AI Insights
HubSpot

Principal Software Engineer- AI Context

HubSpot · Cambridge, Massachusetts, US
full-timestaff (10-20 yrs)Posted 77d ago
Software EngineeringIC5IC + ManagementHybrid
StackDistributed SystemsAI/ML InfrastructureData PipelinesEvent StreamingSystem ArchitecturePlatform EngineeringFault-Tolerant SystemsIngestion PipelinesStorage SystemsObservabilityCRM PlatformsTechnical MentorshipCross-functional Leadership

Summary

Principal Software Engineer role at HubSpot's AI Context group, responsible for architecting and building the foundational platform that powers AI experiences across HubSpot's CRM — ingesting billions of events, curating business context, and leading platform-scale distributed systems design.

About the role

POS-31594


About the Group

The AI Context group builds the foundation for AI-powered experiences across HubSpot. We mine, curate, and reconcile facts about our customers, their customers, and their business processes to supercharge every customer experience.

We operate on large and diverse data:

  • Our context platform digests billions of events, calls, chats, emails, and other unstructured documents to keep our views on our customers’ businesses up to date and actionable
  • The platform is not a single pipeline, but a full ecosystem of ingestion pipelines, storage layers, synchronization systems, AI/ML data infrastructure, and developer frameworks to power the next generation of intelligent, extensible AI features.

About the Role

We’re looking for a Principal Software Engineer to play a defining role in this platform’s future. This individual will have a proven track record of delivering projects with significant product-line or company-level impact, often in ambiguous or complex technical environments. They move across domains with ease, challenge existing assumptions, and redefine what’s possible through deep architectural thinking and strong execution.

At HubSpot, Principal Engineers are not only technical strategists but builders: trusted with end-to-end delivery of complex initiatives. This engineer will help shape the technical direction of a critical strategic differentiator for HubSpot and industry standards for a critical component in the emerging AI stack – the context layer.  

Key Expectations

  • Platform-scale ownership: Helps influence/drive technical direction across the entire AI context group. You’ll work across ingestion, processing, storage, sync, reliability, and intelligence surfaces.
  • AI/ML Fluency: our group is made of world class experts in machine learning and AI and we help power AI experiences across HubSpot. The depths of your skill and expertise will be tested internally by our systems and externally by our partners. 
  • Hands-on, high-leverage contributor: You ship software—not just prototypes. We expect deep technical engagement in the systems you influence, including ownership of large, high-impact initiatives.
  • Distributed systems expertise: You’ve operated and evolved large-scale, fault-tolerant, cost-efficient systems. You’re comfortable scaling across billions of events per day and guiding design around availability, throughput, and latency.
  • Architectural leadership: You define and drive reusable platform patterns across ingestion, processing, quality, sync, and observability.
  • Strategy alignment: You align platform architecture with HubSpot’s CRM, AI/ML, and extensibility goals, ensuring infrastructure enables product evolution—not constrains it.
  • Technical mentorship & leadership: You’re recognized as a mentor and multiplier. Others seek your input for design reviews, incident postmortems, and architectural bets.
  • Cross-functional influence: You partner with product and engineering leadership to define strategy, scope opportunities, and execute for product-line-wide outcomes.
  • Rapid domain acquisition: You move into unfamiliar areas quickly and meaningfully contribute—whether it’s a new tech stack, domain model, or organizational challenge.
  • Internal and external impact: You elevate HubSpot’s brand, help attract and retain senior talent, and share your knowledge across the company.

Pay & Benefits

The cash compensation below includes base salary, on-target commission for employees in eligible roles, and annual bonus targets under HubSpot’s bonus plan for eligible roles. In addition to cash compensation, some roles are eligible to participate in HubSpot’s equity plan to receive restricted stock units (RSUs). Some roles may also be eligible for overtime pay. Individual compensation packages are tailored to your skills, experience, qualifications, and other job-related reasons.

This resource will help guide how we recommend thinking about the range you see. Learn more about HubSpot’s compensation philosophy.

Benefits are also an important piece of your total compensation package. Explore the benefits and perks HubSpot offers to help employees grow better.

At HubSpot, fair compensation practices aren’t just about checking off the box for legal compliance. It’s about living out our value of transparency with our employees, candidates, and community.

Annual Cash Compensation Range:
$266,200$425,900 USD

We know the confidence gap and impostor syndrome can get in the way of meeting spectacular candidates, so please don’t hesitate to apply — we’d love to hear from you.

If you need accommodations or assistance due to a disability, please reach out to us using this form.


At HubSpot, we value both flexibility and connection. Whether you’re a Remote employee or work from the Office, we want you to start your journey here by building strong connections with your team and peers. If you are joining our Engineering team, you will be required to attend a regional HubSpot office for in-person onboarding. If you join our broader Product team, you’ll also attend other in-person events, such as your Product Group Summit and other gatherings, to continue building on those connections.

If you require an accommodation due to travel limitations or other reasons, please inform your recruiter during the hiring process. We are committed to supporting candidates who may need alternative arrangements


Massachusetts Applicants: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Germany Applicants: (m/f/d) - link to HubSpot's Career Diversity page here.

India Applicants: link to HubSpot India's equal opportunity policy here.


About HubSpot

HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS) is an AI-powered customer platform with all the software, integrations, and resources customers need to connect marketing, sales, and service. HubSpot's connected platform enables businesses to grow faster by focusing on what matters most: customers. 

At HubSpot, bold is our baseline. Our employees around the globe move fast, stay customer-obsessed, and win together. Our culture is grounded in four commitments: Solve for the Customer, Be Bold, Learn Fast, Align, Adapt & Go!, and Deliver with HEART. These commitments shape how we work, lead, and grow.

We’re building a company where people can do their best work. We focus on brilliant work, not badge swipes. By combining clarity, ownership, and trust, we create space for big thinking and meaningful progress. And we know that when our employees grow, our customers do too.

Recognized globally for our award-winning culture by Comparably, Glassdoor, Fortune, and more, HubSpot is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, with employees and offices around the world.

Explore more:


HubSpot may use AI to help screen or assess candidates, but all hiring decisions are always human. More information can be found here. By submitting your application, you agree that HubSpot may collect your personal data for recruiting, global organization planning, and related purposes. We may use CLEAR ID Verification during the hiring process to confirm your identity and help maintain a safe, secure, and trusted experience for all candidates. Refer to HubSpot's Recruiting Privacy Notice for details on data processing and your rights.

What you'll do

1Drive technical direction across the entire AI Context platform including ingestion, processing, storage, sync, reliability, and intelligence surfaces
2Ship high-impact software end-to-end, owning large, complex initiatives from design through production
3Define and enforce reusable platform patterns for ingestion, processing, data quality, synchronization, and observability
4Align platform architecture with HubSpot's CRM, AI/ML, and extensibility goals to enable product evolution
5Partner with product and engineering leadership to scope opportunities and execute for product-line-wide outcomes
6Mentor and multiply senior engineers through design reviews, postmortems, and architectural guidance
7Rapidly acquire domain knowledge in unfamiliar technical and organizational areas
8Elevate HubSpot's engineering brand externally, helping attract and retain senior talent

Requirements

Proven track record delivering platform-scale distributed systems handling billions of events per day with high availability and low latency
Deep expertise in AI/ML data infrastructure, including ingestion pipelines, storage layers, and synchronization systems for unstructured data
Demonstrated architectural leadership defining reusable platform patterns across ingestion, processing, quality, sync, and observability
Strong cross-functional influence partnering with product and engineering leadership to define strategy and execute on product-line-wide outcomes
Experience as a technical multiplier — mentoring senior engineers, leading design reviews, and driving incident postmortems and architectural decisions

Nice to have

Kafka
Flink
Spark
Kubernetes
Java
Python
LLMs
Vector Databases
Data Lake Architecture
gRPC
OpenTelemetry

Role overview

Role family
Software Engineering
Level
IC5 — ai
Experience
10–20 years
Type
Hybrid (IC + Management)
Remote policy
Hybrid
Visa sponsorship
Not offered

Tech stack analysis

LANGUAGES
JavaPythonScala
FRAMEWORKS
Spring BootApache FlinkApache Spark
DATABASES
Vector DatabasesDistributed Key-Value StoresData Lakes
INFRASTRUCTURE
KafkaKubernetesCloud Infrastructure (AWS/GCP/Azure)CI/CD Pipelines
TOOLS
OpenTelemetryObservability PlatformsgRPC

Green flags

6 items
Salary range is explicitly disclosed ($266K–$426K), demonstrating HubSpot's stated commitment to compensation transparency.compensation

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Benefits breakdown

HEALTH & WELLNESS
Disability accommodations support
HubSpot benefits package (details via HubSpot benefits page)

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Hiring insights

JD quality
9/10
Urgency
medium
Autonomy
high
Team size
medium (5-15)

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Red flags

PRO3 items
Expectations are extremely broad — owning ingestion, processing, storage, sync, reliability, AND intelligence surfaces simultaneously may indicate under-staffing or an outsized scope for a single IC.requirements

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Interview insights

PRO
Rounds
5
Duration
4 wks
Difficulty
very hard
Take-home
No

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Career path

PRO
Next roles
Distinguished EngineerVP of EngineeringChief Architect

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About the company

HubSpot is a leading CRM and inbound marketing platform powering over 228,000 businesses in 135+ countries. Its integrated suite of marketing, sales, customer service, and CMS tools helps companies attract, engage, and delight customers. HubSpot is known for its freemium model and strong developer ecosystem.

HQCambridge, MA, USA
Interview difficultyvery hard
Build vs Maintainboth
Cross-functionalYes