Principal Engineer, Cloud Data Infrastructure

Relha LLC; San Jose, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 218,000 - 324,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Healthcare coverage

Equity

Paid time off

Job summary

PayPal is seeking a Principal Engineer to lead Venmo’s data platform infrastructure and performance engineering at scale. You will define architecture, set the technical direction, and guide mission-critical databases, pipelines, messaging, and caching.

This hands-on role combines coding with strategic influence across engineering teams and executives. You will champion AI-first practices, improve reliability, and mentor the data platform community while collaborating with cross-functional

Qualifications

• 15+ years of professional software engineering or data platform experience.
• 5+ years building and operating large-scale distributed systems in production cloud environments.
• Deep, hands-on expertise across data and messaging systems and databases.
• Strong DevOps background with IaC and CI/CD for data systems.

Responsibilities

• Increases results & effectiveness of all software engineers in a large domain.
• Sets the technology roadmap for a domain.
• Mentor others to propagate technical influence and improve performance.
• Present complex trade-offs to executives and influence strategy.

Skills

Distributed systems

Data platforms

AI tooling

Cloud experience (AWS)

DevOps / IaC

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

Relational databases

NoSQL databases

Messaging systems

Caching systems

Message queues

Job description

PayPal has been revolutionizing commerce globally for more than 25 years. Creating innovative experiences that make moving money, selling, and shopping simple, personalized, and secure, PayPal empowers consumers and businesses in approximately 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy.

We operate a global, two-sided network at scale that connects hundreds of millions of merchants and consumers. We help merchants and consumers connect, transact, and complete payments, whether they are online or in person. PayPal is more than a connection to third-party payment networks. We provide proprietary payment solutions accepted by merchants that enable the completion of payments on our platform on behalf of our customers.

We offer our customers the flexibility to use their accounts to purchase and receive payments for goods and services, as well as the ability to transfer and withdraw funds. We enable consumers to exchange funds more safely with merchants using a variety of funding sources, which may include a bank account, a PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products, a credit card, a debit card, certain cryptocurrencies, or other stored value products such as gift cards, and eligible credit card rewards. Our PayPal, Venmo, and Xoom products also make it safer and simpler for friends and family to transfer funds to each other. We offer merchants an end-to-end payments solution that provides authorization and settlement capabilities, as well as instant access to funds and payouts. We also help merchants connect with their customers, process exchanges and returns, and manage risk. We enable consumers to engage in cross-border shopping and merchants to extend their global reach while reducing the complexity and friction involved in enabling cross-border trade.

Our beliefs are the foundation for how we conduct business every day. We live each day guided by our core values of Inclusion, Innovation, Collaboration, and Wellness. Together, our values ensure that we work together as one global team with our customers at the center of everything we do – and they push us to ensure we take care of ourselves, each other, and our communities.

Job Summary:

This role is the technical authority for Venmo’s data platform infrastructure and performance engineering. The Principal Engineer sets the technology vision, defines architectural direction, and provides deep technical leadership for the teams responsible for mission-critical databases, data pipelines, messaging systems, caching infrastructure, and performance engineering powering Venmo’s real-time payment processing at massive scale. This is a deeply hands‑on individual contributor role with broad organizational influence — you will stay close to the code and systems, own technical strategy, pioneer AI‑first engineering practices, and mentor the Venmo data platform engineering community. You will also serve as the primary technical voice in cross-functional and executive-level conversations.

Job Description:

• Increases results & effectiveness of all software engineers in a large domain
• Sets the technology roadmap for a domain
• Adapts their role to the need, selecting the most effective means of realizing their technical goals
• Provides advice and counsel to senior executives within PayPal, influencing the development of multi-year business strategies
• Exercises wide latitude in determining objectives and approaches to assignments and takes initiative to achieve results
• Handles ambiguous and unfamiliar situations and uses creativity to deliver decisive resolutions
• Uses discovery & exploratory research, not being limited to technical domains, to make successful decisions
• Identifies themes & trends that span projects and teams, and finds broadly impactful opportunities for improvement
• Uses professional savvy to determine when industry-standard solutions can be adopted, versus when a problem space warrants a novel solution (“build/buy”)
• Mentor others as a means of propagating technical influence, and to enhance the performance of their organization

Minimum Qualifications:

10+ years relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree OR Any equivalent combination of education and experience.

Additional Responsibilities & Preferred Qualifications:

Expected Qualifications

15+ years of professional experience in software engineering or data platform roles, with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or equivalent practical experience.

5+ years building and operating large-scale distributed systems in production cloud environments (AWS preferred).

Deep, hands‑on technical expertise across data and messaging systems — relational and NoSQL databases, distributed caching, and message queue architectures; you can get into the internals when needed.

Strong DevOps engineering background including infrastructure as code, CI/CD for data systems, and automation‑first operational practices.

Demonstrated experience with AI‑first development practices and the ability to apply AI tooling to accelerate engineering productivity.

Demonstrated track record delivering performance improvements and scalability enhancements for consumer-facing applications serving tens of millions of users.

Established record of technical influence across large engineering organizations without direct management authority.

Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex technical trade‑offs to executive stakeholders.

Additional & Preferred Qualifications

Background in financial technology, payments processing, or regulated industries.

Experience supporting transaction processing systems requiring extreme reliability and millisecond‑level response times.

Familiarity with resilience engineering, failure injection testing, and business continuity planning.

Knowledge of modern data pipeline frameworks and real‑time analytics architectures.

History of mentoring and growing senior/staff‑level engineers into technical leadership roles.

Experience integrating AI/ML workflows into data platform infrastructure including vector databases, feature stores, or LLM serving infrastructure.

Travel Percent:

0

Primary Location | Pay Range:

San Jose, California: ($218,000.00 - $323,950.00 Annually)

Additional Location(s) | Pay Range:

Austin, Texas: ($198,000.00 - $294,250.00 Annually)

Additional compensation for this role may include an annual performance bonus, equity, or other incentive compensation, as applicable.

For the majority of employees, PayPal's balanced hybrid work model offers 3 days in the office for effective in‑person collaboration and 2 days at your choice of either the PayPal office or your home workspace, ensuring that you equally have the benefits and conveniences of both locations.

At PayPal, we’re committed to building an equitable and inclusive global economy. And we can’t do this without our most important asset-you. That’s why we offer comprehensive, choice‑based programs, to support all aspects of personal wellbeing—physical, emotional, and financial—delivering meaningful value where it matters most.We strive to create a flexible, balanced work culture with a holistic approach to benefits, including generous paid time off, healthcare coverage for you and your family, and resources to create financial security and support your mental health.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

PayPal provides equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. In addition, PayPal will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. If you are unable to submit an application because of incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at [emailprotected] .

Belonging at PayPal:

Our employees are central to advancing our mission, and we strive to create an environment where everyone can do their best work with a sense of purpose and belonging. Belonging at PayPal means creating a workplace with a sense of acceptance and security where all employees feel included and valued. We are proud to have a diverse workforce reflective of the merchants, consumers, and communities that we serve, and we continue to take tangible actions to cultivate inclusivity and belonging at PayPal.