---
title: 'Principal Software Engineer at GRADION'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/principal-software-engineer-gradion-ho-chi-minh-city-rm205txpm9j6'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-10'
---

# Principal Software Engineer at GRADION

- **Company:** GRADION
- **Location:** Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-06-26
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/gradion/11049d78-60fe-4ed9-a469-5e0b47509709

## Job description

We’re hiring rockstars. We're looking for engineers who still like the hard problems. Gradion is hiring a Principal Software Engineer to work across our teams and projects on the things that need serious engineering judgment: architecture, system design, scalability, performance, reliability, technical debt, and new technology. This is a hands-on individual contributor role. You'll design systems, write code, prototype ideas, debug the failures nobody else can reproduce, review the implementations that matter, and work alongside engineers and Tech Leads wherever deeper expertise is needed. Your influence here won't come from managing people. It comes from the systems you improve, the technical decisions you shape, and the engineers who get better for having worked with you. AI is part of the job We're building an AI-first engineering organization, and we want to get further than AI-assisted coding. You'll work with LLMs, AI APIs, agents, RAG, and evaluation, applied to problems in our own engineering and in the products we build for clients. We're not trying to put AI into everything. We want to find the places where it pays off, build those properly, and write down what we learn so other teams can pick it up. What this role is really about Own architecture and design decisions on the hardest systems in our portfolio Write code, prototype, and debug alongside the teams rather than from a distance Review the implementations that carry the most risk, and raise the bar through the work itself Find where AI pays off, build it properly, and turn what works into something other teams can reuse Work with Tech Leads on scalability, performance, reliability, and technical debt Evaluate new technology, prototype it, make a call, and write down the reasoning Work with clients and non-engineering stakeholders to turn vague problems into technical direction

## What we're looking for

10+ years building and running production software, and still writing code today Depth in system design and architecture: scalability, performance, distributed systems, reliability A track record of setting technical direction across several teams, or on one large and long-running program Quick to find your way around an unfamiliar codebase. Deep in at least one language and comfortable in several Tech stack (not strictly limited to): Python, Go, Node.js, Java, Cloud Native (AWS/GCP), Docker/Kubernetes... Hands-on experience with LLM-based systems. Things you have built, not only read about: AI APIs, prompt and context design, and at least one of agents, RAG, or evaluation Judgment about when not to build something, when to pay down debt, and when to say no The ability to mentor senior engineers and change their minds without formal authority Comfort working directly with clients and non-engineering stakeholders A habit of following where the field is going

## Nice to have

Production AI systems at scale: evaluation harnesses, guardrails, cost and latency tuning Depth in one of our domains: data platforms, cybersecurity, robotics, enterprise systems Internal tooling or platform work that made other teams faster Open source contributions, conference talks, or technical writing

## Why Gradion

ou’d be joining Vietnam’s Best IT Company, recognized by ITViec for 8 consecutive years, including 2 successive years as the Winner. That reputation didn’t happen overnight. It’s built on 23 years of shipping real digital platforms and Deep Tech solutions for 100+ enterprise clients, backed by more than 300 specialists across 7 countries. From AI and data to cybersecurity, robotics, and enterprise platforms, the work here gives you something a single-product environment rarely can: a much wider technical surface area. Different systems. Different industries. Different problems worth going deep on. If you want Principal Engineer scope without stepping away from engineering, let’s talk.

## Why You’ll Love Working Here

🏆 𝗕𝗲 𝗔𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 — Gradion Vietnam (formerly NFQ Vietnam) has been recognized by ITViec for 8 consecutive years, including 2 successive years as the Winner. 🌍 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗔𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 — Collaborate with engineers, technical leaders, and clients across global markets. 🚀 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗜 — Experiment with AI-native engineering, emerging technologies, and real-world AI applications — not just demos. 🧠 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 — No unnecessary bureaucracy. We care about the quality of your thinking and the impact of your work. 💰 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — Attractive salary, performance-based bonus, and benefits that reflect your impact. ✨ 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗳 — Up to 2 months’ performance bonus, twice-yearly performance reviews, premium healthcare, 15 days annual leave, full salary during probation, hybrid working, tech communities, global projects, and continuous learning opportunities. Working time: Monday – Friday, 9 AM – 6 PM Locations: Ho Chi Minh City · Da Nang · Remote from Hanoi or Can Tho Data protection According to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), and Vietnam's Decree 13/2023/ND-CP, while also ensuring compliance with other applicable local data protection laws in the jurisdictions where we operate, including but not limited to Vietnam, Thailand, Egypt, Singapore, Germany, and Saudi Arabia, Gradion applies the “Personal Data Protection Policy” to all candidates to ensure compliance with the laws. By submitting your application to Gradion, you agree to allow us to process your provided information in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Policy that you have carefully read, understood, and agreed to in its entirety at Link.

## About GRADION

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Gradion is a global digital and deep tech consultancy that builds and operates production systems for enterprise clients, processing over $10B in GMV and automating 20M+ tasks monthly.
- **Entity Type**: Private (bootstrapped, no external funding disclosed)
- **Headquarters**: Singapore (with major delivery hubs in Vietnam, Germany, Thailand, and Egypt)
- **Founded**: 2001 (originally as NFQ in Lithuania; rebranded to Gradion in 2023)
- **Founders**: Lars Jankowfsky

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Technology consulting, software engineering, AI & automation, travel platforms, commerce & payments, manufacturing & industrial automation
- **Target customers**: B2B, mid-market to large enterprise clients across travel, e-commerce, manufacturing, and financial services
- **Mission/purpose**: “Build what moves business” – delivering production-grade systems with deep domain expertise rather than generalist consulting

## Products & Services
- **Software Engineering**: Full-stack development, platform engineering, and embedded teams (from MVP validation to 150-person orgs running 50+ deployments/day)
- **AI & Automation**: Custom AI copilots, invoice processing (10,000 documents/day), CV screening (700/day), and workflow automation across production deployments
- **Technical Consulting & Recovery**: System assessment, architecture remediation, and turnaround projects (e.g., re-architected a Swiss credit platform in 8 weeks)
- **Manufacturing & Industrial Automation**: AGV fleet management, MES integration, industrial cybersecurity (IEC 62443), and co-founded ACE – Vietnam’s Automation Centre of Excellence
- **Travel Platforms**: 20 years of experience building and scaling travel metasearch, booking engines, and partner integrations (KAYAK, HomeToGo)
- **Commerce & Payments**: Payment gateway development, multi-platform merchant plugins, and DevOps for commercetools and Shopware

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company)
- **Key Metrics**: $10B+ GMV processed annually; 20M+ tasks automated monthly; 320 employees; 97% client satisfaction across 1,000+ deployments; ISO 27001 certified
- **Notable Clients/Partners**: KAYAK (acquired by Priceline for $1.8B), HomeToGo (€1B IPO), Shopware, commercetools, Spryker, Schaeffler, and multiple financial institutions
- **Growth Signals**: Expansion into industrial automation (ACE in Vietnam), growing AI practice, 23-year track record with consistent headcount growth to 320 across 4 continents

## Competitive Advantages
- **Deep domain expertise** – engineers accumulate years of industry-specific knowledge (travel, commerce, manufacturing) rather than rotating across projects
- **Global delivery network** with unified standards – offices in Germany, Vietnam, Thailand, Egypt, and Singapore enable follow-the-sun workflows and near-shore options
- **Founder pedigree** – Lars Jankowfsky built and sold Swoodoo to KAYAK, then served as VP Engineering at KAYAK, giving Gradion insider understanding of scaling platforms
- **Delivery, not just advice** – the same team that diagnoses problems also builds the fix, reducing handoff friction and ensuring accountability

## Strategic Focus
- **AI & automation** as a core capability – AI proficiency is a hiring metric, and the company builds production automation systems (not just prototypes)
- **Manufacturing automation** – deepening presence in Southeast Asia through ACE and partnerships with industrial leaders like Schaeffler
- **Expanding in Europe & Asia** – leveraging the existing network to win larger enterprise engagements in DACH and Southeast Asia

## Why Work Here
- **Impact at scale** – engineers work on live platforms handling $10B+ GMV and 20M+ automated tasks, not internal tooling
- **Culture of ownership** – “thrives on feedback, treats mistakes as learning data”; technical decisions are treated as business decisions
- **AI-first environment** – daily use of tools like Cursor and Claude is expected; top employees build custom agents and automate workflows
- **Career growth** – solving increasingly complex problems leads to broader responsibility; alumni have moved to executive roles at client companies
- **Work model** – hybrid in Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Can Tho); some roles are remote within country; async-friendly communication culture
- **Global team** – 320 people across 4 continents with a unified quality standard and shared accountability

## Sources
1. [Gradion Careers Page](https://gradion.com/en/careers)
2. [Gradion About Page](https://gradion.com/en/about)
3. [Gradion Home Page](https://gradion.com/en/home)
4. [Gradion Global Presence](https://gradion.com/en/about/global-presence)
5. [Gradion Job Listings on Lever](https://jobs.lever.co/gradion)

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