Senior Software Engineer at Autodesk in Sheffield, GBP

Job description

• Autodesk is looking for a Senior Software Engineer to help design and build a reusable Electron and Chromium-based desktop platform for Autodesk web applications. In this hands-on individual contributor role, you will own complex areas of the desktop runtime, contribute to technical design decisions, guide implementation across Electron, Chromium, Node.js, and Windows, and help establish the engineering practices required to operate the platform reliably. You will solve challenging problems at the boundary between web applications and native desktop software while mentoring other engineers and collaborating across Autodesk teams.
• You enjoy solving problems that cross traditional frontend, backend, and systems-engineering boundaries. You are comfortable moving from TypeScript and Electron code into Chromium diagnostics, native operating-system behavior, build configuration, or security analysis when the problem requires it.
• You can take an open-ended technical problem, investigate the available options, make reasoned recommendations, and independently drive implementation while knowing when a broader architectural decision needs input from the technical lead,
• You enjoy helping other engineers succeed, improving the systems around you, and building shared infrastructure that is maintainable beyond the immediate feature or product.
• We are building a new desktop platform that enables Autodesk's web-based products to deliver richer, higher-performance experiences on Windows. Forma is the first product adopting the platform, with the longer-term goal of creating reusable desktop capabilities for additional Autodesk products.
• You will join a new cross-functional platform team working across Electron, Chromium, Windows desktop integration, software delivery, security, and enterprise deployment. You will work closely with the team's technical lead, software engineers, quality and release engineers, and partner teams throughout Autodesk.

Responsibilities

• Electron and desktop platform engineering - approximately 35%: Design, implement, and own significant areas of the Electron application, including process architecture, native integrations, web-to-desktop interfaces, and application lifecycle
• Chromium runtime engineering - approximately 25%: Own the configuration and integration of the Chromium runtime, including supported build settings, runtime flags, Electron and Chromium upgrades, feature enablement, compatibility analysis, and technical investigations
• Windows and native systems integration - approximately 20%: Design and implement integrations with Windows APIs and system capabilities such as hardware discovery, process management, application protocols, GPU preference, system configuration, and enterprise desktop behavior
• Architecture, reliability, and technical leadership - approximately 20%: Contribute to architecture decisions, security design, troubleshooting strategy, engineering standards, and the long-term maintainability of the platform
• Own moderately complex and complex features from initial investigation through technical design, implementation, validation, and delivery
• Break ambiguous technical work into actionable tasks, identify dependencies and risks, and coordinate with other engineers and partner teams when necessary
• Design secure boundaries between hosted web applications and privileged desktop functionality, including process isolation, API exposure, navigation controls, and inter-process communication
• Work with the technical lead and application-security partners to apply Electron and Chromium security best practices and address findings
• Define and maintain stable interfaces that allow Autodesk web applications to consume shared native desktop capabilities without creating product-specific forks
• Lead evaluation and adoption of new Electron and Chromium releases, investigate compatibility and performance implications, and recommend upgrade approaches
• Diagnose complex runtime, memory, startup, security, operating-system, and application-integration issues using Chromium tooling, native debuggers, profiling tools, crash diagnostics, and system telemetry
• Collaborate with the build and release engineer to ensure runtime dependencies and desktop components can be built, packaged, tested, and released reliably
• Work with product and specialist engineering teams to expose platform capabilities while keeping product-specific implementation outside the shared desktop layer
• Contribute to architecture decision records, technical documentation, coding standards, and operational runbooks
• Review code and designs from other engineers and provide constructive technical guidance
• Mentor less-experienced engineers and help them develop expertise in Electron, Chromium, desktop engineering, debugging, and secure application design
• Proactively identify technical debt, platform risks, and opportunities to simplify or improve the system

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience
• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience
• Strong software development experience with JavaScript/TypeScript and Node.js
• Experience developing Electron applications, Chromium-based applications, native desktop software, or comparable systems-level application platforms
• Strong understanding of application architecture, asynchronous programming, process boundaries, security, and software lifecycle management
• Experience independently delivering complex software features from design through production
• Strong debugging and troubleshooting skills across multiple components or technology layers
• Experience with automated testing, source control, code review, and modern continuous integration practices
• Ability to communicate technical trade-offs and work effectively with engineers across multiple teams
• Deep experience with Electron architecture, including main, renderer, preload, context isolation, inter-process communication, and security configuration
• Understanding of Chromium architecture, runtime configuration, feature flags, release cycles, or build systems
• Experience with C++, native Node.js modules, or bindings between JavaScript and native platform APIs
• Experience with Windows systems programming or Windows desktop APIs
• Experience diagnosing memory, process, performance, or crash problems in Chromium-based applications
• Familiarity with Chromium or Electron build tooling such as GN and Ninja
• Experience with Windows installers, application signing, enterprise software deployment, or application updating
• Experience designing APIs or shared platform components consumed by multiple applications or teams
• Experience with software security threat modeling or secure desktop application design
• Experience mentoring engineers or providing technical leadership within a development team

Skills

Required

• JavaScript/TypeScript
• Node.js
• Electron
• Chromium
• native desktop software
• application architecture
• asynchronous programming
• process boundaries
• security
• software lifecycle management
• debugging
• troubleshooting

Preferred

• C++
• native Node.js modules
• Windows systems programming
• Windows desktop APIs
• GN
• Ninja
• Windows installers
• application signing