Principal Engineer, Software- Master Data Management

About This Job

CarMax is disrupting the industry by empowering customers to buy a car on their own terms, providing an iconic customer experience. The CarMax Master Data Management team is looking for a Principal Software Engineer - to provide data integration into our MDM system that will enable trusted operational master data across the enterprise. Overall, you will have a direct impact on improving the performance of our business and ensuring customers can buy the vehicles they want in a way that's right for them.

You will work on enterprise-scale data integrations in a collaborative Agile team using Azure DevOps.

What You Will Do – Essential Responsibilities

• Mentor engineers through code reviews, best practices and technical and collaborative problem solving
• Author design decision records including pros and cons analysis; present to the team, architects, and managers to build alignment.
• Lead milestone definition, breaking Objectives and Key Results into incremental deliverables that provide measurable business value.
• Organize and prioritize tech debt and present recommendations to Product and Technology Managers for incorporation into the team intake process.
• Contribute to guilds and committees to drive cross-team collaboration and standardized best practices.
• Serve as the first point of escalation for technical delivery impediments and lead Root Cause Analysis efforts.
• Develop/lead development of high performing Rest APIs using .NET (C#), Azure Functions, Azure Queues, and Azure Service Bus.
• Design scalable, reliable, and reusable data integration patterns.
• Develop robust monitoring, alerting, and reconciliation functionality across services and pipelines.
• Implement CI/CD automation and DevOps practices to improve code integration, testing, and deployment efficiency.
• Participate in architectural design reviews and contribute to team’s technical roadmap.
• Write and maintain technical documentation for integrations, services and APIs
• Participate in on-call rotation for production support.
• Partner with Product and Delivery stakeholders to deliver solutions that balance business needs with engineering responsibilities such as scalability, reliability, and security.
• Stay on top of industry trends and best practices to continuously improve engineering quality and customer experience.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or a related Technology field, or equivalent alternative education, skills, and/or practical experience is required and 7+ years of relevant work experience or
• Master’s Degree in Computer Science, or a related Technology field, or equivalent alternative education, skills, and/or practical experience is required and 5+ years of relevant work experience

Qualifications and Requirements

• 7+ years of hands-on software engineering experience with a demonstrated track record of technical leadership.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts and business impact clearly to non-technical stakeholders.
• 6+ years of hands‑on experience developing REST APIs and event‑based data integrations, preferably in Azure using .NET (C#).
• Extensive knowledge of Object‑Oriented Design and Principles, with strong experience in Microsoft .NET (C#) and .NET Core.
• Experience with cloud technologies, CI/CD pipelines, DevOps practices, and modern coding best practices.
• Proven ability to build high‑quality, extensible, and reusable code including API frameworks and shared components.
• Experienced in troubleshooting and monitoring production integrations and distributed systems.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related discipline or equivalent practical experience.
• Hands‑on experience with SQL and/or NoSQL databases and data storage patterns.
• Proficient with unit testing and integration testing practices to ensure code quality and reliability.
• Experience with Azure DevOps for version control, pipeline and release management.
• Experience designing and working within microservices architectures with an understanding of service boundaries and interoperability.
• Understanding of data modeling, data quality, and related best practices in data‑driven systems.
• Knowledge of security best practices for API development, including authentication, authorization, and secure coding patterns.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience in a Principal Engineer or formal technical lead role.
• Hands-on experience with MDM and MDM platforms (e.g., Informatica, Reltio, Stibo).
• Experience with event-driven architecture patterns.
• Background in automotive, retail, or e-commerce domains.
• Azure certifications (e.g., AZ-204, AZ-305) are highly desirable.
• Familiarity with data governance frameworks and practices.

Work Location and Arrangement: This role will be based out of the CarMax Midtown office, Richmond VA or CarMax Technology Hub, Plano TX and have a Hybrid work arrangement.   

• Associates based in Richmond work onsite 5 days per week. 

• Associates based in Plano work onsite 2 days per week. 

Work Authorization: Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. Sponsorship will not be considered for this specific role.

About CarMax

CarMax disrupted the auto industry by delivering the honest, transparent and high-integrity experience customers want and deserve. This innovative thinking around the way cars are bought and sold has helped us become the nation’s largest retailer of used cars, with over 250 locations nationwide.

Our amazing team of more than 25,000 associates work together to deliver iconic customer experiences. Along the way, we help every associate grow their career and achieve their best, at work and in their community. We are recognized for our commitment to training and diversity and are one of the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For®.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:

CarMax is committed to bringing together people from different backgrounds and perspectives, providing employees with a safe, welcoming, and inclusive work environment.

CarMax is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Upon an applicant's request, CarMax will consider reasonable accommodation to complete the CarMax Job Application.