At Vanta, our mission is to help businesses earn and prove trust. We believe that security should be monitored and verified continuously, and we empower companies to practice better security and prove it with ease. Vanta has a kind and talented team, and while some have prior security experience, many have been successful at Vanta without it.

Vanta is transforming how companies build and scale trust. As a Principal Engineer, you'll define the golden path for frontend development across the organization—establishing patterns, standards, and systems that enable our product engineering teams to ship faster while maintaining the highest quality.

While Vanta has strong backend engineering practices, our frontend capabilities are still maturing. This is your opportunity to establish what "frontend good" looks like at Vanta: defining best practices for data layer architecture, state management, testing frameworks, and design systems. You'll work closely with our AI Developer Experience team on cutting-edge AI tooling and agentic feedback loops for AI-generated frontend code—ensuring our AI-assisted development maintains quality and consistency.

You'll operate across multiple teams within both Platform and Product Engineering, especially our Design Systems and Frontend Platform teams to influence engineering-wide standards. This is a hands-on role where you'll embed with teams to solve complex problems, write code alongside engineers, and zoom out to write strategic documents for executive audiences. You'll partner directly with the Head of Platform Engineering to drive operational excellence and technical strategy for frontend at Vanta.

Visit our Vanta Engineering Blog to learn more about what our team is working on!

What you’ll do as a Principal Engineer at Vanta:

Define and drive the technical strategy for frontend development across Vanta, establishing patterns and standards that scale
Establish best practices for data layer architecture, state management, testing frameworks, and design systems organization-wide
Partner with our AI Developer Experience team to build cutting-edge AI tooling and agentic feedback loops for AI-generated frontend code
Embed with teams to solve complex technical problems hands-on, spending approximately 50% of your time writing code
Drive operational excellence initiatives across Platform teams, including metrics definition, standard-setting, and org-wide rollout
Influence engineering-wide decisions and strategy through technical leadership and clear communication with executive audiences
Work across Design Systems, Frontend Platform, and Product Engineering teams to create shared solutions with broad organizational impact
Mentor and coach engineers across the organization, helping them level up their frontend skills and architectural thinking

How to be successful in this role:

Expert-level proficiency in JavaScript and deep experience with modern frontend technologies
Experience with GraphQL and building scalable data architectures for web applications
Broad technical knowledge across testing frameworks, build systems, accessibility standards, internationalization, and localization
Proven track record of driving organization-wide technical initiatives and influencing engineering strategy
Demonstrated ability to balance hands-on technical work with strategic thinking and executive communication
Strong skills in building platforms and tools for other developers, with a focus on consumable APIs and excellent developer experience
Experience leading technical change while maintaining product velocity and quality
Ability to navigate ambiguity, identify high-leverage work, and know when to delegate versus embed deeply
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, capable of influencing peers and leadership across the organization
Track record of building relationships and navigating complex organizational dynamics
Open to using AI to amplify their skills and strengthen their work - demonstrating curiosity, a willingness to learn, and sound judgment in applying AI responsibly to improve efficiency and impact.

What you can expect as a Vanta’n:

Industry-competitive salary and equity
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, with 100% of employee-only benefit premiums covered for most medical plans
16 weeks fully-paid Parental Leave for all new parents
Health & wellness stipend
Remote workspace, internet, and cellphone stipend
Commuter benefits for team members who report to the SF and NYC office
Family planning benefits
Matching 401(k) contribution with immediate vesting
Flexible PTO policy, plus 80 hours of Sick Time
11 company-paid holidays
Virtual team building activities, lunch and learns, and other company-wide events!
Offices in SF, NYC, London, Dublin, Tel Aviv, and Sydney

To provide greater transparency to candidates, we share base pay ranges for all US-based job postings regardless of state. We set standard base pay ranges for all roles based on function, level, and country location, benchmarked against similar-stage growth companies. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors and may vary based on candidate location, skills, depth of work experience, and relevant licenses/credentials.

#LI-remote

At Vanta, we are committed to hiring diverse talent of different backgrounds and as such, it is important to us to provide an inclusive work environment for all. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender identity, age, religion, sexual orientation, veteran or disability status, or any other protected class. As an equal opportunity employer, we encourage and welcome people of all backgrounds to apply.

About Vanta

We started in 2018, in the wake of several high-profile data breaches. Online security was only becoming more important, but we knew firsthand how hard it could be for fast-growing companies to invest the time and manpower it takes to build a solid security foundation. Vanta was inspired by a vision to restore trust in internet businesses by enabling companies to improve and prove their security. From our early days automating security monitoring for compliance standards like SOC 2, HIPAA and ISO 27001 to creating the world's leading Trust Management Platform, our vision remains unchanged.

Now more than ever, making security continuous—not just a point-in-time check— is essential. Thousands of companies rely on Vanta to build, maintain and demonstrate their trust— all in a way that's real-time and transparent.

Referral Instructions

If you are being referred for the role, please contact that person to apply on your behalf.

Principal Software Engineer, Platform