We're building a world of health around every individual — shaping a more connected, convenient and compassionate health experience. At CVS Health, you'll be surrounded by passionate colleagues who care deeply, innovate with purpose, hold ourselves accountable and prioritize safety and quality in everything we do. Join us and be part of something bigger – helping to simplify health care one person, one family and one community at a time.
Position Summary
The Principal Software Engineer PCW Core Systems will join forces with business and product leaders to architect, design, build, and deliver a roadmap which drives our business and technology strategy forward for next generation of solutions. This position will compile research and technologies across the organization into one cohesive technical roadmap to prove out ambient products that address our colleague and customer challenges. This position will have an opportunity to provide strategic leadership for the software development of our application products and services that leverage advanced technologies.
The Principal Software Engineer PCW Core Systems must have experience mentoring/guiding team members, helping drive development decisions, and assisting with architecture design decisions. This leader will demonstrate executive level qualities, lead the conversation, have an eye for great design, and provide hands-on coding as required, with a knack for pushing projects from conception to end users. This leader will partner with Architects, Product and Engineering teams to articulate the true total value of each technical solution and the overall business outcome.
Key Responsibilities
* Actively participate in the design, development, and deployment of cloud data integration and AI solutions - writing code, building prototypes, and troubleshooting complex technical challenges alongside engineering teams.
* Champion the adoption of AI and advanced analytics in business and technical portfolios, surfacing new opportunities and accelerating tangible impact.
* Translate enterprise AI, cloud, and data frameworks into practical, actionable solutions for teams and products.
* Architect and oversee cloud-based data integration strategies, ensuring secure, scalable, and future-ready data flows.
* Collaborate with business, product, and engineering leaders to align technology solutions with strategic goals.
* Mentor and develop engineering talent, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous learning.
* Lead by example in hands-on development, conducting code reviews, setting technical standards, and ensuring high-quality, maintainable solutions.
* Develop and deliver proof-of-concept and pilot projects to validate new technologies and approaches before enterprise-wide rollout.
* Provide direct technical guidance during sprint planning, architecture reviews, and incident response, ensuring timely resolution and continuous improvement.
* Mentor and pair-program with engineers to uplift technical capability and accelerate delivery.
* Own key modules and critical path development tasks on high-impact projects as needed.
* Evaluate and integrate emerging technologies to solve complex business challenges and maintain CVS Health's competitive edge.
* Set technical direction and ensure delivery excellence across multiple, concurrent projects.
* Develop and maintain robust documentation, standards, and best practices for data, cloud, and AI solutions.
* Serve as the primary technical interface with Centers of Excellence, translating strategic initiatives into portfolio-level adoption.
* Guide teams through change management, supporting readiness and resilience for ongoing advancements in cloud and AI.
* Drive measurable improvements in operational efficiency, customer experience, and business value through technology.
Core Competencies / Skills
* Strategic systems architecture and solution design (cloud, data, AI)
* End-to-end technical leadership and project delivery
* Advanced expertise in cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP)
* Data integration, ETL/ELT, and data platform modernization
* AI and machine learning enablement in enterprise settings
* Cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management
* Technical mentorship and team development
* Change management and technology adoption
* Excellent communication and influence skills
* Continuous learning and innovation mindset
* Expertise with development tools, CI/CD, and modern source control practices
* Establish best practices for DevOps, CI/CD, data quality, lineage, performance tuning, and operational resiliency.
* Produce architectural documentation, design blueprints, runbooks, and standards that guide engineering teams.
* Proven ability to quickly prototype and iterate on solutions in cloud environments
* Comfort operating "in the weeds" while also stepping back to provide technical direction
* Champion AI adoption across engineering teams by identifying actionable use cases and enabling AI-assisted development.
* Provide technical guidance in areas such as test data generation, code automation, reverse engineering, testing and automated documentation.
* Translate enterprise AI concepts into practical implementation guidelines for engineering teams
* Architect secure and scalable cloud data integration solutions using either GCP ( DataProc, BigQuery, Composer, Pub/Sub) OR Azure (Azure Databricks, Azure Synapse, Azure Data Factory (ADF), Azure Event Hub)
* Strong command of SQL and cloud-scale storage technologies across BigQuery, Azure SQL, Oracle, and SQL Server.
* Experience with real-time and streaming integration patterns using Kafka or equivalent technologies.
* Strong hands-on proficiency in one or more data engineering languages i.e. Python, or Java, SQL, PySpark, bash/ shell scripting, cloud-native components, and rapid prototyping in GCP or Azure
* Knowledge of HIPAA, PHI, and healthcare data privacy requirements relevant to enterprise-scale data platforms.
* Understanding of healthcare and pharmacy data flows, operational workflows, and technology integration challenges.
Required Qualifications
* 10+ years of progressive software engineering experience, including technical leadership roles
* Proven success architecting and implementing large-scale cloud data solutions
* Demonstrated experience driving AI or advanced analytics adoption in business/technology portfolios
* Track record of collaborating across functions and influencing executive stakeholders
* Experience mentoring technical teams and elevating team performance
* Deep proficiency with modern programming languages, cloud services, and integration tools
Preferred Qualifications
* Experience in healthcare, pharmacy, banking, or other highly regulated industries
* Prior work leading AR or financial systems modernization projects
* Published contributions, patents, or community leadership in cloud, data, or AI domains
* Experience leveraging AI-powered software engineering tools (e.g., Windsurf, GitHub Copilot, or Cursor) to accelerate feature development, automate code maintenance, and enhance code quality and efficiency across the software development lifecycle.
* Experience engaging with Centers of Excellence or similar enterprise advisory groups
Education:
* Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience (Highschool diploma plus 4 years relevant work experience)
* Master's degree or higher strongly preferred
Pay Range
The typical pay range for this role is:
$144, $288,400.00
This pay range represents the base hourly rate or base annual full-time salary for all positions in the job grade within which this position falls. The actual base salary offer will depend on a variety of factors including experience, education, geography and other relevant factors. This position is eligible for a CVS Health bonus, commission or short-term incentive program in addition to the base pay range listed above. This position also includes an award target in the company's equity award program.
Our people fuel our future. Our teams reflect the customers, patients, members and communities we serve and we are committed to fostering a workplace where every colleague feels valued and that they belong.
Great benefits for great people
We take pride in our comprehensive and competitive mix of pay and benefits – investing in the physical, emotional and financial wellness of our colleagues and their families to help them be the healthiest they can be. In addition to our competitive wages, our great benefits include:
* Affordable medical plan options, a 401(k) plan (including matching company contributions), and an employee stock purchase plan.
* No-cost programs for all colleagues including wellness screenings, tobacco cessation and weight management programs, confidential counseling and financial coaching.
* Benefit solutions that address the different needs and preferences of our colleagues including paid time off, flexible work schedules, family leave, dependent care resources, colleague assistance programs, tuition assistance, retiree medical access and many other benefits depending on eligibility.
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We anticipate the application window for this opening will close on: 04/03/2026
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state and local laws.