Skip to main contentA logo with &quat;the muse&quat; in dark blue text.

Principal Engineer - Web Application Development

3 days ago San Francisco, CA

Job Requisition ID #

26WD98191

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

Want more jobs like this?

Get Software Engineering jobs in San Francisco, CA delivered to your inbox every week.

Job alert subscription

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

Salary is one part of Autodesk's competitive compensation package. For U.S.-based roles, we expect a starting base salary between $139,000 and $249,260. Offers are based on the candidate's experience and geographic location, and may exceed this range. In addition to base salaries, our compensation package may include annual cash bonuses, commissions for sales roles, stock grants, and a comprehensive benefits package.

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

Are you an existing contractor or consultant with Autodesk?

Please search for open jobs and apply internally (not on this external site).

Client-provided location(s): San Francisco, CA
Job ID: autodesk-26WD98191
Employment Type: FULL_TIME
Posted: 2026-05-19T20:08:16

Perks and Benefits

  • Health and Wellness

    • Long-Term Disability
    • FSA With Employer Contribution
    • HSA
    • HSA With Employer Contribution
    • Fitness Subsidies
    • FSA
    • Health Insurance
    • Dental Insurance
    • Vision Insurance
    • Life Insurance
    • Short-Term Disability
    • Health Reimbursement Account
    • On-Site Gym
    • Pet Insurance
    • Mental Health Benefits
  • Parental Benefits

    • Fertility Benefits
    • Adoption Assistance Program
    • Family Support Resources
    • Non-Birth Parent or Paternity Leave
    • Birth Parent or Maternity Leave
    • Adoption Leave
  • Work Flexibility

    • Flexible Work Hours
    • Remote Work Opportunities
    • Hybrid Work Opportunities
    • Work-From-Home Stipend
  • Office Life and Perks

    • Some Meals Provided
    • Commuter Benefits Program
    • Casual Dress
    • Pet-friendly Office
    • Happy Hours
    • Snacks
    • Company Outings
  • Vacation and Time Off

    • Personal/Sick Days
    • Paid Holidays
    • Unlimited Paid Time Off
    • Leave of Absence
    • Paid Vacation
    • Sabbatical
    • Volunteer Time Off
  • Financial and Retirement

    • Relocation Assistance
    • Performance Bonus
    • Stock Purchase Program
    • Company Equity
    • 401(K) With Company Matching
  • Professional Development

    • Shadowing Opportunities
    • Access to Online Courses
    • Promote From Within
    • Learning and Development Stipend
    • Lunch and Learns
    • Tuition Reimbursement
    • Mentor Program
    • Internship Program
    • Leadership Training Program
    • Professional Coaching
    • Associate or Rotational Training Program
  • Diversity and Inclusion

    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program
    • Employee Resource Groups (ERG)
    • Woman founded/led
    • Black founded/led
    • BIPOC founded/led
    • Latinx founded/led
    • Asian founded/led
    • LGBTQ+ founded/led
    • Veteran founded/led