Distinguished Engineer, Luau Application

Roblox
San Mateo, US
On-siteVisa sponsorship

Who this role is best for

Aimed at senior engineers with 15+ years in cross-platform development who thrive in complex scripting and native module integration.

Best fit for

  • Senior engineers with deep frontend architecture expertise across multiple platforms.
    — “Deep experience with modern frontend web architecture (React, complex state management)
  • Leaders who can mentor junior to principal engineers while driving technical strategy.
    — “Provide mentorship for other engineers, from junior to principal
  • Developers passionate about performance optimization on constrained hardware.
    — “Drive performance optimization of the Luau layer, including on devices with limited hardware capabilities

Things to consider

  • Requires onsite presence in San Mateo three days per week.
    — “Roles that are based in an office are onsite Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
  • No H-1B sponsorship available for this role.
    — “or support future H-1B sponsorship at this time

How to stand out

  • Demonstrate experience with non-mobile platforms like consoles or VR in your portfolio.
    — “Experience with building applications on platforms other than mobile or desktop is a strong plus
  • Highlight specific examples of agentic product development in your past work.
    — “Commitment to agentic product development
  • Showcase cross-platform framework contributions in TypeScript or similar languages.
    — “Experience with complex cross platform codebases implemented using TypeScript or similar languages
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · TeamLevel · Mid Level

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • performance optimization of Luau layer
  • accelerating feature development
Typical background
15+ years of software development experience

Skills & requirements

Required

Cross-platform Software DevelopmentTypeScriptReact NativeFlutterScripting LanguagesNative ModulesModern Frontend Web Architecture

Preferred

Agentic Product DevelopmentConsoles Or VR Development

Stack & domain

Software DevelopmentCross-platform Software FrameworksTypeScriptReact NativeFlutterScripting LanguagesModern Frontend Web ArchitectureReactComplex State ManagementAgentic Product DevelopmentPerformance OptimizationDeveloper ExperienceAlignment Between TechnologiesLeadershipCollaborationProblem SolvingStrategic MindsetCommunicationMentorshipSoftware EngineeringCross-platform DevelopmentInnovation

About the role

Original posting from Roblox

Every day, tens of millions of people come to Roblox to explore, create, play, learn, and connect with friends in 3D immersive digital experiences– all created by our global community of developers and creators. 

At Roblox, we’re building the tools and platform that empower our community to bring any experience that they can imagine to life. Our vision is to reimagine the way people come together, from anywhere in the world, and on any device. We’re on a mission to connect a billion people with optimism and civility, and looking for amazing talent to help us get there. 

A career at Roblox means you’ll be working to shape the future of human interaction, solving unique technical challenges at scale, and helping to create safer, more civil shared experiences for everyone.

The Distinguished Engineer will guide the development of the Luau layer of the Roblox app, used by well over 100M users daily, including libraries used by this app. The Luau layer of the app provides most of the client-side functionality outside of the actual game play. It is universal across eight platforms, including mobile, desktop, consoles, VR and TVs.

You Will:

Steward the development of the Luau layer of the Roblox app, including the libraries and frameworks used by it.

Drive performance optimization of the Luau layer, including on devices with limited hardware capabilities (e.g., low end Android phones, Android TVs) or operating on low bandwidth.

Accelerate feature development in the Luau app through improved developer experience and adoption of agentic product development.

Drive increasing alignment between the Luau layer of the app and Luau technologies used by Roblox creators.

Provide mentorship for other engineers, from junior to principal.

You Have:

15+ years of experience in developing robust, cross-platform software frameworks and architectures.

Experience with complex cross platform codebases implemented using TypeScript or similar languages and leveraging technologies such as React Native, Flutter, etc.

Deep experience with applications that combine scripting languages like TypeScript with native modules.

Deep experience with modern frontend web architecture (React, complex state management).

Experience with building applications on platforms other than mobile or desktop is a strong plus (e.g., consoles, VR).

Commitment to agentic product development.

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent practical experience.

Excellent collaboration skills to work effectively with different teams, gain a thorough understanding of challenges, customer requirements, and various device types and platforms, and to create creative solutions that address common needs.

You Are:

A software engineering leader experienced in cross-platform development challenges and proven abilities to create innovative solutions.

A passionate code contributor, ready to bootstrap implementations to our hardest problems.

A thoughtful advocate for agentic product development.

A strategic mind-set and problem solver who can anticipate and address the evolving needs of the organization and its customers across devices and platforms.

A highly skilled professional with excellent communication and collaboration abilities, capable of connecting and aligning diverse teams with varying technical expertise.

A passionate leader who inspires and motivates a team of engineers with a strong work ethic to deliver high-quality, scalable, and maintainable software solutions.

Committed to staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends and technologies, and continuously improving the framework to ensure its long-term relevance.

For roles that are based at our headquarters in San Mateo, CA: The starting base pay for this position is as shown below. The actual base pay is dependent upon a variety of job-related factors such as professional background, training, work experience, location, business needs and market demand. Therefore, in some circumstances, the actual salary could fall outside of this expected range. This pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. All full-time employees are also eligible for equity compensation and for benefits as described on this page.

Annual Salary Range$399,420—$457,970 USDRoles that are based in an office are onsite Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, with optional presence on Monday and Friday (unless otherwise noted).

Roblox provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Roblox also provides reasonable accommodations to candidates with qualifying disabilities or religious beliefs during the recruiting process.

For US based roles only, please note the Company may not be able to employ candidates for this role who have United States work authorization related to certain U.S. visa categories, or support future H-1B sponsorship at this time.

Source: Roblox careers

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