Principal Software Architect
About The Position
As a Principal Software Architect, you will define and drive the architectural vision and identify steps towards the target architecture for the HackerOne Platform, the foundation that powers our global community of security researchers and the thousands of organizations that rely on us to secure their digital ecosystems. You will lead cross-team technical strategy, ensuring our systems are scalable, reliable, secure, and designed for the future of AI-driven offensive security. Collaborating with Product Managers, Designers, and Engineering leadership, you will translate business strategy into cohesive, sustainable system architecture. Your work will have deep, long-term impact on HackerOne’s ability to innovate quickly, deliver reliably, and uphold the trust our customers place in us. At HackerOne, we embrace a Flexible Work approach that gives us the freedom to do our best work while also fostering the connections and community that make us stronger. Reflecting this philosophy, this is a remote role targeted for candidates within ~50 miles of Boston, Washington DC, or Austin. We believe this balance of proximity and flexibility gives Hackeronies the chance to occasionally come together – fostering collaboration, connection, and in-person moments that enrich our culture – while still preserving the benefits of remote work.
Requirements
- 10+ years of experience in software engineering and system architecture within a SaaS environment.
- Proven track record designing and delivering large-scale distributed systems, ideally using Ruby on Rails, ReactJS, TypeScript, GraphQL, and ElasticSearch/OpenSearch.
- Hands-on experience with GenAI and LLM integration in production systems; understanding of model lifecycle or AI-assisted architectures is a strong plus.
- Demonstrated experience leading architectural initiatives spanning multiple teams and product domains.
- Excellent communication and influence skills, capable of aligning technical and non-technical stakeholders around shared goals.
Nice To Haves
- Experience driving modernization and scalability initiatives in complex, legacy systems.
- Deep knowledge of system reliability, security, and performance optimization in high-availability environments.
- Proven ability to mentor engineers and elevate architectural and coding standards across an organization.
Responsibilities
- Define and evolve the architectural vision for HackerOne’s platform and core systems, ensuring scalability, reliability, and performance.
- Partner with Product, Platform, and Security teams to translate long-term business and product goals into actionable architectural strategies.
- Collaborate with Principal and Distinguished Engineers to align on technical direction, establish shared standards, and evolve HackerOne’s system design principles.
- Lead major cross-team initiatives that modernize our architecture, improve observability, and reduce complexity across our systems.
- Mentor and guide engineering teams, fostering a culture of technical excellence, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement.
- Evaluate and integrate emerging technologies, including AI, GenAI, and LLM-driven architectures, to enhance the intelligence and effectiveness of our platform.
- Drive architectural governance and documentation, ensuring long-term maintainability and transparency in decision-making.
- Communicate architectural direction clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, building alignment through clarity and evidence.
- Within your first 30–60–90 days, you’ll move from deeply understanding our systems and architecture, to identifying strategic opportunities, to leading architectural initiatives that impact teams company-wide.
- Win Together, Default to Disclosure, and Customer Obsession will be critical to your success in this role — as you collaborate openly, build trust across teams, and design systems that empower our customers and community.
Benefits
- Health (medical, vision, dental), life, and disability insurance
- Equity stock options
- Retirement plans
- Paid public holidays and unlimited PTO
- Paid maternity and parental leave
- Leaves of absence (including caregiver leave and leave under CO's Healthy Families and Workplaces Act)
- Employee Assistance Program
- Flexible Work Stipend
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Principal
Education Level
No Education Listed
Number of Employees
251-500 employees
