Principal Software Engineer, Developer Productivity

Principal Software Engineer, Developer Productivity Get AI-powered advice on this job and more exclusive features. Dropbox is a Virtual First company. For this role, we are currently only authorized to hire candidates from the following provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. Company Description Dropbox isn’t just a workplace—it’s a living lab for more enlightened ways of working. We're a global community of bold visionaries and resourceful doers who are shaping the future of Dropbox—and with it the future of work. Our Virtual First model combines the autonomy of a distributed workplace with the power of human connection, making space for both meaningful work and meaningful relationships. With our start-up mindset and enterprise-level opportunities, you can be who you are and grow into who you’re meant to be. Here, you can own your impact to make work more intuitive, joyful, and human—for you as a Dropboxer and for hundreds of millions of people worldwide. If you're ready to push boundaries—and yourself—Dropbox is ready for you. Team Description The Dropbox Engineering Team builds the technology that creates more enlightened ways of working for hundreds of millions of people. Every day, our platforms—including Dropbox Dash, Dropbox Sign, and our core sync engine—handle over a billion files for users worldwide, creating engineering challenges as great as the opportunity for impact. Our software engineering team uses a range of technologies to solve interesting problems, including Python, React, Node.js, JavaScript, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, and Android development. We think like a startup but build for an enterprise, exploring new possibilities that transform how people work. If you're excited about turning complex technical challenges into intuitive solutions at scale, join our Engineering team. Areas of work include: Machine Learning Engineers Infrastructure Engineer Product SWE Frontend and Backend Mobile Software Engineers (iOS and Android) Engineering Manager Data Engineer Software Development Engineer in Test Security Engineering Site Reliability Engineer Technical Program Managers Network Engineer Datacenter Engineer Technical Supply Chain Manager and more. Role Description Dropbox is seeking a Principal Engineer to define the long-term technical vision and execution strategy for Developer Productivity. This role will serve as the architectural and strategic leader for building a modern, AI-augmented internal developer experience platform serving Dropbox engineers across our multi-product stack. In this high-impact, cross-cutting role, you’ll shape how development flows from idea to production—streamlining workflows, reducing friction, and introducing agentic workflows that enable faster, higher-quality software delivery. You’ll work across distributed systems, address the challenges of a complex monorepo, and introduce intelligent systems that empower developers through automation, guidance, and seamless tooling integration. This is a career-defining opportunity to reimagine how software gets built at scale—and bring the promise of AI to everyday developer tasks. Responsibilities Define the long-term architecture for Dropbox’s developer productivity platform, including a unified internal developer portal (“Dropbox Console”), default workflows, and intelligent agents. Own platform-wide architectural patterns that streamline the entire SDLC: from local dev and CI to testing, debugging, and deployment. Build abstractions and systems that scale across monorepo, multi-platform (desktop/web/mobile), and hybrid cloud/on-prem environments. Lead the design and implementation of agentic workflows for core developer tasks—code reviews, test generation, flaky test triage, documentation, migrations, etc. Design systems that embed safe and assistive AI directly into development surfaces and tools, enabling faster iteration while preserving quality and auditability. Define best practices for integrating LLMs into engineering workflows, including supervision checkpoints, rollback strategies, and metrics. Partner with infrastructure, product, and engineering teams to identify bottlenecks and define metrics that matter for business outcomes. Drive migration from fragmented tools and tribal workflows to a unified platform that enables flow-state for developers. Set and enforce standards for quality, safety, and reliability of automation and AI workflows. Serve as a technical multiplier, mentoring teams across Dropbox and raising the bar on system design, platform thinking, and developer empathy. Collaborate deeply with PMs, DX researchers, SREs, and leadership to align priorities and deliver developer delight. Represent Dropbox in the external platform and AI productivity communities through talks, papers, and open-source contributions where appropriate. Requirements 12+ years of engineering experience with a deep background in distributed systems, internal developer platforms, or DevProd infrastructure. Deep understanding of monorepos, complex CI/CD setups, local development, multi-platform development, and developer journey mapping. Demonstrated experience building large-scale platforms with high reliability, composability, and extensibility. Passionate about AI, with hands‑on experience (or deep exposure) to integrating LLMs, RAG systems, or intelligent assistants into engineering workflows. Strong product sense and empathy for developer pain—capable of translating data and feedback into high-leverage solutions. Preferred Qualifications Experience leading or contributing to AI developer tooling, or developer experience. Proven success operating as a principal+ level engineer across large orgs. Compensation Canada Pay Range: $244,000—$330,100 CAD The range listed above is the expected annual salary/OTE for this role, subject to change. Salary/OTE is just one component of Dropbox’s total rewards package. All regular employees are also eligible for the corporate bonus program or a sales incentive (target included in OTE) as well as stock in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). Benefits Competitive medical, dental and vision coverage* Retirement savings through a defined contribution pension or savings plan** Flexible PTO/Paid Time Off, paid holidays, Volunteer Time Off, and more, allowing you time to unplug, unwind, and refresh. Income Protection Plans: Life and disability insurance* Business Travel Protection: Travel medical and accident insurance* Perks Allowance to be used on what matters most to you, whether that’s wellness, learning and development, food and groceries, and much more. Parental benefits including: Parental Leave, Fertility Benefits, Adoptions and Surrogacy support, and Lactation support. Mental health and wellness benefits Additional Benefits Details Are Available Upon Request. Dropbox supports responsible use of AI for preparation, but misrepresentation of skills or experience is not permitted. See our AI philosophy. Dropbox is an equal opportunity employer. We are a welcoming place for everyone, and we do our best to make sure all people feel supported and connected at work. A big part of that effort is our support for members and allies of internal groups like Asians at Dropbox, BlackDropboxers, enABLE, TODOS (Latinx), Pridebox (LGBTQ), Vets at Dropbox, and Women at Dropbox. 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