Principal Software Engineer

Location: Boston, Raleigh, NYC

Department: Product Engineering

The Role

Akoya is seeking a Principal Software Engineer (Frontend) to lead the next generation of our user experiences and frontend architecture. This role is ideal for an experienced engineer who brings a high bar for design quality, a deep mastery of modern JavaScript and React, and the ability to drive technical strategy across complex products. You combine impeccable attention to detail with strong communication skills and a passion for building elegant, scalable, and intuitive user interfaces that directly empower our customers.

As a Principal Engineer, you will:

• Lead the design and implementation of Akoya’s core frontend architecture, setting standards for code quality, performance, accessibility, and maintainability.
• Drive the evolution and modernization of existing frontend systems, ensuring legacy components remain reliable while guiding their transition toward more scalable, performant, and maintainable patterns.
• Write clean, well-structured, and well-documented code in React, TypeScript/JavaScript, and modern frontend tooling.
• Partner closely with product managers, designers, and backend teams to define requirements, shape features, and deliver polished, high-quality user experiences.
• Debug and resolve complex production issues across the frontend stack, delivering reliable and resilient interfaces.
• Elevate the engineering organization via mentorship, architectural guidance, and code review, enabling teams to deliver at a high level.
• Champion frontend best practices—including performance optimization, component system design, and UX consistency—across the organization.

Qualifications

Not all applicants will have skills that match a job description exactly. Akoya values diverse experiences in other industries, and we encourage everyone who meets the required qualifications to apply. While having “desired” qualifications make for a strong candidate, we encourage applicants with alternative experiences to also apply. If your career is just starting or has not followed a traditional path, do not let that stop you from considering Akoya. We are always looking for people who will bring something new to the table!

Required Experience/skills

• 10+ years of professional frontend engineering experience, building and maintaining production web applications at scale.
• Expert-level proficiency in React and modern JavaScript/TypeScript, including state management patterns, hooks, component architecture, and performance tuning.
• Demonstrated experience designing large-scale, modular frontend systems (design systems, component libraries, multi-app architectures, microfrontends, etc.).
• Strong understanding of HTML5, CSS3, responsive design, accessibility standards (WCAG), and web performance best practices.
• Proven ability to lead technical projects autonomously, drive architectural decisions, and communicate complex concepts clearly.
• A strong sense of customer empathy and a track record of delivering intuitive, high-quality user experiences.
• Experience collaborating deeply with product, design, and backend teams to define and deliver cross-functional initiatives.

Preferred Experience/skills

• Experience with frontend build and performance tooling (Webpack, Vite, Babel).
• Background working with design systems or UI component libraries (e.g., Material UI), and partnering with design teams on UX strategy.
• Experience with testing frameworks (Jest, Testing Library, Cypress, Playwright).
• Familiarity with cloud-based environments, CI/CD pipelines, and production observability tools.
• Understanding of backend API design and integration patterns (REST, GraphQL).
• Experience operating within AWS or similar cloud environments.
• Experience with state management in React, such as React Context, custom hooks, or Redux/Redux Toolkit.

Akoya is an equal-opportunity employer.

This remote position is only available to individuals living in the greater Boston, MA, New York City, NY and Raleigh, NC areas. Candidates who do not live within these areas will not be considered for this role.