Principal Software Engineer Drools and Java

Job Summary We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer with expertise in Drools and Java to lead the design, evolution, and operational excellence of business rules and underwriting decisioning capabilities. This role focuses on building and modernizing cloud-native, rules-driven systems that support scalable and efficient decision-making. The ideal candidate will act as a technical authority, influencing architecture, standards, and long-term strategy while remaining hands-on with critical systems. Key Responsibilities Lead the design and evolution of business rules engine architecture, including rule authoring, execution strategies, versioning, and governance Develop and maintain scalable, resilient Java-based services integrated with rules engines and distributed systems Design and implement decisioning capabilities using Drools, including decision tables, DRL, and rule flows Optimize rule performance, conflict resolution, and lifecycle management Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product owners and domain experts, to translate business requirements into technical solutions Provide architectural guidance and lead technical design reviews for complex systems Mentor and support engineers, fostering technical growth and best practices Contribute to DevOps and SRE practices, including deployment strategies, monitoring, and observability Drive modernization initiatives and support cloud-native platform development Required Qualifications 10+ years of professional software engineering experience with strong expertise in Java and enterprise application development Minimum 5+ years of hands-on experience with Drools or similar Business Rules Management Systems (BRMS) in production environments Strong understanding of object-oriented design, domain-driven design, and clean architecture principles Experience with rule execution models (stateless and stateful), decision tables, DRL, and rule flows Proven experience in designing scalable, resilient systems using RESTful APIs, messaging systems, and event-driven architectures Strong knowledge of performance optimization, memory management, and operational characteristics of rules-based systems Experience contributing to architecture decisions and influencing technical direction across teams Familiarity with DevOps/SRE practices, including deployment, monitoring, and observability Experience leveraging AI-assisted development tools or practices in engineering workflows Strong communication and collaboration skills with the ability to work across teams and stakeholders Education: Bachelors Degree