Design System Software Architect

Position Overview

As a global leader in 3D design, engineering, and entertainment software, Autodesk helps people imagine, design, and make a better world. Autodesk accelerates better design through an unparalleled depth of experience and a broad portfolio of software to give customers the power to solve their design, business, and environmental challenges. This is an exciting time to join us on our multi-year journey to disrupt the Design to Manufacture world with Fusion 360 by delivering unprecedented value and converging workflows with cloud-based technology. We are rapidly combining many world leading technologies and teams into the Fusion 360 family.

The role is in the Platform Organization within the Product Design and Manufacturing Solutions division. This team defines and builds the software platform the Fusion 360 family of products is built upon. The vision also includes using these frameworks and platform technologies supporting larger Autodesk initiatives. We are looking for an experienced, ambitious and self-driven Software Architect to help us fulfill the mission of the organization which is to drive our current and new efforts in the mission for achieving cross platform device independence and a key stakeholder and a strong influencer for our Client Platform efforts around Libraries, UI toolkits and more.

This role also drives the strategic technical direction of the platform organization and influences the direction of initiatives such that it is for Autodesk. Oversees applied research and advanced engineering in the development of new platform deliverables, artifacts, services, or processes. Provides guidance to senior management on advanced technical issues, products, and technical acquisitions. When required, works with Legal to formalize licenses and evaluate technical investments.

Responsibilities

· Lead the end-to-end architecture and implementation of Weave Design System, ensuring robust support for iconography, typography, design tokens, themes, and accessible toolkits across platforms

· Own the strategy and guide the execution for toolkit development and maintenance for different tech stacks, including Web and Native, ensuring maximum feature parity and seamless developer experience across tech stacks

· Define and manage the lifecycle of design tokens: specification, packaging, distribution, and integration with engineering and design workflows

· Establish and enforce standards for component libraries, patterns, and assets, driving consistency and scalability

· Collaborate with cross-functional teams (design, engineering, product) to align design system architecture with business goals and technical constraints

· Identify and resolve complexities arising from multi-tech stack implementations, including interoperability, versioning, and platform-specific challenges

· Provide hands-on technical leadership, conducting code reviews, prototyping, and direct contributions to toolkit and system codebases

· Mentor and guide teams in adopting and evolving the design system, fostering best practices and continuous improvement

· Monitor and optimize system performance, scalability, and resilience, proactively addressing technical debt and future-proofing the architecture

· Stay current with industry trends in design systems, toolkits, and UI technologies, evaluating and integrating new approaches as appropriate

Minimum Qualifications

· Bachelor’s degree in computer science or other relevant engineering discipline

· 5 years of experience as a Software Architect or similar role

· Minimum 15 years of professional experience developing, architecting desktop, web, or mobile client-server based experiences

· Current knowledge of React, MUI, web standards, accessibility and specifications

· 3+ years experience as a Design Systems Architect

· Experience using Figma and providing interoperability with other systems.

· Experience with Design Tokens and Design Tokens architecture: specifying them, packaging them for adopting teams, and guiding refactoring

· Experience with multiple toolkits (some for web platforms, some for native platforms) in a Design System and guiding the teams to maintain parity between them

· Good leadership skills

· The sense of ownership and pride in your performance and its impact on the company’s success

· Critical thinker and problem-solving skills

· Ability to work well in a team to deliver on team goals

· Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English

Preferred Qualifications

· Experience with Scrum methodology

· Mobile and Browser development experience is a plus

· Ability to learn large software systems quickly