Senior Software Development Engineer

Adobe Journey Optimizer (AJO), part of Adobe Experience Platform, enables enterprises to deliver real-time, personalized customer journeys at global scale. The platform operates on event-driven architectures and low-latency data systems, requiring robust, scalable backend infrastructure.

We are looking for a Senior Software Development Engineer to lead the design and evolution of core backend systems powering journey orchestration and decisioning. This role involves owning end-to-end system architecture, driving innovation in distributed systems and real-time data processing, and influencing technical direction across teams.

You will work on complex, high-impact problems spanning stream processing, data storage, and intelligent system design, contributing to the long-term evolution of Adobe Experience Platform.

In addition, you will play a key role in integrating AI-driven capabilities into AJO, including enabling intelligent decisioning, personalization, and next-generation user experiences powered by machine learning and generative AI.

What You'll Do

• Lead the design and development of large-scale, distributed backend systems supporting real-time journey orchestration
• Own and drive end-to-end architecture for critical services, ensuring scalability, reliability, and maintainability
• Define and evolve event-driven systems using Apache Kafka for high-throughput, low-latency processing
• Architect and optimize data storage and access patterns using technologies such as MongoDB and Aerospike
• Design systems with a long-term architectural perspective, balancing immediate needs with future scalability
• Drive cross-team technical initiatives, aligning design and implementation across multiple services and components
• Identify and resolve complex system-level challenges, including performance bottlenecks and reliability issues
• Lead design and code reviews, establishing best practices, and improving overall engineering quality
• Mentor engineers and contribute to the technical growth of the team
• Collaborate with product and platform teams to translate requirements into robust technical solutions

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Data Science, or a related field
• 6-10+ years of experience building and operating distributed systems in production environments
• Strong expertise in Java backend development and system design
• Proven experience designing and scaling:

• Event-driven systems (Apache Kafka or equivalent)
• NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB)
• Low-latency key-value stores (e.g., Aerospike, Redis)

• Strong understanding of distributed systems concepts, including concurrency, fault tolerance, and consistency models
• Experience owning system design and architecture for complex, multi-component systems
• Ability to work independently on ambiguous problems and drive solutions to completion
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across teams

Nice to Have

• Experience with stream processing frameworks (e.g., Flink, Spark)
• Familiarity with AI/ML systems or data-driven decisioning platforms
• Experience working on large-scale SaaS or customer engagement platforms
• Experience with observability and performance tooling (e.g., Grafana, Splunk, New Relic)
• Track record of mentoring engineers and contributing to team-wide best practices

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 $139,000 -- $257,550 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 $177,900 - $257,550

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.

Changing the world through digital experiences is what Adobe's all about. We give everyone-from emerging artists to global brands-everything they need to design and deliver exceptional digital experiences. We're passionate about empowering people to create beautiful and powerful experiences and transforming how companies interact with customers across every screen., Adobe 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 together At 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., 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.