Senior Principal Engineer at Bentley Systems

Job description

Location: Hybrid, Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA office) Position Summary We are seeking a delivery-focused Senior Principal Engineer to build, own, and rapidly deliver the end to end technical architecture of the Bentley Developer Platform, which includes the front end developer experience, the API gateway, standards, authentication, metering, and billing infrastructure that powers Bentley’s portfolio of developer APIs and MCP servers. This is a hands-on technical leadership role for someone with a builder mindset to roll up their sleeves, take ownership of complex delivery problems, and drive them to completion. You will set the architectural direction for the platform, write production code, review pull requests, and act as the senior technical authority the engineering team relies on for difficult decisions. You will also work closely with both the Product team to set the API standards along with engineering teams across the API portfolio to develop and maintain the platform’s API design standards, security models, and integration patterns. If you’re an engineer who enjoys both deep technical work and influencing standards across a global organization, this role offers significant scope and impact. Responsibilities Define and execute the architecture of the developer platform, including the API gateway, authentication, metering, billing integration, and settlement, ensuring it is sound, extensible, and cloud-native from the outset. Own the end-to-end platform architecture from the developer experience through to the registry, including all aspects of commercialization, adoption, support, monitoring, and analytics. Work with the Product team to set API standards that will allow for monitoring, authentication, metering, and registration. Write production code and review pull requests; remain the senior hands-on technical contributor on the team and unblock engineers on the critical path. Serve as the primary technical interface between the Developer Platform, Product & Technology and product engineering teams, building credibility as the go-to person for platform questions. Jointly develop and publish API Design Standards v1, working collaboratively with product teams so that standards reflect the technical reality of what those teams are building and are adopted in practice. Own platform standards and governance: define the telemetry schema, maintain hub listing requirements, and establish the security and integration patterns applied across all API families. Establish IMS OAuth as the standard authentication model across all platform surfaces. Define and document migration paths for existing APIs to meet platform standards. Ensure AI and MCP surfaces are first-class citizens in the platform architecture and taxonomy, with documented agent integration patterns alongside traditional REST APIs. Partner with the Engineering Manager on technical hiring, team structure, and delivery sequencing. Partner with the CIO organization on enterprise application and ERP integration and unified architecture. Qualifications 12 years of software engineering experience and significant time spent architecting large-scale systems. Proven ability to own the comprehensive developer platform architecture spanning from the front-end developer experience down to the API registry encompassing commercialization, adoption, support and analytics. Deep, hands-on experience evaluating, implementing, and operating enterprise API Management and Integration platforms (e.g., MuleSoft, Apigee, Kong, Workato) as well as developer portal frameworks (e.g., Backstage). Proven track record of architecting and assembling a new API platform by integrating enterprise tools and writing the custom software, when required into a seamless, customer-facing developer experience. Demonstrated experience partnering closely with Product teams to define and establish global API standards that enable monitoring, authentication, metering and registration. Strong technical expertise in OAuth 2.0 / OIDC, token handling, and underlying platform security models. Hands-on experience engineering distributed systems, event streaming, API gateways, routing, usage-based billing pipelines, and ERP/settlement integrations. Unique blend of hands-on coding ability and the communication skills to work credibly and collaboratively with multiple distinct product engineering teams. Familiarity with AI/agent integration patterns and MCP is a strong plus. #LI-SH1 #LI-Hybrid This is a Hybrid role. What We Offer: Step into a collaborative work environment where ideas flourish, and teamwork propels us forward towards shared success. An attractive salary and benefits package. Bentley Impact Day: take a day off from work to volunteer with an organization of your choice. Celebrate milestone achievements and moments that matter through our colleague recognition award programs and our Bentley Achievers platform. A commitment to inclusion, belonging and colleague wellbeing through global initiatives and resource groups. Be part of a company committed to making a real difference by advancing the world’s infrastructure for better quality of life, where your contributions help build a more sustainable, connected, and resilient world. Discover our latest user success stories for an insight into our global impact. Who We Are: Bentley Systems (Nasdaq: BSY) is the infrastructure engineering software company. We provide innovative software to advance the world’s infrastructure – sustaining both the global economy and environment. Our industry-leading software solutions are used by professionals, and organizations of every size, for the design, construction, and operations of roads and bridges, rail and transit, water and wastewater, public works and utilities, buildings and campuses, mining, and industrial facilities. Our offerings, powered by the iTwin Platform for infrastructure digital twins, include MicroStation and Bentley Open applications for modeling and simulation, Seequent’s software for geoprofessionals, and Bentley Infrastructure Cloud encompassing ProjectWise for project delivery, SYNCHRO for construction management, and AssetWise for asset operations. Bentley Systems’ 5,200 colleagues generate annual revenues of more than $1 billion in 194 countries. Equal Opportunity Employer: Bentley is an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, pregnancy, protected veteran status, religion, national origin, age, genetic information or any other protected characteristic. This commitment extends to all aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, promotion, compensation, and training. Know Your Rights as an applicant under the law. Bentley Policy on EEO, Affirmative Action and Pay Transparency Non-Discrimination Bentley participates in e-Verify / Bentley participate in e-Verify / Right to Work Notice Request an Accommodation: As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Bentley is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. We encourage you to request a reasonable accommodation if you are not able to fully use or access our online application system. You can make an accommodation request by calling 610-458-5000 or sending us an email at disabilityrequest bentley.com

Requirements

Must-haves

Location: Hybrid, Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA office)
If you’re an engineer who enjoys both deep technical work and influencing standards across a global organization, this role offers significant scope and impact.
Define and execute the architecture of the developer platform, including the API gateway, authentication, metering, billing integration, and settlement, ensuring it is sound, extensible, and cloud-native from the outset.
Own the end-to-end platform architecture from the developer experience through to the registry, including all aspects of commercialization, adoption, support, monitoring, and analytics.
Work with the Product team to set API standards that will allow for monitoring, authentication, metering, and registration.
Write production code and review pull requests; remain the senior hands-on technical contributor on the team and unblock engineers on the critical path.
Serve as the primary technical interface between the Developer Platform, Product & Technology and product engineering teams, building credibility as the go-to person for platform questions.
Jointly develop and publish API Design Standards v1, working collaboratively with product teams so that standards reflect the technical reality of what those teams are building and are adopted in practice.
Own platform standards and governance: define the telemetry schema, maintain hub listing requirements, and establish the security and integration patterns applied across all API families.
Establish IMS OAuth as the standard authentication model across all platform surfaces.
Define and document migration paths for existing APIs to meet platform standards.
Ensure AI and MCP surfaces are first-class citizens in the platform architecture and taxonomy, with documented agent integration patterns alongside traditional REST APIs.
Partner with the Engineering Manager on technical hiring, team structure, and delivery sequencing.
Partner with the CIO organization on enterprise application and ERP integration and unified architecture.
12 years of software engineering experience and significant time spent architecting large-scale systems.
Proven ability to own the comprehensive developer platform architecture spanning from the front-end developer experience down to the API registry encompassing commercialization, adoption, support and analytics.
Deep, hands-on experience evaluating, implementing, and operating enterprise API Management and Integration platforms (e.g., MuleSoft, Apigee, Kong, Workato) as well as developer portal frameworks (e.g., Backstage).
Proven track record of architecting and assembling a new API platform by integrating enterprise tools and writing the custom software, when required into a seamless, customer-facing developer experience.
Demonstrated experience partnering closely with Product teams to define and establish global API standards that enable monitoring, authentication, metering and registration.
Strong technical expertise in OAuth 2.0 / OIDC, token handling, and underlying platform security models.
Hands-on experience engineering distributed systems, event streaming, API gateways, routing, usage-based billing pipelines, and ERP/settlement integrations.
Unique blend of hands-on coding ability and the communication skills to work credibly and collaboratively with multiple distinct product engineering teams.
Familiarity with AI/agent integration patterns and MCP is a strong plus.
This is a Hybrid role.

Nice-to-haves

None flagged.

Application prep

Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.

Keywords to mirror

apigoairest

Platform: workday
Effort: long