Senior Staff Software Engineer, UI Lead

Company Description
It all started in sunny San Diego, California in 2004 when a visionary engineer, Fred Luddy, saw the potential to transform how we work. Fast forward to today - ServiceNow stands as a global market leader, bringing innovative AI-enhanced technology to over 8,100 customers, including 85% of the Fortune 500®. Our intelligent cloud-based platform seamlessly connects people, systems, and processes to empower organizations to find smarter, faster, and better ways to work. But this is just the beginning of our journey. Join us as we pursue our purpose to make the world work better for everyone.
Job Description
This role is available in either our San Diego or Santa Clara office
About the Team:
The AI Agents team is a key part of our broader Platform Engineering division, focused on creating innovative solutions that empower our customers to design and deploy intelligent agents tailored to automate their unique tasks and workflows. Our platform provides the capabilities for users to seamlessly define and configure AI agents that can operate autonomously, driving efficiency and optimizing processes across industries.
At the heart of this cutting-edge product, our team is motivated by the need to continuously innovate, adapt to latest AI Advancements, and collaborate across multiple disciplines to deliver powerful, user-centric solutions. We work at the intersection of AI research, engineering, and product development, ensuring that our platform not only meets current demands but also anticipates future trends in automation and intelligent decision-making.
Joining our team means being part of a dynamic, forward-thinking group that thrives on solving complex challenges, pushing boundaries, and staying ahead of the curve. We are looking for talented members who are passionate about AI, enjoy working in a collaborative environment, and are eager to contribute to the development of a transformative product that is reshaping how businesses leverage AI to solve real-world problems.
What you get to do in this role:
In this role, you will serve as a senior frontend engineering leader within the AI Agents team, working alongside a Principal Software Engineer to shape and elevate frontend standards and practices across the broader Platform Engineering division. You will operate on an established, production-scale UI platform - focusing on maturing architecture, raising the quality bar, and creating the frameworks and patterns other engineers build upon.
This role is approximately 60% UI/Frontend leadership and 40% backend platform engineering.
UI / Frontend Leadership (Primary - ~60%)

• Define and drive frontend architecture standards and engineering practices across the Platform Engineering division
• Evolve and mature an established, production-scale UI platform - improving performance, scalability, and developer experience
• Design and implement reusable component libraries, UI frameworks, and tooling that other engineers build upon
• Lead frontend testing strategies and establish quality standards across the team
• Collaborate closely with UX and design teams to translate design systems and prototypes into scalable, accessible UI components
• Mentor and influence engineers across teams, elevating frontend craft and consistency

Backend / Platform Engineering (Secondary - ~40%)

• Design and implement scalable RESTful APIs and microservices architectures
• Build and maintain backend services using Java and/or Python
• Develop and deploy microservices-based applications on Kubernetes
• Work with relational databases, SQL, Spring, and Hibernate
• Integrate backend services cleanly with frontend systems

Qualifications
To be successful in this role you have:

• 12+ years of software engineering experience building scalable, high-quality applications
• Experience in critical thinking and innovation aimed at AI integrations into work processes, decision-making, or problem-solving. This may include using AI-powered tools, automating workflows, analyzing AI-driven insights, or exploring AI's potential impact on the function or industry.
• Demonstrated experience driving frontend architecture and engineering standards at a team or division level
• Experience building AI/ML-enabled products or features, with the ability to translate AI capabilities into practical, user-facing experiences
• Strong critical thinking and a track record of integrating AI into engineering processes, workflows, or decision-making

Frontend / UI

• Deep expertise in JavaScript and modern frameworks - React, Angular, Lit Framework
• Strong command of UI design principles, usability, cross-browser compatibility, and accessibility standards
• Experience with modern styling approaches including SASS, CSS-in-JS, and styled components
• Proficiency with frontend testing frameworks such as Jest, Cypress, TestCafe, Mocha, or Selenium
• Familiarity with design system implementation and component-driven development

Backend / Platform

• Solid backend development experience with Java and/or Python
• Experience with REST, JSON, AJAX, Spring, Hibernate, and relational databases
• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes and microservices-based deployment
• Familiarity with JVM performance tuning and optimization is a plus
• Experience in designed, developed, and maintained microservices-based applications on Kubernetes, improving scalability, reliability, and deployment speed
• Experience in functional programming, stateless architectures, ADTs is a plus

FD21
For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $168,900 - $295,600, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.
Additional Information
Work Personas
We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here . To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.
Equal Opportunity Employer
ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or nationality, ancestry, age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements.
Accommodations
We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact [email protected] for assistance.
Export Control Regulations
For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities.
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