Principal Software Developer (Java) - Hybrid

Are you passionate about pushing the boundaries of 3D visualization? Imagine loading a multi-gigabyte 3D model in your browser and smoothly interacting with it within seconds.

Autodesk’s Visualization Data Services team is building that experience, and we’re looking for a Principal Engineer to help us expand it even further.

We own the cloud pipelines that convert raw design files into streaming-ready assets and the high-throughput services that deliver them to any device. In this role you’ll steer the technical execution of those services, partnering with system architects and client-rendering teams and drive innovation to cut latency, shrink data volume, and reduce cloud costs, without ever slowing our customers down.

If optimizing complex performance issues, scaling distributed systems, and collaborating across teams and functions energize you, join our hybrid Toronto hub and shape the next generation of visualization technology that empowers millions to imagine, design, and make a better world. You will report directly to the Senior Software Development Manager based in Toronto.

• Result Oriented: You finish the job, then look for the next 10x improvement.

• Continuous Learner: You actively explore emerging technologies, measure its impact, and share insights widely.

• Build Trust: You communicate with clarity and transparency, surface risks and trade-offs early, and follow through.

• Team Player: You build a collaborative environment by fostering inclusive dialogue, actively seeking diverse perspectives, and celebrating collective achievements.

• Lead all aspects of software development, creating and maintaining reliable, secure, scalable, and high-traffic services by leveraging modern cloud technologies.

• Drive team-level outcomes and initiatives, collaborating across functions to achieve organizational goals.

• Contribute to and influence data processing and streaming capabilities across Autodesk, ensuring efficient, scalable, and secure solutions.

• Exhibit strong leadership by driving large-scale, complex projects requiring collaboration among engineers and cross-functional teams.

• Provide guidance and remove obstacles for your Scrum team and broader colleagues to enhance productivity and collaboration.

• Lead large, cross-team initiatives, define scope, plan execution, and deliver complex milestones on time through effective oversight.

• Collaborate with architects, product managers, and stakeholders to iteratively transform high-level requirements into incremental product enhancements.

• Shape software design and architecture by incorporating cloud expertise throughout the development lifecycle, improving performance, team processes, and collaboration.

• Take ownership of large-scale platforms, overseeing engineering practices, solution design, quality, deployment, and ongoing support.

• Drive improvements in engineering practices and act as a force multiplier for the team by providing technical mentorship, guidance, and proactive support to team members and peers, offering expertise in design, architecture, and coding practices.

• Lead technical discussions across the organization, aligning outcomes with business objectives.

• Demonstrate leadership in incident response by driving investigations, timely resolutions, and implementing preventive improvements.

• Thoroughly document and present solutions to stakeholders, ensuring clarity and alignment.

• Recommend and implement best practices for design, architecture, and development processes.

• Stay ahead of emerging trends and technologies to anticipate and address future development needs.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

• 10+ years of hands-on experience in software design and development, with a strong emphasis on building and operating highly scalable, distributed, and performant cloud-based services.

• Proven track record of architecting and delivering solutions for efficiently processing and streaming large-scale datasets (e.g., terabytes of data, gigabyte-sized individual assets).

• Exceptional problem-solving skills with a demonstrated ability to analyze complex systems, identify critical issues, and implement effective solutions, particularly in the realm of system performance optimizations and innovations around that.

• Deep, hands-on experience with AWS cloud services and designing resilient, scalable cloud-native architectures.

• Proficiency with NoSQL databases (e.g., DynamoDB, MongoDB, Cassandra), including data modeling, performance tuning, and scalable deployment strategies.

• Significant experience leading large technical projects, including making impactful design and trade-off decisions and driving initiatives to completion.

• Demonstrated excellence in cross-functional collaboration, with experience working effectively with multiple engineering teams, product management, and other stakeholders.

• Proficiency in core languages such as Java and Node.js is essential. Experience with C++ and Python is a significant plus.

• Strong understanding of system architecture, data structures, algorithms, concurrency, and distributed computing principles.

• Experience with API design (e.g., REST, gRPC) and data interchange formats (e.g., Protobuf, JSON).

• Familiarity with Agile development methodologies.

• Experience specifically with 3D model data, geometry processing, mesh optimization, or visualization pipelines.

• Knowledge of advanced data compression techniques, level-of-detail (LOD) strategies, and streaming protocols optimized for 3D assets or large binary data.

• Experience with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and strategies for global data distribution.

• Familiarity with containerization (Docker) and orchestration (Kubernetes) technologies.

• Proficiency with CI/CD tools and practices (e.g., Jenkins, Spinnaker) and Infrastructure as Code (e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation).

• Experience with observability tools for monitoring, logging, and tracing in distributed systems (e.g., Dynatrace, Prometheus, Grafana, Splunk).

• Understanding of network protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP/2, WebSockets) and their impact on streaming performance.

• Experience mentoring senior engineers and driving technical strategy at a team or organizational level.

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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 – our Culture Code is at the core of everything we do. Our values and ways of working help our people thrive and realize their potential, which leads to even better outcomes for our customers.

When you’re an Autodesker, you can be your whole, authentic self and do meaningful work that helps build a better future for all. Ready to shape the world and your future? Join us!

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We take pride in cultivating a culture of belonging and an equitable workplace where everyone can thrive. Learn more here: https://www.autodesk.com/company/diversity-and-belonging

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