Principal Software Developer

Job Requisition ID # 26WD100826 Principal Software Developer Position Overview We are looking for a Principal Software Developer to join the Autodesk Platform Services (APS) Developer Portal team at Autodesk. As a hands-on technical leader, you will solve complex and ambiguous engineering problems and shape the architecture and technical direction of the APS Developer Portal and Application Management platform, including developer app lifecycle, APIs, documentation, usage analytics, and AI/MCP-enabled developer workflows. You will partner across Engineering, Product, Design, and Architecture to translate customer and business needs into scalable, reliable solutions and help drive technical direction across teams. The ideal candidate brings deep engineering fundamentals, strong product and technical judgment, and the ability to create clarity across organizational boundaries. Responsibilities Technical Leadership & Architecture • Provide technical leadership for complex, high-impact initiatives spanning multiple components, services, or teams. • Define and evolve architecture for scalable, reliable, secure, and maintainable systems; navigate ambiguity and make pragmatic tradeoffs between near-term delivery and long-term health. • Build alignment across organizational and system boundaries, communicating technical tradeoffs, risks, and recommendations clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders. • Identify cross-team risks and dependencies early, and establish reusable architectural patterns and guidance that benefit the broader engineering organization. Hands-on Engineering & End-to-End Ownership • Remain hands-on with architecture, design, prototyping, implementation, code reviews, debugging, and critical technical deliverables. • Own technically complex initiatives end to end, from exploration and design through implementation, production readiness, and ongoing operation. • Improve developer-facing workflows for app creation, API access, documentation, usage visibility, and platform self-service. • Lead resolution of complex production issues and ensure solutions address root causes and improve the long-term health of the system. Engineering Excellence & Developer Productivity • Raise engineering standards through architecture and design reviews, code reviews, testing, operational readiness, and continuous improvement. • Champion practices and tooling that improve software quality, developer productivity, reliability, and delivery effectiveness while balancing speed with sustainable technical investment. • Use production signals, customer feedback, and engineering data to continuously improve systems and development practices. • Use AI-assisted development tools effectively across the software development lifecycle to improve engineering productivity and quality, while applying sound judgment around correctness, security, maintainability, and accountability. Mentorship & Organizational Impact • Mentor and develop engineers through technical guidance, design discussions, code reviews, and thoughtful feedback. • Share knowledge and technical context broadly to help engineers and teams solve complex problems more effectively. • Foster a collaborative engineering culture and constructive technical decision-making. Minimum Qualifications • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience. • 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, including leading technically complex initiatives. • Strong software engineering fundamentals and demonstrated experience designing, building, and operating production systems. • Demonstrated architecture and system-design experience with complex web applications, API platforms, distributed systems, or comparable production environments. • Hands-on programming experience with modern backend and/or frontend technologies, plus experience with cloud services, APIs, data stores, security, and production observability. • Experience using AI-assisted development tools in software engineering workflows, with sound judgment in evaluating and validating AI-generated outputs. • Experience delivering initiatives across multiple systems or teams and influencing technical decisions without relying on direct authority. • Strong written and verbal communication skills and demonstrated ability to mentor engineers and raise team effectiveness. Preferred Qualifications You do not need experience with every technology used by the team; we value the ability to learn unfamiliar technologies over exact stack matching. • Experience designing and operating cloud-based web applications, developer platforms, or APIs at scale. • Experience with technologies representative of our environment, such as Python/Django, JavaScript/TypeScript/React, AWS, relational databases, asynchronous processing, containers, CI/CD, and observability tooling. • Experience with API architecture, security, reliability, scalability, performance, and integrations across multiple services or external platforms. • Experience introducing, evaluating, or scaling AI-assisted engineering practices, automation, or modern developer workflows across teams. • Experience working with globally distributed engineering and cross-functional teams. 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! Salary transparency Salary is one part of Autodesk’s competitive compensation package. For Canada based roles, we expect a starting base salary between $131,000 and $191,400. 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. Belonging We take pride in cultivating a culture of belonging where everyone can thrive. Learn more here: https://www.autodesk.com/company/global-belonging In-Person Onboarding and Identity Verification This role may require in-person onboarding and/or in-person ID verification. Are you an existing contractor or consultant with Autodesk? Please search for open jobs and apply internally (not on this external site).