What Principal Backend Jobs Ask For
Across 399 open Principal Backend postings that list skills, the ones mentioned most often are cloud, api, aws.
Updated September 19, 2026
425 open Principal Backend postings. The percentages below are measured over the 399 of them that list skills at all.
| Skill | Mentioned in |
|---|---|
| cloud | 61% |
| api | 56% |
| aws | 51% |
| ai | 46% |
| java | 44% |
| ci-cd | 42% |
| distributed-systems | 41% |
| microservices | 36% |
| kubernetes | 34% |
| observability | 34% |
| python | 34% |
| gcp | 26% |
| kafka | 25% |
| docker | 24% |
| event-driven-architecture | 21% |
| cloud-native | 21% |
| postgresql | 20% |
| azure | 20% |
| automation | 19% |
| devops | 19% |
| redis | 19% |
| nodejs | 18% |
| nosql | 17% |
| typescript | 17% |
| sql | 16% |
| spring | 16% |
| agile | 15% |
| rest | 14% |
| cpp | 13% |
| data-modeling | 13% |
| machine-learning | 13% |
| infrastructure-as-code | 12% |
| agentic-ai | 12% |
| llm | 12% |
| mongodb | 11% |
| csharp | 11% |
| test-automation | 11% |
| api-design | 11% |
| grpc | 11% |
| authentication | 10% |
"Mentioned in" counts postings that name the skill anywhere — including as a nice-to-have — so treat it as the ceiling, not the bar.
Browse 425 open Principal Backend jobs →
Across all Backend levels
Most Backend postings never state a level. This wider list covers them too.
- api 23,100
- java 17,299
- cloud 16,803
- aws 13,712
- ci-cd 13,100
- ai 12,665
- python 11,925
- docker 10,605
- sql 10,600
- kubernetes 10,216
- postgresql 9,774
- spring 9,760