Position Type: Full time
State: VA
City: Arlington
Zip Code: 22203

Overview

AvalonBay Communities, Inc., an equity REIT, has a long-term track record of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing distinctive apartment homes in some of the best U.S. markets, and delivering outsized, risk-adjusted returns to shareholders. With equal parts experience and vision, we’ve established a leadership position rooted in our purpose of creating a better way to live and that is always focused on building value for the long term.

Creating a better way to live is the purpose that binds AvalonBay associates. We take that purpose seriously and expect you will as well. By focusing on collaboration, innovation, and taking ownership of our choices and actions, we act in ways that focus on creating value for our customers, investors and associates. Your positive, professional, and consistent personal interactions make AvalonBay a great place to work.

The Role

We are seeking a hands-on Senior Principal / Director of Software Engineering to personally drive the design, build, and evolution of high-impact digital platforms that support mission-critical business operations. This role is for a technical leader who spends meaningful time in the architecture, code, and delivery details, while providing lightweight leadership and guidance across a small number of engineering teams.

You’ll be accountable for technical decisions, platform modernization, and delivery outcomes, acting as the connective tissue between business priorities and real, production-grade software.

What You’ll Do

• Directly design, build, and evolve enterprise software applications, serving as a hands-on technical leader

• Own system architecture and technical direction across multiple platforms, with a strong bias toward pragmatic, scalable solutions

• Lead execution across concurrent initiatives by actively unblocking teams, reviewing designs and code, and ensuring delivery quality

• Play a key role in modernizing legacy systems, including cloud migration, platform consolidation, and technical debt reduction

• Set and model modern engineering practices (Agile, CI/CD, automation, testing) through direct involvement, not just process

• Partner closely with product, business, and executive stakeholders to translate strategy into concrete technical solutions

• Evaluate existing systems and make clear recommendations on where to modernize, refactor, or retire platforms

• Work hands-on with vendors and cloud partners, making build-vs-buy decisions and integrating third-party solutions when appropriate

• Establish practical engineering standards and guardrails, focusing on security, reliability, and maintainability

• Stay close to emerging technologies and assess real, near-term applicability to business problems

What We’re Looking For:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field — or equivalent practical experience

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, with a history of hands-on technical ownership

• Experience leading complex, enterprise-scale application development from design through production

• Demonstrated success modernizing platforms and moving workloads from on-prem to cloud environments

• Comfortable operating in environments with multiple stakeholders but limited hierarchy

Technical Expertise

• Strong hands-on experience with modern backend and web technologies (e.g. JavaScript/TypeScript, Angular, REST APIs)

• Cloud platforms and DevOps tooling (AWS, Docker, Jenkins, CI/CD pipelines)

• Relational databases and data platforms (PostgreSQL or similar)

• Deep understanding of software architecture, system design, security, and performance trade-offs

• Ability to review, improve, and occasionally write production-quality code

Working Style & Skills

• Technically opinionated, pragmatic, and able to explain trade-offs clearly

• Bias toward execution and delivery over process for its own sake

• Comfortable going deep on problems and staying close to implementation

• Able to influence without heavy management structure

• Collaborative, low-ego partner to product, design, and business teams

How AvalonBay Supports You

Additional Info

AvalonBay is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to an inclusive and diverse work environment free of discrimination and harassment.  We believe that in order to achieve our purpose of creating a better way to live, we must recruit, develop and retain associates with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives and create an environment that encourages all voices to be heard, understood and appreciated. With this we know we can do great things.

AvalonBay makes employment decisions without regard to a person’s race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation or related medical conditions), age, physical or mental disability, genetic information (including characteristics or testing), citizenship status, military or veteran status, or any other status protected by the law.

For California residents, if you elect to apply to AvalonBay you accept the AvalonBay California Personnel Privacy Notice (https://www.avaloncommunities.com/california-personnel-privacy-notice/)

Job ID JR106067