Nulab Introduces 'Principal Engineer' Technical Leadership System

Nulab Inc. (Headquarters: Fukuoka, Japan; Representative Director: Masanori Hashimoto) will establish a 'Principal Engineer' system as the pinnacle of professional careers in engineering positions, starting April 2026. This system defines a role that directly contributes to business growth through technical leadership and influence. It aims to create an environment where engineers aspiring to contribute to business through technical skills can focus on solving management issues and R&D in advanced fields like AI, with high discretion and responsibility. It also aims to raise the overall technical level of the organization by clarifying the 'ideal engineer profile' within the company and enhance the technical brand value through strengthened external communication.

Nulab's Principal Engineers will serve as technical partners to management, formulating and promoting technical visions and mid-to-long-term technical strategies. They will lead the resolution of technical issues across businesses and products, and R&D in cutting-edge areas like AI, without being tied to specific routine tasks. They will contribute to the organization through nurturing next-generation leaders and fostering a technical culture, and promote technical branding through external communication (presentations, writing, OSS activities).

Upon the system's launch, three individuals were certified as the first Principal Engineers, evaluated for their ability to solve technical issues across businesses/products and their technical influence on the entire organization. The certified individuals are Yuichi Watanabe (joined 2015, contributed to Backlog's Git infrastructure, infrastructure cost optimization, founded AI Integration Unit, discovered CVE-2025-22869), Yuki Yoshiiwa (joined 2018, led Platform Engineering, AI-driven development environment), and Hisatomo Futahashi (joined 2018, AWS Top Engineer, FinOps practices, Nulab Pass audit logs).

Nulab aims to improve the quality of technical decision-making required as products grow in scale and complexity, and establish technical superiority. It will also present a new career model to domestic and international engineering communities, demonstrating how technology can contribute to business and society. CEO Masanori Hashimoto commented that the system was established to systematically promote the resolution of cross-organizational technical issues, emphasizing technical leadership and high emotional intelligence for Principal Engineers. This reflects Nulab's commitment to highly valuing individuals who contribute to the organization through technology.