Principal Engineer - Web Application Development
Autodesk
San Francisco, CA, USA
USD 139k-249,260 / year + Equity
Job Requisition ID #
Position Overview
We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead the evolution of our Web Platform Engineering capabilities. This role is responsible for shaping the architecture, performance, scalability, and developer experience of the foundational web platform that powers our applications.
As a technical leader, you will drive strategic initiatives across frontend infrastructure, platform services, and developer tooling, enabling product teams to build high-quality, performant, and reliable web experiences at scale.
Responsibilities
Technical Leadership & Strategy:
Define and drive the long-term vision for the web platform architecture
Lead cross-team initiatives to standardize frontend architecture, frameworks, and best practices
Act as a technical advisor to engineering leadership on platform investments and tradeoffs
Influence roadmap decisions to improve scalability, performance, and maintainability
Platform Architecture & Development:
Design and evolve core platform components (e.g., design systems, shared libraries, build systems, CI/CD pipelines)
Establish patterns for micro-frontends, modular architectures, and API integrations
Ensure high standards for performance, accessibility, security, and reliability
Lead critical system design discussions and provide architectural guidance
Developer Experience (DX):
Champion improvements to developer productivity and onboarding
Build and maintain tools, frameworks, and workflows that enable fast, consistent development
Reduce friction in testing, debugging, deployment, and observability
Cross-Functional Collaboration:
Partner with product engineering, design, DevOps, and security teams
Drive alignment across multiple teams and organizations
Mentor senior and staff engineers; elevate engineering standards across the org
Quality, Performance & Observability:
Establish performance benchmarks and monitoring standards
Lead initiatives around web performance (Core Web Vitals, load times, bundle size optimization)
Ensure platform observability, reliability, and incident response readiness
Minimum Qualifications
10+ years of software engineering experience, with deep expertise in web technologies
Proven experience designing and scaling large-scale web platforms or frontend infrastructure
Strong expertise in modern JavaScript/TypeScript ecosystems (e.g., React, Angular, or similar frameworks)
Experience with build systems, bundlers, and tooling (e.g., Webpack, Vite, Turborepo)
Deep understanding of web performance, browser internals, and networking
Demonstrated ability to influence architecture across multiple teams
Strong system design and architectural decision-making skills
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with micro-frontend architectures or large monorepos
Familiarity with backend systems and APIs (Node.js, GraphQL, REST)
Experience building or maintaining design systems at scale
Knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and CI/CD pipelines
Experience improving developer experience in large organizations
The Ideal Candidate
Operates as a multiplier, enabling dozens of engineers through platform improvements
Drives alignment across teams without direct authority
Balances long-term architectural vision with pragmatic delivery
Mentors and develops engineering talent across the organization
Accelerate development velocity across all web teams
Improve platform reliability, scalability, and performance
Establish a cohesive and modern web architecture
Elevate engineering quality and consistency across the organization
Learn More
About Autodesk
Welcome to Autodesk! Amazing things are created every day with our software – from the greenest buildings and cleanest cars to the smartest factories and biggest hit movies. We help innovators turn their ideas into reality, transforming not only how things are made, but what can be made.
We take great pride in our culture here at Autodesk – it’s at the core of everything we do. Our culture guides the way we work and treat each other, informs how we connect with customers and partners, and defines how we show up in the world.
When you’re an Autodesker, you can do meaningful work that helps build a better world designed and made for all. Ready to shape the world and your future? Join us!
Benefits
From health and financial benefits to time away and everyday wellness, we give Autodeskers the best, so they can do their best work. Learn more about our benefits in the U.S. by visiting https://benefits.autodesk.com/
Salary transparency
Equal Employment Opportunity
At Autodesk, we're building a diverse workplace and an inclusive culture to give more people the chance to imagine, design, and make a better world. Autodesk is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other legally protected characteristic. We also consider for employment all qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with applicable law.
Diversity & Belonging
We take pride in cultivating a culture of belonging where everyone can thrive. Learn more here: https://www.autodesk.com/company/diversity-and-belonging
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