or oversee analysis of high-impact hardware provisioning and systems software failures and develop systemic engineering and process improvements for large-scale cloud fleets.
  • Lead project initiatives to design software solutions, write foundational code for new projects or prototypes, and define software features and enhancements.
  • Lead process, architecture, and code reviews across projects and products or services.
  • Optimize software testing, quality assurance, error logging, monitoring, and observability for effective debugging.
  • Implement application programming interface versioning, lifecycle, and interoperability strategies.
  • Lead the design and development of software, systems, and services; define scope; and review, influence, and approve design recommendations.
  • Provide technical guidance, domain expertise, coaching, and mentorship on software architecture decisions and best practices.
  • Collaborate with stakeholders to align software architecture with business and customer goals and priorities.
  • Implement performance optimization and scalability strategies in software design.
  • Conduct technology research and evaluation for architectural enhancements and translate findings into decisions and plans.
  • Lead customer issue and defect investigations, explain solution rationale, and guide short- and long-term mitigation.
  • Establish and improve development practices and coding standards with security and leadership teams.
  • Lead periodic maintenance and testing operations for systems requiring upgrades or critical vulnerability patching.
  • Influence cross-functional leaders and external stakeholders to align on strategic objectives.
  • Lead specialized problem-solving efforts and guide data-driven root-cause analysis and solution implementation.
  • Serve as a thought leader, contribute to conferences, white papers, or research, and share knowledge across teams.
  • Develop innovative process, protocol, and workflow improvements and measure their effectiveness.
  • Mentor engineers and promote continuous learning and professional development across teams.

About the company

Oracle builds databases, business applications, and cloud infrastructure for companies and public-sector organizations. Oracle Database stores and processes business data, while Oracle Cloud Infrastructure provides computing, storage, and networking for applications and AI workloads. Fusion Cloud Applications support finance, human resources, supply chains, and customer service, helping businesses manage everyday operations and reporting. Customers pay for cloud subscriptions and usage, software licenses, support, hardware, and consulting, with deployment options in Oracle's cloud or their own data centers. Oracle was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

Austin, Texas

Founded

1977

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Cloud infrastructure sales grew: Oracle reported $7.4 billion quarterly revenue, up 121% yearly, in September 2026.
  • Employees build transferable skills: Oracle offers free product certifications and access to Coursera, O'Reilly, and LinkedIn Learning.
  • Existing licenses create repeat business: Oracle sells annual technical support covering software updates, fixes, and assistance.

What critics are saying

  • Expansion consumes cash: Oracle reported negative $5 billion free cash flow for its August 2026 quarter despite profitable operations.
  • Job security faces active restructuring: Oracle's September 2026 filing added $700 million to a plan centered on employee severance.
  • Future datacenters lock in costs: Oracle's September 2026 filing lists $288 billion of future lease commitments, typically lasting 15-19 years.

What makes Oracle unique

  • Its database runs inside rival clouds: Oracle delivers native database services in AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud datacenters.
  • Global expansion keeps one rate card: Oracle charges the same OCI service prices across regions, including government clouds.
  • Hardware participates in database work: Oracle's Exadata storage servers process data-intensive queries alongside specialized database servers and networking.

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Benefits

401(k) Savings and Investment Plan with company match

Paid time off: Flexible Vacation is provided to all eligible employees assigned to a salaried (non-overtime eligible) position. Accrued Vacation is provided to all other employees eligible for vacation benefits. For employees working at least 35 hours per week, the vacation accrual rate is 13 days annually for the first three years of employment and 18 days annually for subsequent years of employment. Vacation accrual is prorated for employees working between 20 and 34 hours per week. Employees working fewer than 20 hours per week are not eligible for vacation.

11 paid holidays

Paid sick leave: 72 hours of paid sick leave upon date of hire. Refreshes each calendar year. Unused balance will carry over each year up to a maximum cap of 112 hours.

Paid parental leave

Adoption assistance

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Financial planning and group legal

Voluntary benefits including auto, homeowner and pet insurance

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

2%

1 year growth

2%

2 year growth

3%
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