We’rebuilding 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.
Graphis not a feature,it’san 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’llpartner directly with Product,DesignandArchitecture, and scale a high-performing teamwhile staying hands-on enough to shape key technical decisions.
Lead engineeringteamforbuildingGraphasboth acreator-facing application(visual workflow builder) and aplatform layer(execution engine + APIs powering multiple product surfaces). Partner with Product and Design to define interaction models, primitives, and UX paradigms.
Work closely with thearchitect forthenode-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.
Integrate first- and third-party GenAI models into graphnodes. Build abstractions forprompting, chaining, and multi-step pipelines. Enable reusable, composable capsule nodes for multimodal inputs and outputs across text, image, video,3Dand audio.
Build and lead a high-performing team across frontend, backend, and platform. Drive execution across multiple workstreams withclearownership and accountability. Establish strong engineering practices around code quality, testing, reliability, and dev velocity.
DesignGraphas a platform for internal and external developers. Enablethird-party integrations, custom node creation, and API-first accessto workflows. Define clear contracts between the platform and product layers.
- 12+ yearsin 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 recordshipping interactive products, creative tools, IDEs, design systems, or similar
- Strong background inbuildingdistributed systems
- Technically literate enough to understand platform architecture, hold engineers accountable, and represent technicaltrade-offsupward
- 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, wheneverrequired
- Strong instincts for user workflows and product experience, not just systems architecture
- Translates ambiguity into clear technical direction with minimalhand-holding
- Experienced cross-functional partner for Product, Design,Customersand executive stakeholders
- 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 sourcecontributions or community-facing platform work
#FireflyGenAI
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 positionis $186,500 -- $358,250 annually. Paywithin this range varies by work locationand 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.
