Principal Architect

The OpportunityAdobe Stock provides millions of customers with access to high-quality creative content coordinated across Adobe’s products and workflows. As content creation, discovery, licensing, and consumption evolve through generative and agentic AI, our architecture must enable new customer experiences while maintaining performance, reliability, security, governance, and trust.We are seeking a Principal Architect to serve as the architectural authority for Adobe Stock. This role owns end-to-end architecture, guides the development of critical features and services, and translates strategic objectives into coherent, scalable, and achievable technical plans.Success demands outstanding technical judgment, skill in resolving complex disagreements across teams, and a demonstrated record of converting business objectives into production-grade systems and adopted architectural standards.What you'll DoSet long-term architectural and technology direction in alignment with Adobe’s product, technical, and business strategy.Assess the architectural feasibility of strategic objectives, identifying dependencies, risks, tradeoffs, investment needs, and viable paths to execution.Lead the architecture of large-scale systems supporting content search, discovery, delivery, licensing, generative AI, agentic workflows, and customer experiences.Shape the integration of AI-native and agentic capabilities into production workflows.Establish architectural patterns and standards for APIs, microservices, frontend architecture, event-driven systems, data platforms, and cross-product integrations.Identify systemic technical risks and architectural gaps, then work with leaders to establish practical mitigation plans.Communicate Stock’s architectural direction, decisions, risks, and investment needs to senior executives and other key participants.Mentor architects and technical leads, strengthening systems thinking, technical judgment, and communication.What you need to succeed20 or more years of experience in software engineering and platform architecture.Expertise in distributed systems, networked and event-driven architectures, APIs, frontend architecture, data platforms, cloud-native technologies, and systems integration.Experience designing systems for demanding performance, scalability, reliability, security, privacy, observability, and operational-efficiency requirements.Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex decisions and tradeoffs to technical and nontechnical audiences.Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Computer Science, engineering, or a related technical field.Preferred QualificationsExperience architecting content platforms, digital-asset systems, marketplaces, search and discovery systems, or large-scale media-processing workflows.Experience in developing Agentic AI systems and solutionsExperience working in highly matrixed, enterprise-scale environmentsAdvanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in Computer Science or related fieldAbout 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 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 $190,200 - $360,500 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 $248,900 - $360,500
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 Francisco; San JoseType: Full time