Sr. Software Engineer - Platform Permissions

About the role

AppFolio is more than a company. We're a community of dreamers, big thinkers, problem solvers, active listeners, and multipliers. At every opportunity, we set the pace while delivering innovation built to carry real estate into the future—where every experience feels effortless yet meaningful, and customers are empowered to take on any opportunity. The Senior Software Engineer on the Permissions team will help build the authorization platform that decides who can do what in all AppFolio products, the foundation that keeps every customer's data safe and every workflow trustworthy. Your work supports every engineering team at AppFolio and, through them, the property managers, owners, investors, and residents who rely on our platform every day.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate the authorization platform—the roles, policies, and access checks that other teams build on top of.
• Improve the speed and reliability of permission checks so they stay fast as usage grows, and set the performance and availability goals that keep them there.
• Build the interfaces, libraries, and tooling that other engineering teams use to easily add access control to their own features, so they can move quickly and safely.
• Lead the migration of older, hard‑to‑maintain permissions logic onto the modern authorization platform, reducing risk and complexity along the way.
• Raise the technical bar through thoughtful design reviews, pragmatic code review, and clear written proposals that help the team make good decisions together.
• Mentor engineers, share context generously, and partner with product, security, and engineering teams to turn ambiguous access‑control needs into simple, well‑understood systems.
• Own quality end‑to‑end—automated testing, controlled rollouts (with feature flags), and observability—so authorization changes ship safely without disrupting the teams that depend on them.

Qualifications

• Work comfortably across the stack—backend services and customer‑facing interfaces—and pick up new languages and tools as needed.
• Diagnose and improve performance and reliability in systems that serve high request volumes.
• Drive to root causes and cut unnecessary complexity rather than patch symptoms.
• Experience with authorization, authentication, or other security‑sensitive systems is a plus.
• Communicate proactively and clearly in writing and conversation, explaining technical trade‑offs to both engineers and non‑engineers.
• Collaborate generously across your team and with engineering teams org‑wide—giving and receiving feedback well and helping others do their best work.
• Prioritize team delivery over individual productivity.
• Must have 7+ years of professional software engineering experience building and operating production systems.
• Fluency with AI coding agents—experience with any of the available agents, understanding of common concepts, and willingness to learn and utilize AI for building.
• Depth in some of the languages we use—Ruby on Rails, Go, or React with TypeScript—or the ability and desire to become effective in them quickly.
• A track record of designing and owning non‑trivial platform systems end‑to‑end.

Compensation & Benefits

The base salary we reasonably expect to pay for this role is $138,400 – $190,300. The actual base salary will be determined by a variety of factors, including the candidate’s skills, education, and experience. Base pay is one important aspect of a compelling Total Rewards package; the range does not include additional benefits, bonuses, or commissions you may be eligible for based on role and employment type. Regular full‑time employees are eligible for benefits.

About AppFolio

AppFolio is the technology leader powering the future of the real estate industry. Our innovative platform and trusted partnership enable our customers to connect communities, increase operational efficiency, and grow their business. For more information, visit appfolio.com.

Why AppFolio

• Grow – We enable a culture of high performance, where delivering results is recognized with opportunities for growth and compelling total rewards.
• Learn – We invest in you from the start, offering coaching, mentorship, and the time and tools to develop your skills.
• Impact – We create a world where living in, investing in, managing, and supporting communities feels magical and effortless, freeing people to thrive.
• Connect – We excel at hybrid work, fostering a flexible, personal, and connected environment that fuels innovation and collaboration.