Principal Backend Architect - Distributed Systems Leader

Autodesk; California (MO); On-site; USD 139,000 - 249,000; Full time

Job summary

Autodesk seeks a Principal Software Engineer - Backend to lead backend and distributed systems within EDM. You will shape architecture, drive scalable services and APIs, and act as technical authority across multiple squads, with high autonomy.

The role emphasizes ownership of design accountability, operational excellence, and mentoring; familiarity with data engineering concepts is valuable alongside strong AWS and Python experience.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of backend and distributed systems engineering experience.
• Proven experience building enterprise platform services at scale.
• Strong knowledge of Python, AWS, and API integrations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide principal-level technical leadership across multiple backend teams.
• Author and evolve backend systems and APIs for scalability and reliability.
• Lead design of distributed, event-driven systems with consistency and backpressure considerations.
• Establish and drive service and API standards across domains.
• Act as a technical decision-maker for cross-team initiatives.
• Drive observability, incident response, and post-incident learning.
• Mentor senior engineers and emerging leaders.
• Partner with product, data, and platform leaders to translate problems into solutions.
• Remain hands-on on critical system design and high-severity incidents.

Skills

Backend engineering

Distributed systems design

API design

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science

Tools

Python

AWS

Kinesis

Kafka

CI/CD

Infrastructure as Code

Job description

Autodesk seeks a Principal Software Engineer - Backend to lead backend and distributed systems within EDM. You will shape architecture, drive scalable services and APIs, and act as technical authority across multiple squads, with high autonomy.

The role emphasizes ownership of design accountability, operational excellence, and mentoring; familiarity with data engineering concepts is valuable alongside strong AWS and Python experience.