Staff Software Engineer - AI-Driven SaaS Architect

Appfolio; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 167,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

AppFolio is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to lead the architectural evolution of the Leasing Engineering Domain and own the system architecture for next-generation agentic AI products. This hands-on, full-stack leadership role translates sophisticated AI capabilities into robust SaaS infrastructure to simplify customer operations.

Collaborating with ML, Product, and UX teams, you will guide architectural decisions, drive delivery, and coach engineers toward scalable, reliable solutions in an

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience developing and scaling web-based applications.
• Experience leading architectural discussions and technical decision-making.
• Experience integrating AI/ML into production-grade applications.

Responsibilities

• Drive the technical vision and strategy across Leasing teams and influence the product roadmap.
• Lead design and implementation of distributed systems powering agentic AI, balancing innovation with reliability and security.
• Coach engineers and foster a high-trust, autonomous culture with ownership and continuous learning.

Skills

Distributed systems leadership

Architectural decision-making

AI/ML integration

Full-stack leadership

Team coaching

Education

CS degree (BSc/MSc/PhD)

Tools

Ruby on Rails

React

AWS

SOA architectures

Job description

AppFolio is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to lead the architectural evolution of the Leasing Engineering Domain and own the system architecture for next-generation agentic AI products. This hands-on, full-stack leadership role translates sophisticated AI capabilities into robust SaaS infrastructure to simplify customer operations.

Collaborating with ML, Product, and UX teams, you will guide architectural decisions, drive delivery, and coach engineers toward scalable, reliable solutions in an