Okay, I've searched for Principal Software Engineer roles in Charlotte, NC within the FinTech industry, requiring 10+ years of experience and strong skills in Java, Spring, and cloud-native development. I have found 152 positions for you.

Sure. Here's the analysis:

Job Analysis:

The AVP, Principal Software Engineer role at Synchrony is a senior technical leadership position that bridges deep software engineering expertise with business strategy and solution delivery. Fundamentally, this person is hired to envision, architect, and guide the implementation of complex applications or services that directly impact Synchrony's consumer financing ecosystem. Early involvement in projects ensures the engineer influences both requirement interpretation and technical solution design, allowing for cohesive alignment between business goals and technology. Their leadership role over development teams implies strong mentorship, collaboration with architects and business analysts, and active stewardship throughout the SDLC. Success in this role demands mastery over full stack development (especially Java, Spring, UI frameworks like ReactJS/AngularJS), cloud-native approaches, and application architecture, enabling the creation of scalable, resilient, and secure systems. Knowing the fintech domain and agile methodologies, particularly SAFe, suggests this person will navigate evolving regulatory considerations, market needs, and rapid delivery cycles. They will frequently balance trade-offs between technological innovation and business imperatives, working with diverse stakeholders. High autonomy in decision-making, including technology choices and design patterns, is expected, with success measured by smooth delivery of robust solutions that enable Synchrony’s financing products to operate efficiently and securely while supporting future growth and scalability.

Company Analysis:

Synchrony is a leading player in the consumer financing space focused on enabling everyday financial flexibility for millions of customers through credit products. Positioned as an established yet innovative financial services provider, it leverages technology keenly to maintain competitive advantage in a highly regulated and dynamic market. This environment demands rigorous attention to security, compliance, and seamless customer experience—key factors that impact the software engineering function. Culturally, Synchrony emphasizes inclusivity, diversity, and flexibility, promoting a work environment that encourages innovation balanced with collaboration. The optional hybrid work approach signals a modern, employee-centric mindset supporting work-life balance. For the AVP, Principal Software Engineer, this means thriving involves not only deep technical skills, but also strong interpersonal capabilities to work across agile teams and business units. The role likely reports into senior IT leadership and requires visibility at multiple levels given the strategic influence implicit in architecture and solution decisions. Strategically, this hire drives critical technological initiatives underpinning Synchrony’s mission to empower smarter credit use, positioning the role as foundational in scaling and future-proofing the company’s digital products and infrastructure.

Absolutely. Here are some mock interview questions that could come up:

• Behavioral Questions:
• 1. Tell me about a time when you had to lead a development team through a challenging project timeline while ensuring solution quality and alignment with business goals.
• 2. Describe an occasion when you identified a technology or architectural risk early in a project and how you addressed it with stakeholders.
• 3. Can you share an example of when you had to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical business partners? How did you ensure mutual understanding?
• 4. Discuss how you balanced competing priorities, such as performance, security, and scalability, in a past project.
• Technical/Role-Specific Questions:
• 5. How would you approach designing a cloud-native microservices architecture for a fintech application that requires high reliability and security?
• 6. Explain your experience with integrating front-end technologies like ReactJS or AngularJS with back-end Java/Spring services in a full stack development environment.
• 7. What strategies do you use when choosing third-party frameworks or tools in a solution to balance innovation with risk mitigation?
• 8. Describe your experience with continuous integration/continuous delivery pipelines and dependency management in complex projects.
• Situational Questions:
• 9. Imagine the business analysts have provided requirement changes midway through development. How would you handle incorporating these while maintaining project momentum?
• 10. If you discovered a major flaw in the current system’s architecture that could affect scalability, how would you communicate and resolve this challenge?
• 11. Suppose your development team is split on adopting a new technology stack that might speed delivery but introduces uncertainty. How would you guide the decision-making process?
• Company Fit/Motivation Questions:
• 12. Why are you interested in working at Synchrony, and how do you see your skills contributing to our mission of empowering smarter credit choices?
• 13. How do your values and approach to work align with Synchrony’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and flexible work culture?
• 14. Considering Synchrony’s fintech focus, how do you keep current with industry trends and regulatory requirements to ensure development aligns with market needs?
• Questions for the Candidate to Ask the Interviewer:
• 15. How does Synchrony balance innovation and regulatory compliance within its technology teams?
• 16. Can you describe the typical cross-functional collaboration process between software engineers, architects, and business analysts here?
• 17. What are the key challenges the technology organization anticipates in the next 12-18 months, and how would this role contribute to overcoming them?