Principal Engineer

What You Will Do You will drive Klarna’s technical direction within and across Klarnas domains - ensuring that our systems are scalable, resilient, and architected for long-term growth. You’ll shape architectural strategy, connect cross-functional initiatives, and elevate Klarna’s engineering standards across the organization. ● Lead cross-domain engineering strategy and execution - translating Klarna’s vision into scalable, secure, and efficient architectures that serve multiple business areas, while fostering technical alignment across teams and competences. ● Architect and evolve Klarna’s technical foundations by simplifying systems, reducing duplication, and driving consistency in data models, APIs, and integration patterns that power global customer and merchant experiences. ● Set and uphold Klarna-wide technical standards for code quality, observability, reliability, and data management - ensuring operational excellence and enabling teams to deliver confidently at scale. ● Partner with Product, Data Science, and Design leaders to align technical investments with business outcomes, balancing long-term architectural evolution with short-term delivery priorities. ● Mentor and grow Klarna’s senior technical community, guiding Lead and Principal Engineers in decision-making, design reviews, and career development, while nurturing a culture of technical curiosity and shared accountability. ● Drive innovation and continuous improvement by exploring emerging technologies, improving developer experience, and enabling Klarna’s platforms to adapt to future opportunities and challenges. Who You Are ● A recognized technical leader with deep experience delivering and scaling distributed systems across multiple business or product domains. ● Strategic in thinking yet pragmatic in execution — able to balance innovation, speed, and stability across complex organizations. ● Skilled in system architecture, data integration, and building reliable, observable systems that enable high-velocity teams. ● Adept at influencing across teams and functions, aligning diverse stakeholders behind clear technical direction. ● A committed mentor who builds inclusive, empowered teams and fosters technical growth across the organization. ● Curious, reflective, and driven by continuous improvement - both personal and organizational. Awesome to Have ● Experience leading cross-functional initiatives in payments, e-commerce, or large-scale technology platforms. ● Expertise in distributed architecture, event-driven systems, and cloud-native technologies (AWS, Kubernetes, Kafka). ● Proven success improving observability, reliability, or developer productivity at company scale. ● A track record of translating technical strategy into measurable business impact across domains.