Principal Software Engineer, Github
Front End Web UI Platform
$160.2-425k
AI-powered developer platform to build, scale & deliver secure software
Be an early applicant
AI-powered developer platform to build, scale & deliver secure software
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$160.2-425k
1001+ employees
Company mission
To help every developer—regardless of experience level—learn, code, and ship software effectively.
Role
Who you are
- 11+ years experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python
- OR Associate's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Math, Physics, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 10+ years experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python
- OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field AND 9+ years experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python
- OR Master's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Math, Physics, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 7+ years experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python
- OR Doctorate in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Math, Physics, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 5+ years experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python
- OR equivalent experience
Desirable
- Deep knowledge of React internals and server-side rendering, with experience modernizing frontend systems in large, multi-team codebases
- Track record of improving web performance (Core Web Vitals, interaction latency, bundle size) through systematic, data-driven work
- Experience leading cross-team frontend migrations and rollouts, managing sequencing, deprecation, and incremental adoption across many engineers
- Strong command of web platform and accessibility fundamentals (browser APIs, a11y standards, TypeScript, CSS) and how they interact with framework-level abstractions
- Experience building design systems, shared component libraries, or paved-path tooling that many teams adopt
What the job involves
- We're looking for a Principal Software Engineer to set technical direction across that platform and raise the ceiling on what the frontend can do for millions of developers
- This is a systems role, not a single-team role. You'll work across the concerns that overlap in frontend at scale: performance, accessibility, UX consistency, and availability
- Much of the work is evolving a large, actively developed codebase rather than starting from scratch, so success depends as much on migration strategy and cross-team alignment as on architecture. You'll shape paved paths that many teams adopt, not one-off solutions that rely on heroics
- You'll partner closely with other Principal and Staff engineers, Engineering Managers, and Product and Design leadership to decide where the platform goes next and to drive that direction to real, shipped outcomes
- Own the technical direction for GitHub's web UI platform across performance, accessibility, consistency, and availability, balancing long-term architecture with hands-on execution
- Drive large cross-team initiatives and migrations, sequencing the work so the platform moves forward without disrupting active product development
- Establish patterns, standards, and paved paths for frontend development that lower cognitive load and scale across many teams
- Produce architecture and design proposals, evaluate tradeoffs honestly, and build alignment across engineering, product, and design
- Mentor and raise the bar for engineers at every level through design review, code review, and pairing
- Represent frontend platform priorities to leadership, securing the support and resourcing needed to deliver
- What Success Looks Like in the First 6 Months
- You've built a deep working understanding of GitHub's frontend systems, infrastructure, and their backend dependencies, and you're using it to make informed, high-leverage decisions
- You're leading at least one platform-wide initiative that measurably improves performance, availability, frontend infrastructure, or developer velocity
- Teams are adopting the patterns and paved paths you've shaped, with less need for direct hand-holding
Our take
GitHub was founded to make a developer’s job easier with open and asynchronous communication, distributed version control, and source code management with Git. In the first year alone, 100,000 users were pushing code on the site.
GitHub has quickly become the world’s most popular platform for developers to collaborate on open-source projects from anywhere. Nearly every major company including Facebook, Google, and Apple hosts open-source projects on GitHub.
Github's work culture reflects its global community, with employees collaborating remotely from all over the world. In 2018, Microsoft acquired the company as part of its broader strategy to enhance cloud computing services. Since then, GitHub has been dedicated to evolving its platform, consistently investing in ongoing development to better serve its users.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
18% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (2 rounds)
Jul 2015
$250m
SERIES B
Jul 2012
$100m
SERIES A
Total funding: $350m
Company benefits
- Flexible time away to support balance in your work and life
- Clear diversity, inclusion, and anti-discrimination policies backed by business practices and company culture
- Five months of paid family leave to all new parents with the option to use it all at once or throughout the child’s first year
- Family forming benefits that cover fertility, infertility, adoption, and surrogacy costs and support
- Mental health benefits that offer resources and support and cover therapy and coaching sessions for you and your dependents
- Generous 401(k) matching with 50% match up to the IRS 402(g) limit (US; competitive non-US pension options internationally)
- Employee stock purchase plan that lets you purchase Microsoft stock at a discount. (Microsoft is our parent company.)
- 100% of medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums covered by GitHub for you + your dependents. (Includes gender-affirming benefits)
Company HQ
South Beach, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Kyle Daigle
(COO)Prior to GitHub, Kyle took on developer-focused challenges as an engineering and product leader in startups, working in FinTech, real estate, and consulting.
Vladimir Fedorov
(CTO)Before joining GitHub, Vlad co-founded UserClouds, a startup specializing in data governance and privacy. He spent 12 years at Facebook as SVP, leading engineering teams across Privacy, Ads, and Platform.
Share this job
View 1 more job at Github