Director of Engineering, Graph (San Jose)

The Opportunity We’re building Graph, a node-based creative platform that is simultaneously a powerful developer infrastructure and a creator-facing product. This is a foundational leadership role for someone who can architect systems, inspire teams, and ship things that matter. The Role Graphis not a feature, it’s an operating system for creative expression. A unified node-based execution layer that powers generative AI workflows, orchestrates multimodal media pipelines, and gives creators and developers a composable, programmable canvas. As Director of Engineering, you will own the technical execution of this system: from the real-time interactive graph editor used by creators, to the distributed execution engine that powers APIs, automations, and product surfaces underneath. You’ll partner directly with Product, Design and Architecture, and scale a high-performing team while staying hands-on enough to shape key technical decisions. What You’ll Own PRODUCT & PLATFORM Lead engineering team for building Graph as both a creator-facing application (visual workflow builder) and a platform layer (execution engine + APIs powering multiple product surfaces). Partner with Product and Design to define interaction models, primitives, and UX paradigms. ARCHITECTURE Work closely with the architect for the node-based execution engine (real-time + async), stateful workflow composition and persistence, and graph execution across heterogeneous systems: GenAI services, media processing, and external APIs. Ensure a shared execution layer across all surfaces. GENERATIVE AI Integrate first- and third-party GenAI models into graph nodes. Build abstractions for prompting, chaining, and multi-step pipelines. Enable reusable, composable “capsule” nodes for multimodal inputs and outputs across text, image, video, 3D and audio. TEAM LEADERSHIP Build and lead a high-performing team across frontend, backend, and platform. Drive execution across multiple workstreams with clear ownership and accountability. Establish strong engineering practices around code quality, testing, reliability, and dev velocity. EXTENSIBILITY Design Graph as a platform for internal and external developers. Enable third-party integrations, custom node creation, and API-first access to workflows. Define clear contracts between the platform and product layers. What We’re Looking For Experience 12+ years in software engineering, with 5+ years in engineering leadership roles - managing teams, running programs, and owning hiring People development, career conversations, performance management, and team morale Proven experience building complex platforms or developer-facing systems at scale Track record shipping interactive products, creative tools, IDEs, design systems, or similar Strong background in building distributed systems Technical Fluency Technically literate enough to understand platform architecture, hold engineers accountable, and represent technical trade-offs upward Familiarity with distributed systems, APIs, or creative tooling is a plus Comfortable working in a system where architectural authority sits with a Principal Engineer Leadership & Product Mindset Operates at both strategy and execution levels, capable of writing a technical brief and unblocking an engineer in the same day, whenever required Strong instincts for user workflows and product experience, not just systems architecture Translates ambiguity into clear technical direction with minimal hand-holding Experienced cross-functional partner for Product, Design, Customers and executive stakeholders Nice to have Experience with node-based systems (visual programming, shader graphs, NLE timelines, etc.) Background in creative tools, imaging, design, video, audio, or 3D Experience building extensible platforms or developer ecosystems Familiarity with agentic systems or workflow automation frameworks Open source contributions or community-facing platform work #FireflyGenAIAbout AdobeAdobe empowers everyone to create through innovative platforms and tools that unleash creativity, productivity and personalized customer experiences. Adobe’s industry-leading offerings including Adobe Acrobat Studio, Adobe Express, Adobe Firefly, Creative Cloud, Adobe Experience Platform, Adobe Experience Manager, and GenStudio enable people and businesses to turn ideas into impact, powered by AI and driven by human ingenuity.Our 30,000+ employees worldwide are creating the future and raising the bar as we drive the next decade of growth. We’re on a mission to hire the very best and believe in creating a company culture where all employees are empowered to make an impact. At Adobe, we believe that great ideas can come from anywhere in the organization. The next big idea could be yours. Let’s Adobe togetherAt Adobe, we believe in creating a company culture where all employees are empowered to make an impact. Learn more about Adobe life, including our values and culture, focus on people, purpose and community, Adobe for All, comprehensive benefits programs, the stories we tell, the customers we serve, and how you can help us advance our mission of empowering everyone to create.Adobe is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on gender, race or color, ethnicity or national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. Learn more.Adobe aims to make our Careers website and recruiting process accessible to any and all users. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation to navigate our website or complete the application process, email View email address on apply.placed-app.com or call View phone number on apply.placed-app.com. AI Use Guidelines for Interviews:Our interviews are designed to reflect your own skills and thinking. The use of AI or recording tools during live interviews is not permitted unless explicitly invited by the interviewer or approved in advance as part of a reasonable accommodation. If these tools are used inappropriately or in a way that misrepresents your work, your application may not move forward in the process.At Adobe, we empower employees to innovate with AI — and we look for candidates eager to do the same. As part of the hiring experience, we provide clear guidance on where AI is encouraged during the process and where it’s restricted during live interviews. See how we think about AI in the hiring experience.Expected Pay Range:Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several  U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets. The U.S. pay range for this position is $186,500 -- $358,250 annually. Pay within this range varies by work location and may also depend on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for the job location during the hiring process.

In California, the pay range for this position is $247,400 - $358,250
In Washington, the pay range for this position is $228,600 - $331,050
At Adobe, for sales roles starting salaries are expressed as total target compensation (TTC = base + commission), and short-term incentives are in the form of sales commission plans. Non-sales roles starting salaries are expressed as base salary and short-term incentives are in the form of the Annual Incentive Plan (AIP).In addition, certain roles may be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of a new hire equity award.State-Specific Notices:California:Fair Chance OrdinancesAdobe will consider qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records for employment in accordance with state and local laws and “fair chance” ordinances.Colorado:Application Window NoticeIf this role is open to hiring in Colorado (as listed on the job posting), the application window will remain open until at least the date and time stated above in Pacific Time, in compliance with Colorado pay transparency regulations. If this role does not have Colorado listed as a hiring location, no specific application window applies, and the posting may close at any time based on hiring needs.Massachusetts:Massachusetts Legal NoticeIt is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.SummaryLocation: San Jose; SeattleType: Full time