Principal Software Architect - Washington D.C. - HackerOne

Description

HackerOne is a global leader in Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM). The HackerOne Platform unites agentic AI solutions with the ingenuity of the world's largest community of security researchers to continuously discover, validate, prioritize, and remediate exposures across code, cloud, and AI systems. Through solutions like bug bounty, vulnerability disclosure, agentic pentesting, AI red teaming, and code security, HackerOne delivers measurable, continuous reduction of cyber risk for enterprises. Industry leaders, including Anthropic, , General Motors, Goldman Sachs, Lufthansa, Uber, UK Ministry of Defence, and the U.S. Department of Defense, trust HackerOne to safeguard their digital ecosystems. HackerOne was recognized in Gartner's Emerging Tech Impact Radar: AI Cybersecurity Ecosystem report for its leadership in AI Security Testing and has been named a Most Loved Workplace for Young Professionals
HackerOne is at a pivotal inflection point in the security industry. Offensive security is no longer optional - it is the standard for forward-thinking companies that want to build trust and resilience in a world where AI-driven innovation and adversaries are moving faster than ever. With the industry shifting, HackerOne stands apart: we combine the ingenuity of the largest security research community with a best-in-class AI-powered platform, trusted by the world's top organizations.
HackerOne Values
HackerOne is dedicated to fostering a strong and inclusive culture. HackerOne is Customer Obsessed and prioritizes customer outcomes in our decisions and actions. We Default to Disclosure by operating with transparency and integrity, ensuring trust and accountability. Employees, researchers, customers, and partners Win Together by fostering empowerment, inclusion, respect, and accountability.
Principal Software Architect
Eligible Remote Locations:
- Boston, MA
- Austin, TX
- Washington, DC
Position Summary
As a Principal Software Architect, you will define and drive the architectural vision and identify steps towards the target architecture for the HackerOne Platform, the foundation that powers our global community of security researchers and the thousands of organizations that rely on us to secure their digital ecosystems.
You will lead cross-team technical strategy, ensuring our systems are scalable, reliable, secure, and designed for the future of AI-driven offensive security. Collaborating with Product Managers, Designers, and Engineering leadership, you will translate business strategy into cohesive, sustainable system architecture. Your work will have deep, long-term impact on HackerOne's ability to innovate quickly, deliver reliably, and uphold the trust our customers place in us.
At HackerOne, we embrace a Flexible Work approach that gives us the freedom to do our best work while also fostering the connections and community that make us stronger. Reflecting this philosophy, this is a remote role targeted for candidates within ~50 miles of Boston, Washington DC, or Austin. We believe this balance of proximity and flexibility gives Hackeronies the chance to occasionally come together - fostering collaboration, connection, and in-person moments that enrich our culture - while still preserving the benefits of remote work.
What You Will Do

• Define and evolve the architectural vision for HackerOne's platform and core systems, ensuring scalability, reliability, and performance.
• Partner with Product, Platform, and Security teams to translate long-term business and product goals into actionable architectural strategies.
• Collaborate with Principal and Distinguished Engineers to align on technical direction, establish shared standards, and evolve HackerOne's system design principles.
• Lead major cross-team initiatives that modernize our architecture, improve observability, and reduce complexity across our systems.
• Mentor and guide engineering teams, fostering a culture of technical excellence, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement.
• Evaluate and integrate emerging technologies, including AI, GenAI, and LLM-driven architectures, to enhance the intelligence and effectiveness of our platform.
• Drive architectural governance and documentation, ensuring long-term maintainability and transparency in decision-making.
• Communicate architectural direction clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, building alignment through clarity and evidence.
• Within your first days, you'll move from deeply understanding our systems and architecture, to identifying strategic opportunities, to leading architectural initiatives that impact teams company-wide.

Win Together, Default to Disclosure, and Customer Obsession will be critical to your success in this role - as you collaborate openly, build trust across teams, and design systems that empower our customers and community.
Minimum Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in software engineering and system architecture within a SaaS environment.
• Proven track record designing and delivering large-scale distributed systems, ideally using Ruby on Rails, ReactJS, TypeScript, GraphQL, and ElasticSearch/OpenSearch.
• Hands-on experience with GenAI and LLM integration in production systems; understanding of model lifecycle or AI-assisted architectures is a strong plus.
• Demonstrated experience leading architectural initiatives spanning multiple teams and product domains.
• Excellent communication and influence skills, capable of aligning technical and non-technical stakeholders around shared goals.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience driving modernization and scalability initiatives in complex, legacy systems.
• Deep knowledge of system reliability, security, and performance optimization in high-availability environments.
• Proven ability to mentor engineers and elevate architectural and coding standards across an organization.

Compensation
$230,000 - $255,000
(HackerOne also offers equity in the form of stock options)
#LI-MH1
Job Benefits:

• Health (medical, vision, dental), life, and disability insurance*
• Equity stock options
• Retirement plans
• Paid public holidays and unlimited PTO
• Paid maternity and parental leave
• Leaves of absence (including caregiver leave and leave under CO's Healthy Families and Workplaces Act)
• Employee Assistance Program

*Eligibility may differ by country
We're committed to building a global team For certain roles outside the United States, India, the U.K., and the Netherlands, we partner with as our Employer of Record (EOR).
Visa/work permit sponsorship is not available.
Employment at HackerOne is contingent on a background check.
HackerOne is an Equal Opportunity Employer in the terms and conditions of employment for all employees and job applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, gender identity or gender expression, national origin, pregnancy, disability or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by international, federal, state, or local laws.
This policy applies to all HackerOne employment practices, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. HackerOne makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.