Principal Engineer, Cloud Surfaces

Google; United States; On-site; USD 307,000 - 427,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid time off 20 days/year

Sick time 40 hours/year (Seattle 69)

Maternity leave 28–30 weeks

Baby bonding leave 18 weeks

13 paid holidays

Job summary

Google Cloud is seeking a Principal Engineer for Cloud Surfaces to drive platform acceleration and deliver AI-native experiences across web and mobile. You will mentor tech leads, shape multi-year roadmaps, and collaborate with product teams across Google Cloud to ensure scalable, reusable platform designs.

You will partner with engineers and leaders to align strategies, influence cross-functional decisions, and accelerate SDK/CLI development while advancing the surfaces portfolio.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field or equivalent practical experience.
• 15 years of experience as a Software Engineering leader with experience in full stack web development.
• Experience in web, mobile, and SDK/CLI development.
• Master’s or PhD in Computer Science or related field.
• Experience leading initiatives, developing policies, and driving thought leadership for internal developer platforms and large-scale systems.
• Experience with driving alignment with API resource model and data models, reconciling existing systems with new ones.
• Experience with inter-team/cross-functional leadership.
• Ability to build and drive technical roadmap and design with a broader engineering organization.
• Awareness of industry trends in AI and ML technologies and how to apply those at scale to both the team’s product and platform investments.

Responsibilities

• Partner with cross-functional leadership to align on a multi-year roadmap that prioritizes the highest-leverage investments and enables the transformation of the Cloud Surfaces experiences.
• Create scalable, reliable, secure, and efficient designs that enable internal platform stakeholders to effectively build on, including supporting next generation, AI powered UI experiences on web and mobile, and accelerating SDK and CLI development.
• Raise the organization's collective technical bar by actively mentoring senior tech leads and fostering a culture of engineering, peer-growth, and collaborative problem-solving.
• Act as a technical bridge across product boundaries, aligning engineering teams and stakeholders behind a shared strategy for both long-term innovation and near term tactical execution with a focus on platform re-usability.

Skills

Software engineering leadership

Full stack web development

Web development

Mobile development

SDK/CLI development

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or related field

Master's or PhD in CS

Job description

Principal Engineer, Cloud Surfaces

Company: Google

Locations: Sunnyvale, CA, USA; Kirkland, WA, USA; +3 more; +2 more.

Senior Level: Director+

In accordance with Washington state law, we are highlighting our comprehensive benefits package, which is available to all eligible US based employees. Benefits for this role include:

• Health, dental, vision, life, disability insurance
• Retirement Benefits: 401(k) with company match
• Paid Time Off: 20 days of vacation per year, accruing at a rate of 6.15 hours per pay period for the first five years of employment
• Sick Time: 40 hours/year (increased to 69 hours/year for Seattle) including 5 discretionary sick days per instance
• Maternity Leave (Short-Term Disability + Baby Bonding): 28-30 weeks
• Baby Bonding Leave: 18 weeks
• Holidays: 13 paid days per year

Applicants in San Francisco: Qualified applications with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: Sunnyvale, CA, USA; Kirkland, WA, USA; New York, NY, USA; San Francisco, CA, USA.

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field or equivalent practical experience
• 15 years of experience as a Software Engineering leader with experience in full stack web development
• Experience in web, mobile, and SDK/CLI development

Preferred qualifications:

• Master’s or PhD in Computer Science or related field
• Experience leading initiatives, developing policies, and driving thought leadership for internal developer platforms and large-scale systems
• Experience with driving alignment with API resource model and data models, reconciling existing systems with new ones
• Experience with inter-team/cross-functional leadership
• Ability to build and drive technical roadmap and design with a broader engineering organization
• Awareness of industry trends in AI and ML technologies and how to apply those at scale to both the team’s product and platform investments

About the job

The Cloud Surfaces team is committed to delivering a seamless and enjoyable user experience across all Google Cloud products and meeting our customers where they are. We strive for consistency across channels as we drive towards a unified, AI Native experience.

Our focus is on addressing the challenges of creating cohesive experiences due to limitations in modularity and composability, architectural complexities, and the need for rapid innovation. We aim to achieve this through a multichannel outlook that promotes shared product outlook, UX design, and coordinated roadmaps, working across the product teams that make up Google Cloud. The surfaces we cover include the Console Platform, Cloud SDK, gcloud CLI, and Cloud Mobile Application.

As Principal Engineer, you will collaborate to create, oversee, and support technical outlook and strategy for this effort, with a deep focus on platform acceleration for product teams, supporting new, innovative AI Native experiences, and extending the reach of Google Cloud.

In this role, you will utilize deep technical expertise in software engineering, platform building, front-end web and mobile development, and the desire to mentor tech leads and build a strong organizational bench. Beyond technical delivery, you will possess the relationship‑building skills to influence across boundaries. You'll partner closely with various product teams across Google Cloud. In addition, you will work with other stakeholders across the company to understand constraints and requirements, and translate them into technical designs and implementations.

Google Cloud accelerates every organization’s ability to digitally transform its business and industry. We deliver enterprise‑grade solutions that leverage Google’s cutting‑edge technology, and tools that help developers build more sustainably. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $307000 - $427000 (USD) + 30% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities

• Partner with cross-functional leadership (e.g., product managers, UX, engineering managers, tech leaders, technical program managers) and organizations to align on a multi-year roadmap that prioritizes the highest-leverage investments and enables the transformation of the Cloud Surfaces experiences
• Create scalable, reliable, secure, and efficient designs that enable internal platform stakeholders to effectively build on, including supporting next generation, AI powered UI experiences on web and mobile, and accelerating SDK and CLI development.
• Raise the organization's collective technical bar by actively mentoring senior tech leads and fostering a culture of engineering, peer‑growth, and collaborative problem‑solving.
• Act as a technical bridge across product boundaries, aligning engineering teams and stakeholders behind a shared strategy for both long-term innovation and near term tactical execution with a focus on platform re-usability.

Information collected and processed as part of your Google Careers profile, and any job applications you choose to submit is subject to Google's Applicant and Candidate Privacy Policy.

Google is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the users we serve, creating a culture of belonging, and providing an equal employment opportunity regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), expecting or parents‑to‑be, criminal histories consistent with legal requirements, or any other basis protected by law. See also Google's EEO Policy, Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal, Belonging at Google, and How we hire.

If you have a need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing our Accommodations for Applicants form.

Google is a global company and, in order to facilitate efficient collaboration and communication globally, English proficiency is a requirement for all roles unless stated otherwise in the job posting.

To all recruitment agencies: Google does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Google employees, or any other organization location. Google is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

Equity is granted exclusively and discretionarily by Alphabet Inc. on the basis of an agreement concluded between you and Alphabet Inc. Alphabet Inc. is your sole contractual partner with respect to equity grants. GSU grants are not guaranteed, are discretionary, are subject to approval by the Alphabet Inc. board of directors or its delegate, the terms of the relevant Alphabet Inc. stock plan, and your grant agreement. They have no impact on statutory payments. Current or past grants do not confer an acquired right.