Role Overview We’re seeking a highly experienced, hands-on Principal .NET Consultant who combines deep technical mastery of the .NET ecosystem with exceptional client-facing, leadership, and communication skills. You will lead complex delivery engagements, architect robust solutions, mentor teams, and serve as a trusted advisor to clients—translating business needs into secure, scalable, and maintainable .NET solutions. Key Responsibilities Client & Leadership • Lead end-to-end client engagements: discovery, solution design, delivery, and post-go-live support. • Build and maintain strong executive-level relationships; act as a trusted technical advisor. • Facilitate requirements workshops, steer scope and expectations, and negotiate trade-offs. • Mentor senior and mid-level engineers; foster a culture of quality, ownership, and continuous improvement. • Contribute to pre-sales: estimates, proposals, solution narratives, and technical win strategies. Architecture & Hands-On Delivery • Design and implement enterprise-grade solutions using modern .NET (e.g., .NET 8/9, ASP.NET Core, C#). • Own critical components: domain modeling, API design, performance tuning, security, and observability. • Define architecture patterns (clean architecture, DDD, microservices, event-driven) and enforce coding standards. • Drive DevOps practices: CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure automation, and cloud-native deployments (Azure/AWS). • Perform code reviews, troubleshoot complex issues, and occasionally write production code to unblock teams. Quality, Risk, and Governance • Establish quality gates, testing strategies (unit/integration/load), and reliability practices. • Identify technical risks early and lead mitigation plans; ensure compliance and security best practices. • Measure outcomes and iterate: track KPIs, gather feedback, and refine solutions over time. Required Qualifications Technical Depth (.NET Stack) • 10+ years of professional software development, with 6+ years focused on .NET. • Expert-level C# and deep knowledge of .NET frameworks: ASP.NET Core, EF Core, Web APIs, background services, gRPC as needed. • Strong experience with: • Cloud platforms (Azure and/or AWS), containers (Docker/Kubernetes), and serverless patterns. • Data access and performance (SQL Server, PostgreSQL, caching, message brokers like Azure Service Bus/Kafka/RabbitMQ). • Security (OAuth2/OIDC, JWT, secrets management), observability (OpenTelemetry, structured logging, metrics). • Demonstrated ability to make sound technology choices and justify them to both engineers and business stakeholders. Client-Facing & Leadership • Proven track record leading client engagements and delivering complex projects on time and within scope. • Excellent communication: able to explain complex technical concepts clearly to non-technical audiences. • Strong facilitation, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills; comfortable in executive conversations. • Experience mentoring engineers, leading design reviews, and elevating team capability. • Comfortable in a consulting environment: travel as needed, multi-client context, and shifting priorities.