Principal Full Stack Developer

Join the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection: Where Every Voyage is a Symphony of Luxury Embark on an extraordinary journey with the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, an exquisite extension of the renowned Ritz-Carlton brand, dedicated to redefining ultra-luxury hospitality at sea. As a "Lady or Gentleman" of our esteemed team, you'll be entrusted with the art of delivering the impeccable "Gold Standards" that have made the Ritz-Carlton an epitome of excellence across the globe. The Essence of Excellence: The Gold Standards The Gold Standards are the bedrock of the Ritz-Carlton experience, setting us apart in the industry and establishing a legacy of unparalleled service. These standards embody the values and culture that define our brand, and serve as the compass guiding our every endeavor. The Employee Promise At The Ritz-Carlton, our Ladies & Gentlemen are the most important resource in our service commitment to each other and our guests. By applying the principles of trust, honesty, respect, integrity, and commitment, we empower and nurture talent to the benefit of each individual and the company. The Ritz-Carlton fosters a culture where all are valued, quality of life is enhanced, individual aspirations are fulfilled, and The Ritz-Carlton Mystique is strengthened. Join us on a journey where every day is a testament to the highest standard of luxury and service.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and maintain the technical architecture for all guest-facing digital platforms, including web, mobile integration layers, and APIs
• Set engineering standards: coding conventions, code review practices, branching strategies, and release processes
• Make key technology decisions in partnership with the Sr Director of Digital Technologies; document reasoning via Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)
• Contribute hands-on full stack development across front-end and back-end layers (~50% of time)
• Lead technical discovery for new features and integrations, producing technical specifications and effort estimates
• Review and approve significant pull requests, providing constructive and standards-aligned feedback
• Identify and address technical debt proactively, balancing delivery needs with long-term platform health
• Evaluate and recommend third-party tools, APIs, and services
• Serve as technical escalation point for the engineering team on complex or ambiguous problems
• Collaborate with the Senior Business Analyst to ensure requirements are technically feasible and properly scoped
• Share knowledge and elevate the technical capability of the team through pairing, documentation, and review

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, with 3+ years in a principal, staff, or lead architect capacity
• Deep expertise in React and Next.js for front-end development
• Strong back-end proficiency: Node.js, Python, or similar; RESTful and GraphQL API design
• Proven experience making architectural decisions for cloud-hosted, production-scale applications (AWS preferred)
• Track record of defining and enforcing engineering standards across a development team
• Strong understanding of CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, and DevOps practices
• Experience integrating with third-party platforms: CRM, CMS, booking systems, or CDPs
• Excellent written and verbal communication in English
• Ability to work independently and manage technical priorities in a lean team environment

Preferred Qualifications (Nice-to-Have)

• Experience in digital platforms for hospitality, travel, cruise, or luxury consumer brands
• Familiarity with Drupal CMS architecture and headless/decoupled patterns
• Experience with React Native for cross-platform mobile development
• AWS Solutions Architect certification (Associate or Professional)
• Experience with microservices or event-driven architecture patterns
• Open source contributions or a strong public portfolio

Key Competencies

• Technical Authority: Sets architectural direction and makes well-reasoned decisions the team can build with confidence
• Hands-On Engineering: Stays deeply embedded in the codebase — architecture is validated through code, not just documentation
• Platform Thinking: Designs systems that are scalable, maintainable, and built to evolve beyond any single project
• Indirect Leadership: Elevates team capability through example, review, and knowledge sharing rather than direct management
• Pragmatism: Balances technical idealism with delivery realities — knows when to build and when to integrate

The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is an Equal opportunity, inclusive employer and will consider all applicants for employment with the Company on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law.

About Us

Working from our offices in Fort Lauderdale, FL and Valletta, Malta, our shoreside team includes a wide variety of positions to support The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection in delivering excellence. These roles include guest-facing Yacht Vacation Consultants, cruise hotel operations professionals, IT support, accounting and finance, sales and marketing professionals and more.