Were seeking a Principal Engineer to join our CLEAR Verified teamsomeone who can tackle our hardest technical challenges, drive scalability, & shape the future of our company.

This role is flexible & language-agnostic, spanning Python/Java/Typescript we care about technical excellence & the ability to solve real business problems with technology. Youll have the autonomy to choose the right tools & architectures to scale our systems, optimize performance, & streamline the customer journey.

CLEAR Verified is at the core of CLEARs future. With a proven product-market fit & growing demand from our partners, this is an opportunity to shape & scale a platform that is redefining trusted identity verification. As a Principal Engineer, you will play a critical role in ensuring that we build for the futurescaling not just in markets, but in how we operate. Your work will directly impact the evolution of our platform, driving innovation, efficiency, & seamless user experiences.

If you thrive in high-impact, high-ownership environments & want to build systems that directly drive business success, wed love to meet you.

What you'll do:

• Lead the design & implementation of scalable, high-performance distributed systems that power CLEAR Verified.
• Collaborate with engineering, product, & business teams to define the technical vision & strategy for the next 3-5 years.
• Identify & drive large-scale architectural improvements, ensuring our systems are efficient, reliable, & secure.
• Build & optimize backend services, data pipelines, & APIs, ensuring seamless integration across CLEARs platform.
• Provide technical leadership & mentorship, guiding engineers in best practices & driving engineering excellence.
• Evaluate & introduce new technologies & approaches, ensuring our platform remains at the forefront of innovation.
• Partner cross-functionally to ensure business impact & alignment, helping shape the future of CLEAR Verified.
• Own & execute high-priority projects, ensuring successful delivery of critical initiatives.

What youre great at: 

• 10+ years of professional software development experience, with a focus on building & scaling distributed systems.
• Expertise in designing & implementing high-scale, cloud-based architectures, ensuring performance, reliability, & security.
• Strong understanding of backend & fullstack development, with experience in modern programming languages & frameworks.
• Ability to navigate complex technical challenges, driving solutions that are both scalable & maintainable.
• Experience with databases, caching, & real-time data processing, optimizing for performance & efficiency.
• Strong collaboration & communication skills, able to work effectively with engineers, product managers, & business leaders.
• Passion for mentoring & developing engineering talent, fostering a culture of technical excellence.
• A strategic mindset with the ability to evaluate new technologies & drive forward-thinking technical decisions.
• A deep understanding of how technology impacts business outcomes, with a focus on delivering high-impact solutions.

How Youll be Rewarded:

At CLEAR we help YOU move forward - because when youre at your best, were at our best. Youll work with talented team members who are motivated by our mission of making experiences safer & easier. In our offices, youll enjoy benefits like meals & snacks. We invest in your well-being & learning & development with our stipend & reimbursement programs.

We offer holistic total rewards, including comprehensive healthcare plans, family building benefits (fertility & adoption/surrogacy support), flexible time off, free OneMedical memberships for you & your dependents, & a 401(k) retirement plan with employer match. The base salary range for this role is $230,000-$270,000, depending on levels of skills & experience.

The base salary range represents the low & high end of CLEARs salary range for this position. Salaries will vary depending on various factors which include, but are not limited to location, education, skills, experience & performance. The range listed is just one component of CLEARs total compensation package for employees & other rewards may include annual bonuses, commission, Restricted Stock Units

About CLEAR

Have you ever had that green-light feeling? When you hit every green light & the day just feels like magic. CLEAR's mission is to create frictionless experiences where every day has that feeling. With more than 27+ million passionate members & hundreds of partners around the world, CLEARs identity platform is transforming the way people live, work, & travel. Whether its at the airport, stadium, or right on your phone, CLEAR connects you to the things that make you, you - unlocking easier, more secure, & more seamless experiences - making them all feel like magic. 

CLEAR provides reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities or protected needs. Please let us know if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job or perform your job. Examples of reasonable accommodation include, but are not limited to, time off, extra breaks, making a change to the application process or work procedures, policy exceptions, providing documents in an alternative format, live captioning or using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment.