Principal Software Engineer, Platform

Vanta•,

1d•$321,000 - $378,000•Remote

About The Position

At Vanta, our mission is to help businesses earn and prove trust. We believe that security should be monitored and verified continuously, and we empower companies to practice better security and prove it with ease. Vanta has a kind and talented team, and while some have prior security experience, many have been successful at Vanta without it. Vanta is transforming how companies build and scale trust. As a Principal Engineer, you'll define the golden path for frontend development across the organization—establishing patterns, standards, and systems that enable our product engineering teams to ship faster while maintaining the highest quality. While Vanta has strong backend engineering practices, our frontend capabilities are still maturing. This is your opportunity to establish what "frontend good" looks like at Vanta: defining best practices for data layer architecture, state management, testing frameworks, and design systems. You'll work closely with our AI Developer Experience team on cutting-edge AI tooling and agentic feedback loops for AI-generated frontend code—ensuring our AI-assisted development maintains quality and consistency. You'll operate across multiple teams within both Platform and Product Engineering, especially our Design Systems and Frontend Platform teams to influence engineering-wide standards. This is a hands-on role where you'll embed with teams to solve complex problems, write code alongside engineers, and zoom out to write strategic documents for executive audiences. You'll partner directly with the Head of Platform Engineering to drive operational excellence and technical strategy for frontend at Vanta. Visit our Vanta Engineering Blog to learn more about what our team is working on!

Requirements

Expert-level proficiency in JavaScript and deep experience with modern frontend technologies
Experience with GraphQL and building scalable data architectures for web applications
Broad technical knowledge across testing frameworks, build systems, accessibility standards, internationalization, and localization
Proven track record of driving organization-wide technical initiatives and influencing engineering strategy
Demonstrated ability to balance hands-on technical work with strategic thinking and executive communication
Strong skills in building platforms and tools for other developers, with a focus on consumable APIs and excellent developer experience
Experience leading technical change while maintaining product velocity and quality
Ability to navigate ambiguity, identify high-leverage work, and know when to delegate versus embed deeply
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, capable of influencing peers and leadership across the organization
Track record of building relationships and navigating complex organizational dynamics
Open to using AI to amplify their skills and strengthen their work - demonstrating curiosity, a willingness to learn, and sound judgment in applying AI responsibly to improve efficiency and impact.

Responsibilities

Define and drive the technical strategy for frontend development across Vanta, establishing patterns and standards that scale
Establish best practices for data layer architecture, state management, testing frameworks, and design systems organization-wide
Partner with our AI Developer Experience team to build cutting-edge AI tooling and agentic feedback loops for AI-generated frontend code
Embed with teams to solve complex technical problems hands-on, spending approximately 50% of your time writing code
Drive operational excellence initiatives across Platform teams, including metrics definition, standard-setting, and org-wide rollout
Influence engineering-wide decisions and strategy through technical leadership and clear communication with executive audiences
Work across Design Systems, Frontend Platform, and Product Engineering teams to create shared solutions with broad organizational impact
Mentor and coach engineers across the organization, helping them level up their frontend skills and architectural thinking

Benefits

Industry-competitive salary and equity
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, with 100% of employee-only benefit premiums covered for most medical plans
16 weeks fully-paid Parental Leave for all new parents
Health & wellness stipend
Remote workspace, internet, and cellphone stipend
Commuter benefits for team members who report to the SF and NYC office
Family planning benefits
Matching 401(k) contribution with immediate vesting
Flexible PTO policy, plus 80 hours of Sick Time
11 company-paid holidays
Virtual team building activities, lunch and learns, and other company-wide events!