Principal Software Engineer – Front-end Development

White Cap is a building materials and construction supply company committed to Building Trust on Every Job. The Principal Software Engineer will help lead the technical vision, architecture, and execution of frontend applications and the enterprise design system for omnichannel and e-commerce products. The role combines hands-on engineering with technical leadership, focusing on scalable, accessible, high-performance user interfaces while mentoring engineers and advising senior leadership.

Responsibilities:

• Contributes to building and maintaining an enterprise-scale, multi-brand component library that supports UI consistency and developer efficiency
• Partners closely with UX/UI design leaders, product managers, and engineering teams to govern design tokens and component lifecycle standards
• Develops new IT strategies and improves existing IT procedures to increase efficiency, enhance workflows, and improve customer satisfaction
• Contributes to the long-term architectural roadmap for frontend technologies and the unified design system
• Ensures that priorities align with organizational goals and customer expectations
• Guides and mentors senior frontend engineers, fostering a culture of technical growth and continuous improvement
• Interfaces with senior leadership and communicates complex technical concepts in clear, business-focused language

Requirements:

• Typically requires a PhD degree and 15+ years of specialized experience in a related field OR MS/MA and generally 10+ years of experience in a related field. Maintains a deep level of technical expertise that drives business and executive decisions
• Located in a comfortable indoor area. Any unpleasant conditions would be infrequent and not objectionable
• Most of the time is spent sitting in a comfortable position and there is frequent opportunity to move about. On rare occasions there may be a need to move or lift light articles
• Typically requires overnight travel less than 5% of the time
• Mastery of JavaScript/TypeScript, semantic HTML, and modern CSS/CSS-in-JS strategies
• Production experience with React and Next.js (SSR/ISR, routing/app router, middleware, caching/CDN strategies) and a Node.js/TypeScript BFF
• Extensive experience with modern JS frameworks (such as React, Vue, or Web Components)
• Proven track record configuring build tools (e.g., Vite, Webpack), package management (npm, monorepos), and CI/CD pipelines for UI libraries
• Strong familiarity with design workflows and tools like Figma, specifically regarding design token automation
• Built or migrated headless commerce experiences; strong command of API-first and composable architectures