Head of AI-Driven Indexing & Retrieval

Pinterest; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 285,452 - 449,541; Full time

Job summary

Pinterest is seeking a Principal Engineer to lead the technical strategy for Indexing & Retrieval Infrastructure across Core, Ads, and Shopping. You will shape how fresh, relevant candidates are generated for discovery experiences at scale.

You will define long-term architecture, drive cross-org initiatives, mentor engineers, and apply AI judiciously to accelerate design and analysis while ensuring correctness, privacy, and cost efficiency. Office-based in PA or SF, 1-2 times per quarter.

Qualifications

• Experience with large-scale indexing, search, or ads retrieval systems.
• Ability to lead multiple teams and drive complex platform decisions to completion.
• Track record of modernization efforts such as migrations or shared platform rollouts.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the long-term technical vision for indexing and retrieval infrastructure across Core, Ads, and Shopping.
• Lead cross-org initiatives to modernize architecture and support real-time and incremental retrieval at scale.
• Partner with engineering, product, ML, and infra leaders to deliver shared platform capabilities and improve retrieval performance.

Skills

Indexing

Retrieval systems

Real-time architecture

Cross-org leadership

Architectural convergence

Machine Learning needs

Systems thinking

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Job description

Pinterest is seeking a Principal Engineer to lead the technical strategy for Indexing & Retrieval Infrastructure across Core, Ads, and Shopping. You will shape how fresh, relevant candidates are generated for discovery experiences at scale.

You will define long-term architecture, drive cross-org initiatives, mentor engineers, and apply AI judiciously to accelerate design and analysis while ensuring correctness, privacy, and cost efficiency. Office-based in PA or SF, 1-2 times per quarter.