Principal Software Engineer

Speridian Technologies is recruiting for a Principal Engineer for our State of California Client- the Department of Healthcare Services, Behavioral Health. This person will be part of a long-term, fully budgeted, state-of-the-art, extremely vast, IT modernization project working with a variety of cross-functional teams and stakeholders.

This is a remote role, however there will be meetings in the Sacramento area several times a year. Candidates are expected to work business hours, Monday-Friday PST. 


Join DHCS’s Behavioral Health Transformation: Where Purpose Meets Innovation
Position: Principal Engineer
Location: Remote/Hybrid
Department: Department of Healthcare Services (DHCS)
Commitment: Full-Time Consultant 

Why DHCS?
At DHCS we are leading a transformative journey in Behavioral Health, reshaping systems and services to ensure better outcomes for communities across California. Our Behavioral Health transformation initiative is more than a project—it’s a movement to make California a leader in accessible, high-quality health services. We’re setting the stage for a new era of government services built on agile methodologies, cutting-edge technology, continuous improvement, and a relentless commitment to serving the public good.
At DHCS, we’re looking for innovators who are passionate about purposeful work and excited by the opportunity to drive lasting change through innovative solutions.

Our Core Values (Achieve Together, Be Curious, Elevate Yourself, and Deliver Value)

• We achieve together by championing a team-oriented workplace built on mutual respect, collaboration, and open communication.  
• We encourage individuals and teams to constantly be curious and seek a deeper understanding and fresh ideas that drive innovation and meaningful change.
• We provide a supportive workplace where you can elevate yourself and achieve personal growth through continuous learning, focused effort, and perseverance.
• We deliver value as part of every action we take to serve California’s citizens.

Overview of Role-
The Principal .NET Software Engineer serves as a senior technical leader and subject matter expert in .NET development, responsible for guiding and mentoring development teams, driving technical excellence, and providing architectural direction for complex software solutions. They leverage their deep expertise in .NET technologies and best practices to design, develop, and deliver high-quality software solutions that meet business objectives and exceed customer expectations.
As part of the DHCS Modernization effort, this role will be a key individual contributor in establishing enterprise-scale .NET cloud-native applications and services following a DevOps shared services model. Your work will provide the foundation for dozens of applications and services and help set the standards for the design and implementation to be developed over the next decade. You’ll be a key Architecture Operations (ArchOps) member focusing on solving hard problems in context and extrapolating the solutions across the entire DHCS Enterprise IT organization. The DHCS approach to architecture is both Agile and Lean, emphasizing just-in-time design and following through to implementation to document actuals in a continuous improvement approach. As part of the continuous improvement effort, you’ll contribute to the inner-source design pattern catalog backed by fully operational reference implementations. Come join us and change the face of system and software architecture in government IT.



What You’ll Do?

Technical Leadership: Provide technical leadership and guidance to development teams, serving as a mentor and role model for software engineers. Lead by example in adopting best practices, coding standards, and design patterns in .NET development.

• • Outcome: Empowered and inspired development teams capable of delivering high-quality .NET solutions.
• Architectural Design: Lead the architectural design and implementation of complex software solutions using .NET technologies and frameworks. Define and document architectural patterns, components, and standards to ensure scalability, reliability, and maintainability.
  • Outcome: Well-architected and scalable software solutions that meet business requirements and quality standards.
• Code Review and Quality Assurance: Conduct code reviews and provide technical oversight to ensure adherence to coding standards, best practices, and architectural guidelines. Perform quality assurance activities to validate code quality, performance, and security.
  • Outcome: High-quality, reliable, and secure .NET codebase that meets established standards and requirements.
• Technical Strategy and Roadmap: Collaborate with technical and business stakeholders to define and align technical strategies and roadmaps with business goals and objectives. Provide recommendations on technology selection, adoption, and integration to support business initiatives.
  • Outcome: Defined technical strategies and roadmaps that drive innovation, efficiency, and competitiveness.
• Research and Innovation: Stay abreast of emerging trends, technologies, and best practices in .NET development. Conduct research and experimentation to evaluate new tools, frameworks, and methodologies for potential adoption and integration.
  • Outcome: Identified opportunities for innovation and improvement in .NET development practices and technologies.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product management, quality assurance, and infrastructure, to ensure alignment and integration of .NET solutions with overall business and technical objectives.
  • Outcome: Effective cross-functional teamwork and alignment with business goals and objectives.

What You’ll Bring?

• A desire to impact lives positively, and a passion for making a difference.
• A mindset driven by purpose and always measured by impact.
• Expertise in .NET development technologies and framework, C#, and .NET Core.
• Deep understanding of software engineering principles, design patterns, and best practices.
• Strong architectural design skills, with the ability to design and implement scalable and maintainable software solutions.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills, with the ability to troubleshoot complex technical issues and propose effective solutions.
• Leadership and mentorship skills, with the ability to inspire and guide development teams to achieve technical excellence.
• Communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively communicate technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Continuous learning mindset with a passion for staying updated on the latest trends in technology
• Technologies/Tools:
• Microsoft .NET Framework and .NET Core for building web applications, services, and AP MVC and Core MVC for developing web applications and RESTful APIs.
• C# programming language for writing .NET code and building software applications.
• Visual Studio IDE for .NET development, debugging, and testing.
• Entity Framework for object-relational mapping (ORM) and database access in .NET applications.
• Cloud services (AWS, Azure)
• Data technologies (Postgres, MS SQL, Kafka, etc)

********All candidates are expected to take a 2-hour codility assessment within 4 days of it being sent.

Why This Role Matters?
Our Behavioral Health transformation initiative represents a significant investment in California’s future, and your work will directly contribute to improving lives and advancing public health. Here, you’ll find an environment that values innovation, growth, and the chance to do good work that feels good.
You will be pivotal in advancing the state’s technology capabilities, using approaches and tools comparable to those in top-tier private sector organizations.

Perks and Benefits

• Competitive compensation and benefits
• Opportunities for professional development and growth
• A culture that values flexibility, diversity, and the power of mission-driven work
• Work-life balance and varying degrees of autonomy in your work and environment

Apply Now
We want to hear if you can use your skills to create positive, scalable change! Join us in transforming healthcare services and making a meaningful impact on California’s communities.