Principal Engineer - Catalog

Job Summary

The Principal Engineer - Catalog operates at the intersection of deep technical execution and broad organizational influence. This role will resolve the hardest architectural questions, set the AI-native engineering bar, and ensure that iHerb's platform decisions compound over time rather than accumulate debt. Reporting to the VP of Engineering this role collaborates closely with peer Principals, Engineering Managers, and peer VPs across the organization.

The Principal Engineer - Catalog owns the end-to-end technical strategy for iHerb's product catalog platform, one of the most business-critical systems in the company. This role will lead the catalog modernization effort, define service boundaries and data models, and set the full-stack engineering bar for the Catalog team.

Job Expectations

• Define and own the catalog platform architecture: service design, data modeling, API contracts, and technology choices across the stack.
• Lead the technical scoping and execution of the catalog modernization effort, coordinating with the Catalog EM and cross-functional partners.
• Hands-on contributor: write production code, build proofs of concept, and validate architecture through working software.
• Set and enforce technical standards for the Catalog team; drive code reviews and architecture reviews.
• Identify and resolve cross-cutting technical dependencies with peer engineering teams and shared platform services.
• Contribute catalog-specific patterns and lessons into iHerb's shared AI-driven SDLC golden path.
• Drive the hardest cross-cutting technical decisions across multiple teams and shared platform services.
• Establish and evolve iHerb's AI-driven SDLC golden path: shared standards, Claude Code skills, guardrails, and automation patterns.
• Lead complex multi-team technical efforts by coordinating architecture reviews, aligning peer Principals and EMs, and resolving competing approaches.
• Mentor and raise the technical bar across the engineering organization through code review, architecture review, and direct coaching of senior engineers.
• Represent engineering in cross-functional conversations with product, data science, security, and infrastructure.
• Feed architectural decisions into the shared knowledge base so institutional knowledge compounds across the organization.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• AI-driven SDLC (required): demonstrated use of AI-assisted development tools such as Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or Cursor to ship production systems. Can articulate workflow changes, quality tradeoffs, and guardrail strategies.
• Architecture at scale: experience designing and evolving large-scale distributed systems across multiple teams and years: APIs, data pipelines, event-driven architectures, or high-traffic platforms.
• Cross-org technical leadership: track record of driving architectural standards, technical roadmaps, or platform initiatives that span multiple teams or organizations.
• Engineering quality mindset: deeply held opinions on code quality, observability, CI/CD, test automation, and maintaining velocity without a