Principal Software Engineer

Great people. Greater business impact.

About CAI

CAI Software builds digital work execution platforms and software solutions that help manufacturing businesses operate with greater clarity and control. Our people bring structure to complexity by replacing fragmented, paper-based processes with connected digital workflows that improve visibility, compliance, and decision-making in real industrial environments. With 45+ years of experience and a presence across 10+ countries, CAI combines deep industry understanding with practical technology. Our team consists of ~800 employees worldwide who work across 15 core industries and support 5,000+ customers, guided by sound judgment, long-term thinking, and outcomes that endure.

CAI Business Units and the Markets We Serve

CAI Software is organized into three business units - Graphic Communications, Process Manufacturing, and Discrete Manufacturing – aligned to the markets we serve. This structure allows our teams to stay close to customer needs while operating with the scale and support of a global software company.

This role is part of our Process Manufacturing business unit, which provides ERP and operational software to manufacturers that transform raw materials into finished goods through formulas, recipes, or batch-driven processes. We work with small to enterprise manufacturers across industries such as food and beverage, bottling, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, chemicals, paint, paper, tile, and supply chain logistics—supporting end-to-end operations from sourcing through production and distribution.

CAI India

CAI India is a strategic investment in the company’s future. Our Bangalore Center of Excellence is a place of ownership, expertise, and accountability. Teams in India work on global products end to end, contribute to key decisions, and influence how CAI evolves as a business. This is not a support-led model, but rather a center designed to lead through knowledge, responsibility, and trust.

About the Role

As a Principal Software Engineer at Food Connex, you will serve as our most senior technical leader — combining deep hands-on engineering with the vision to drive

architectural direction and mentor a small team of engineers. You'll own delivery excellence across our platform while guiding two engineers and fostering a culture of quality and continuous improvement.

This is primarily a hands-on role. You'll move fluidly between setting architectural direction, making critical design decisions, and solving the hardest problems on the team. You'll partner closely with Product and QA to translate business goals into well-engineered solutions and play a key role in modernizing our codebase as we grow.

Food Connex is used by food distributors, processors, and manufacturers to streamline daily operations and improve productivity and profitability. We're looking for someone who takes strong ownership of their work and holds a high bar for code quality.

What You’ll Do

· Serve as the primary technical authority on the product, owning architectural decisions for this Progress OpenEdge application.

· Guide and mentor a small team, providing technical direction, code review, and support for their growth — without formal people-management responsibilities.

· Drive roadmap execution through your own technical contributions, ensuring timely delivery without compromising quality.

· Partner with Product Management, QA, and global stakeholders to define scope, prioritize features, and resolve technical dependencies.

· Act as the escalation point for complex engineering problems, unblocking the team with clear, decisive technical direction.

· Champion engineering best practices including Agile methodologies, secure coding, DevOps standards, and modern tooling — including AI-assisted development.

· Identify and lead efforts to reduce technical debt and modernize legacy systems incrementally, without disrupting delivery.

· Ensure architectural consistency and shared engineering standards across US and India teams.

What We’re Looking For

· Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, Engineering, or a related field.

· 12+ years of experience developing enterprise-grade applications using Progress OpenEdge

· Experience with Java

· Strong experience with Linux/Unix environments.

· Demonstrated ability to guide and elevate other engineers through code review, technical mentorship, and collaborative problem-solving.

· Strong experience testing your own code and taking full ownership of quality.

· Experience working in Agile environments with cross-functional and distributed teams.

· Excellent communication and decision-making skills, with the ability to influence technical direction across stakeholders.

· Experience with cloud platforms (Azure/AWS) and modern DevOps practices.

Nice-to-Haves

· Experience with automated testing

· Experience with Keycloak.

· Experience with shell scripting (Bash).

· Experience with JavaScript, Jquery, and Angular.

Why Join Us You’ll have the opportunity to drive some of the most critical transformation initiatives in our company’s history. This is a highly visible role working directly with senior leadership to shape the future operating model of CAI. You’ll bring clarity, discipline, and execution focus to complex cross-functional programs while gaining exposure across every function of the business.