Ad fatigue is killing engagement, but we're fixing it. Thanks (thanks.co) is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to join our team and play a pivotal role in building the only advertising platform where everyone - advertiser, publisher, and consumer - wins.

As our Principal Engineer you will help us continue to scale this groundbreaking platform globally. This is a senior technical leadership role, working closely with our founders, CTO, and product/engineering teams to shape technical strategy, solve complex challenges, and mentor others - while remaining deeply hands-on.

What you’ll do

• Shape system architecture and guide technical strategy – contribute to long-term design decisions, advocate for scalability, reliability, and security across our stack, and help drive pragmatic tradeoffs aligned with business needs.
• Lead complex initiatives – break down ambiguous problems, scope complex projects, and shepherd them from idea to production.
• Raise the technical bar – champion engineering excellence in design, code quality, testing, performance, and developer productivity.
• Mentor and influence – provide technical guidance to senior engineers, foster growth across the team, and help establish a strong engineering culture.
• Lead by example – design and build critical features and infrastructure across the stack, setting examples of best practices in action.
• Cross-functional leadership – partner closely with product, design, and leadership to shape roadmaps, evaluate trade-offs, and ensure technical alignment with company vision.
• Scale operations – help define processes, observability, and reliability practices that keep our systems performant and resilient as we grow.

What we’re looking for

• Extensive experience with modern TypeScript / Node.js / React platforms and strong proficiency across the stack.
• Proven track record of architecting and scaling distributed systems in production.
• Deep expertise in system design, performance, reliability, and security.
• Strong judgment in balancing speed vs. quality, with an ability to cut through ambiguity.
• Clear, persuasive communicator who can influence across teams and functions.
• A history of technical leadership – mentoring engineers, guiding teams, and raising standards.
• Ownership mindset – you proactively drive initiatives from vision to execution.
• Collaborative and humble – you uplift those around you and lead with empathy.
• Familiarity with SRE practices and operating large-scale systems.

Nice to have

• Experience in adtech or martech (ad serving, ranking, attribution, audience targeting, DSPs, etc.)
• Knowledge of Cloudflare ecosystem (Workers, Queues, KV, etc.)
• Experience with analytics and data platforms such as ClickHouse or other OLAP systems.

Thanks' tech stack

• Turborepo / NodeJS / TypeScript
• React / NextJS / React Native
• Prisma / PlanetScale
• CloudFlare (Workers, Queues, KV, etc)
• Vitest / Playwright
• GitHub Actions
• DataDog / Sentry / OpenTelemetry
• Statsig

What if people actually loved ads? Thanks makes this possible. We're a Sydney-headquartered, global company on a mission to kill ad fatigue and create advertising that consumers genuinely appreciate. Our industry-leading engagement goes beyond capturing attention - we delight, reward, and transform how people experience ads.

Here's why you'll love working with us:

• Direct Impact: Your work will significantly shape our products and trajectory as we scale rapidly.
• Ownership and Autonomy: Help define what great engineering looks like at Thanks. We'll give you the right tools, freedom, and collaborative environment to succeed and achieve your biggest goals.
• Competitive Package: Enjoy a competitive salary, plus stock options to share in our success.
• Growth Trajectory: Thrive in an environment of rapid change, constant challenges, and endless opportunities. You'll work closely with leadership in a culture that values courage, appreciation, and kindness.
• Comprehensive Benefits: Enjoy a benefits package designed to support your needs and wellbeing.
• Flexibility: Work flexibly, with two required days (Tuesdays and Thursdays) at our Bridge Street office in Sydney. #LI-Hybrid