Principal Engineer (Warehouse Engineering)

We’re looking for a Principal Engineer : Warehouse Engineering to define the technical vision and architecture for Quince’s warehouse technology ecosystem. You will build the platforms that power inventory movement, fulfillment execution, warehouse operations, and returns across a rapidly scaling supply chain network.

In this role, you will lead the architecture of Quince’s warehouse integration platform, proprietary Warehouse Management System (WMS), and returns platform. You will solve complex problems across warehouse operations, logistics, inventory, and fulfillment while establishing scalable technical foundations for the future.

This role requires a strong combination of distributed systems expertise, operational platform experience, and technical leadership. You will influence architecture across multiple engineering teams, mentor senior engineers, partner with business and operations leaders, and help shape how Quince builds technology for a highly complex and rapidly evolving supply chain.

• Architect and build a standardized integration platform connecting Quince with third-party warehouse operators and WMS platforms.
• Define integration contracts, APIs, data models, and engineering standards that minimize bespoke development for new warehouse partners.
• Build scalable mechanisms for monitoring, reconciliation, error handling, and operational visibility across warehouse integrations.
• Establish platform capabilities that simplify warehouse onboarding and improve reliability across the warehouse network.

• Define the architecture and technical strategy for Quince’s proprietary Warehouse Management System.
• Build systems supporting inbound, outbound, inventory, fulfillment, and warehouse execution workflows.
• Design the platform to support both Quince-operated facilities and third-party warehouse operators.
• Establish scalable multi-tenant architecture, including data isolation, configuration management, access controls, and extensibility.
• Define architectural patterns that allow the WMS to evolve into a scalable platform for external warehouse operators.

• Drive the architecture and evolution of Quince’s end-to-end returns platform.
• Design systems supporting return intake, inventory reconciliation, restocking, refurbishment, replenishment, and disposition.
• Build operational capabilities that provide visibility into reverse logistics workflows and enable efficient throughput.
• Ensure returns systems meet high standards for reliability, scalability, observability, and data integrity.

• Drive the adoption of AI-native engineering practices across warehouse technology.
• Identify opportunities to apply AI to exception management, warehouse operations, workflow automation, and operational decision-making.
• Partner with Data Science and Operations Research teams to productionize AI and optimization models within warehouse systems.
• Establish reliable architecture patterns for integrating AI capabilities into operational workflows while maintaining correctness and reliability.

• Define the long-term technical vision, architecture principles, and roadmap for warehouse engineering.
• Lead architecture reviews and provide technical direction across warehouse, logistics, supply chain, and platform teams.
• Establish engineering standards around scalability, reliability, observability, data integrity, and operational excellence.
• Identify architectural risks, technical debt, and systemic opportunities across warehouse technology.
• Make high-impact technical decisions while balancing immediate business needs with long-term platform scalability.

• Mentor senior and staff engineers and raise the technical bar across the engineering organization.
• Partner closely with warehouse operations, logistics, product, and business stakeholders to translate operational challenges into scalable technical solutions.
• Influence technical strategy across multiple teams and domains without relying solely on organizational authority.
• Contribute to hiring, talent development, and building a high-performing engineering organization.
• Represent warehouse engineering in broader technical and organizational initiatives.

Required:

• 12+ years of software engineering experience building large-scale operational, supply chain, logistics, warehouse, or similar systems.
• Proven experience architecting and scaling distributed systems and event-driven architectures in production.
• Deep expertise in designing highly reliable systems where data integrity, consistency, and operational correctness are critical.
• Experience designing integration platforms and replacing bespoke integrations with standardized, scalable frameworks.
• Strong understanding of multi-tenant architecture, data isolation, API design, configuration management, and platform extensibility.
• Experience setting technical direction across multiple engineering teams or business domains.
• Strong understanding of inventory management, fulfillment workflows, and operational system design.
• Experience balancing scalability, performance, reliability, observability, and operational complexity.
• Strong technical communication skills with the ability to influence senior engineering and business stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor senior engineers and drive engineering excellence across teams.
• Experience working with AI-enabled development workflows and/or integrating AI capabilities into production systems.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment with significant ambiguity and ownership.

Preferred:

• Direct experience designing or building Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) at scale.
• Experience working with commercial WMS platforms and understanding the trade-offs between vendor solutions and custom-built systems.
• Experience with reverse logistics, inventory condition management, refurbishment, and disposition workflows.
• Experience in e-commerce fulfillment, 3PL operations, retail, logistics, or large-scale warehouse networks.
• Strong understanding of warehouse automation, inventory accuracy, fulfillment optimization, or operational planning systems.
• Experience building multi-tenant SaaS platforms serving external customers, operators, or partners.
• Experience partnering with Data Science or Operations Research teams to productionize optimization and decision-making models.
• Experience in high-growth, technology-first organizations with highly autonomous engineering teams.