Principal Architect, Software Engineering — Sales Cloud (San Francisco)

To get the best candidate experience, please consider applying for a maximum of 3 roles within 12 months to ensure you are not duplicating efforts.Job CategorySoftware EngineeringJob DetailsAbout SalesforceSalesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans with agents drive customer success together. Here, ambition meets action. Tech meets trust. And innovation isn’t a buzzword — it’s a way of life. The world of work as we know it is changing and we're looking for Trailblazers who are passionate about bettering business and the world through AI, driving innovation, and keeping Salesforce's core values at the heart of it all.Ready to level-up your career at the company leading workforce transformation in the agentic era? You’re in the right place! Agentforce is the future of AI, and you are the future of Salesforce.About the TeamSales Cloud is Salesforce's flagship CRM product, the platform that helps the world's leading companies connect with their customers, close deals, and drive revenue growth. Our engineering organization is at the forefront of a fundamental shift in how enterprise software is built and experienced. We're reimagining the sales experience across every surface: headless CRM architectures, deep Slack integrations, lightweight product-led growth onboarding flows, and AI-native selling experiences powered by Agentforce.We operate as a lean, high-velocity org: small pods of product, design, and engineering working in tight, iterative cycles. We ship continuously, prototype in days, and hold ourselves to the highest standards of architectural quality and production reliability. About the RoleWe are seeking a Principal Architect who is also a hands-on, high-output software engineer, a builder-architect who moves fluidly from system design to code to production. This is not a traditional enterprise architecture position. We need someone who has designed, built, deployed, and operated large-scale systems, and who can personally write the software required to make complex architectures real.You will own end-to-end architecture across a portfolio of strategic initiatives: HeadlessSlack/CRM integrationSalesforce Starter Suite,Salesforce's all-in-one CRM for small and growing businessesSalesforce Go,a streamlined setup and feature discovery experience that helps admins quickly configure and activate Salesforce capabilities), andProduct Led Growth surfaces. You'll define the long-range plan and north star architecture in these areas, operating as the primary technical voice for your domain while elevating the engineering quality of the entire org.What You'll Be DoingNavigate technical and organizational complexity to drive cross-functional initiatives to completion; evaluate build vs. buy decisions and emerging platform capabilities (Agentforce, MCP, LLM APIs) with rigor and commercial awareness.Design and build large-scale distributed software platforms; writing production-quality code for core services, APIs, platform components, and reference implementations across architecture, infrastructure, security, and runtime.Design API-first, headless, and AI-native platform capabilities including secure tool invocation, model integration, context management, and agentic workflow automation.Implement and enforce security patterns for identity, authorization, API access, tenant isolation, and auditability; contribute to engineering-wide standards for API design, performance, and developer experience.Partner with other Principal Architects and senior engineers as a force multiplier: elevating technical quality through mentorship, design reviews, and thought leadership; own incident accountability for your domain.Champion AI-accelerated engineering practices: Claude-based development, MCP integrations, and agentic workflows; critically evaluate human- and AI-generated code for correctness, quality, security, and performance.Own and drive the long-range plan (LRP) and north star architecture for Headless, Slack/CRM integration, Starter Suite, Salesforce Go, and PLG initiatives; lead architecture reviews and product design discussions as the primary technical voice for your domain.What We're Looking ForRequired Qualifications12+ years of software engineering experience, with demonstrated success as a hands-on architect on large-scale, multi-tenant SaaS platforms. Deep expertise in distributed systems, cloud-native infrastructure (Kubernetes, containers, CI/CD, observability), API design, database optimization, and enterprise security and integration patterns. Strong server-side engineering skills in Java required.Solid foundation in web technologies (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) with the ability to work across the full frontend stack.Proven track record of using AI tools to accelerate software development;hands-on fluency with tools like Claude, Cursor, or equivalent; advanced prompt engineering skills; experience maintaining structured system context that keeps agentic workflows accurate and on mission.Proven ability to design and build AI-native product capabilities; deep familiarity with Agentforce, LLMs, MCP, agentic orchestration, RAG, vector databases, and integrating intelligent services into production software.Deep knowledge of CRM and enterprise B2B SaaS software; candidates with exclusively B2C backgrounds are not a fit. Familiarity with Salesforce platform architecture,including multi-tenancy, governor limits, security models, and Sales Cloud APIs (REST, Bulk, Streaming, Platform Events), is strongly preferred; experience with Data Cloud, Agentforce, and Hyperforce infrastructure a plus.Demonstrated ability to lead technical strategy across multiple engineering teams; acts as a genuine multiplier raising architectural quality through written design proposals, thorough design reviews, and executive-level communication.Excellent written and verbal communication skills; strong bias for action; able to drive ambiguous, cross-functional initiatives to completion despite organizational complexity.Proven knack for defensive project scoping that preemptively eliminates external bottlenecks and guarantees delivery velocity.Collaborative, low-ego working style that thrives in a dense community of strong architects and engineers.B.S./M.S. in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent experience.Preferred QualificationsExperience building product-led growth surfaces, self-serve onboarding flows, activation funnels, and lightweight CRM experiences.Experience in a product-engineering hybrid capacity bridging design and delivery.Salesforce platform certifications are a plus.The One-Person Startup: Be a trailblazer. You will operate with the autonomy and end-to-end ownership of a startup founder, from writing crisp product requirements to deploying final, production-grade solutions.The Founder's Instinct: You embody the All-in-One Builder mindset. You instinctively identify high-leverage problems, define the necessary solution, and execute the delivery with relentless drive.Agentic Mindset: You have proven, hands-on experience leveraging advanced AI coding tools (e.g., Claude, Cursor) to generate, test, and rapidly iterate on code, coupled with an insatiable hunger to integrate emerging AI capabilities.Unleash Your PotentialWhen you join Salesforce, you’ll be limitless in all areas of your life. Our benefits and resources support you to find balance and be your best, and our AI agents accelerate your impact so you can do your best. Together, we’ll bring the power of Agentforce to organizations of all sizes and deliver amazing experiences that customers love. Apply today to not only shape the future — but to redefine what’s possible — for yourself, for AI, and the world.AccommodationsIf you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please submit a request via this Accommodations Request Form.Please note that Salesforce uses artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help our recruiters assess and evaluate candidates’ resumes and qualifications throughout the recruiting process. Humans will always make any candidate selection and hiring decisions. Please see our Candidate Privacy Statement for more information about how we use your personal data and your rights, including with regard to use of AI tools and opt out options.Posting StatementSalesforce is an equal opportunity employer and maintains a policy of non-discrimination with all employees and applicants for employment. What does that mean exactly? It means that at Salesforce, we believe in equality for all. And we believe we can lead the path to equality in part by creating a workplace that’s inclusive, and free from discrimination. Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal. Any employee or potential employee will be assessed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications – without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, transgender status, age, disability, veteran or marital status, political viewpoint, or other classifications protected by law. This policy applies to current and prospective employees, no matter where they are in their Salesforce employment journey. It also applies to recruiting, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, assessment of job performance, discipline, termination, and everything in between. Recruiting, hiring, and promotion decisions at Salesforce are fair and based on merit. The same goes for compensation, benefits, promotions, transfers, reduction in workforce, recall, training, and education.In the United States, compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, job level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for incentive compensation, equity, and benefits. Salesforce offers a variety of benefits to help you live well including: time off programs, medical, dental, vision, ment