Principal Engineer (Warehouse Engineering)

ABOUT QUINCE

Quince is a destination for builders, creators, innovators, and operators who want to come together and challenge the status quo. Our mission is simple: make really high quality essentials for really low prices, fairly and sustainably. We deliver on that mission through a unique manufacturer-to-consumer (M2C) model eliminating the layers of traditional retail that add cost and result in consumers paying more than they need to. We find, build relationships with, and work directly with the manufacturing partners behind some of the world’s finest products. From there, our teams design smart, efficient operational processes and build and deploy proprietary technology, AI, and analytics to help us scale fast.

What began with a small assortment of elevated basics has quickly grown into a cross-category brand spanning apparel, accessories, home goods, and more. Today, tens of millions of people across a growing number of countries come – and return – to Quince because they trust us to deliver.

OUR CULTURE

Quince is a culture built for builders by builders. Our way of working starts with a blank sheet of paper. We question conventional thinking, use technology and data to uncover new opportunities, and move quickly to turn ideas into reality. We aren’t interested in replicating how others do retail. We’re building a better way – at a speed and scale unlike anything that’s been done before.

We dream big and chase the hard problems others shy away from. Rejecting long-held assumptions is part of our company's DNA. Where conventional wisdom says you have to choose – soft or durable, speed or rigor, quality or price – we ask why that trade-off has to exist in the first place.

Our pace is fast and the bar is high because our customers expect a lot from us and we refuse to let them down. We believe the best results come from challenging ourselves, learning from one another, and building on each other's strengths.

Here, responsibility is not determined by role, tenure, or seniority. Every team member - no matter their level - has the opportunity to drive our business and shape our trajectory.

If you’re someone who likes to imagine new possibilities and build better systems rather than plug-in to outdated ones, Quince is the place for you.

THE ROLE

Principal Engineer (Warehouse Engineering)

We’re looking for a Principal Engineer – Warehouse Engineering to lead the technical vision and architecture of Quince’s warehousing platform. In this role, you will build the systems that power inventory movement, fulfillment execution, warehouse operations, and returns management across a rapidly growing supply chain network.

You will drive the architecture of Quince’s warehouse integration platform, proprietary Warehouse Management System (WMS), and end-to-end returns ecosystem. This role requires deep expertise in distributed systems, operational platforms, and warehouse technology, combined with the ability to influence engineering strategy across multiple supply chain domains.

Success in this role means building scalable, resilient, and highly observable warehouse systems that maintain inventory accuracy, operational efficiency, and customer experience at scale. You will act as a technical leader across the organization, driving architectural decisions, mentoring engineers, and shaping the future of warehouse technology at Quince.

Responsibilities

Warehouse Integration Platform

Design and build a standardized warehouse integration layer that enables seamless connectivity with third-party warehouse operators and WMS platforms.

Define integration contracts, APIs, and operational standards that eliminate bespoke engineering efforts for onboarding new warehouse partners.

Establish monitoring, observability, and reconciliation mechanisms to detect integration failures and inventory inconsistencies before they impact downstream systems.

Drive platform-level solutions that simplify warehouse onboarding and improve operational scalability.

Warehouse Management System (WMS)

Architect and build Quince’s proprietary Warehouse Management System to support inbound, outbound, inventory, and fulfillment workflows.

Design the platform to support both Quince-operated facilities and third-party warehouse operators from day one.

Define the technical strategy for multi-tenant architecture, including data isolation, configuration management, access controls, and platform extensibility.

Establish scalable architecture patterns that enable external adoption of the platform as a service.

Returns Platform & Reverse Logistics

Own the architecture and evolution of the end-to-end returns platform.

Design systems supporting customer return intake, inventory replenishment, restocking, refurbishment, and disposition workflows.

Build operational tooling that provides visibility, control, and throughput optimization across reverse logistics operations.

Ensure returns workflows maintain the same level of reliability, observability, and operational excellence as forward fulfillment systems.

AI-Native Platform Innovation

Drive adoption of AI-first engineering practices across warehouse engineering teams.

Architect AI-powered capabilities such as exception management, operational automation, intelligent workflow routing, and warehouse analytics.

Partner with data science teams to build infrastructure that enables reliable deployment of AI and optimization models into production systems.

Establish standards for integrating AI capabilities while maintaining operational reliability and system correctness.

Technical Leadership & Organizational Impact

Define the long-term technical vision and architecture roadmap for warehouse engineering systems.

Lead architecture reviews and guide critical technical decisions across warehouse, logistics, supply chain, and platform teams.

Establish engineering standards for scalability, reliability, observability, and operational excellence.

Mentor senior engineers and provide technical leadership across a globally distributed organization.

Partner closely with warehouse operations, logistics leadership, and business stakeholders to translate operational challenges into scalable technical solutions.

Contribute to hiring and development of world-class engineering talent.

Qualifications

12+ years of software engineering experience building large-scale operational, supply chain, or warehouse management systems.

Proven experience designing and scaling distributed systems and event-driven architectures in production environments.

Deep expertise in building highly reliable systems where data integrity and operational correctness are critical.

Experience designing integration platforms and replacing bespoke system integrations with standardized, scalable frameworks.

Strong understanding of multi-tenant platform architecture, data isolation strategies, API design, and external platform consumption models.

Experience leading architecture and technical strategy across multiple teams and business domains.

Strong understanding of inventory management, fulfillment workflows, and operational system design principles.

Experience building systems that balance scalability, performance, reliability, and operational complexity.

Strong communication and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence both technical and business leaders.

Demonstrated ability to mentor senior engineers and drive engineering excellence across organizations.

Experience leveraging AI-enabled development workflows and integrating AI capabilities into operational platforms.

Preferred:

Direct experience building or architecting Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) at scale.

Experience with commercial WMS platforms and a strong perspective on custom-built versus vendor-based solutions.

Familiarity with reverse logistics, inventory condition management, refurbis