While auteur originated in the realm of film directing, it extends to that of any artistic undertaking. Here is the later definition form the OED:

2. A musician or other artist who retains a high degree of independent artistic control over his or her work, from conception to production or performance. Also: a creative artist whose work is perceived to reflect a highly individual vision or innovative approach, or is (self-consciously) presented as such. 1969–
_{Source: Oxford English Dictionary (login required)}

It doesn’t seem to be a problem to extend the term to any creative field, including application development. Here’s an example from a New York Times article:

What Apple Has That Google Doesn’t: An Auteur
The Auteur vs. the Committee
One person is the Decider for final design choices. Not focus groups. Not data crunchers. Not committee consensus-builders. The decisions reflect the sensibility of just one person: Steven P. Jobs, the C.E.O. . . . The company that has a single arbiter of taste has been producing superior products, showing that you don’t need multiple teams and dozens or hundreds or thousands of voices.
_{Source: New York Times—The Auteur vs. the Committee}

While auteur originated in the realm of film directing, it extends to that of any artistic undertaking. Here is the later definition from the OED:

2. A musician or other artist who retains a high degree of independent artistic control over his or her work, from conception to production or performance. Also: a creative artist whose work is perceived to reflect a highly individual vision or innovative approach, or is (self-consciously) presented as such. 1969–
_{Source: Oxford English Dictionary (login required)}

It doesn’t seem to be a problem to extend the term to any creative field, including application development. Here’s an example from a New York Times article:

What Apple Has That Google Doesn’t: An Auteur
The Auteur vs. the Committee
One person is the Decider for final design choices. Not focus groups. Not data crunchers. Not committee consensus-builders. The decisions reflect the sensibility of just one person: Steven P. Jobs, the C.E.O. . . . The company that has a single arbiter of taste has been producing superior products, showing that you don’t need multiple teams and dozens or hundreds or thousands of voices.
_{Source: New York Times—The Auteur vs. the Committee}