Principal Software Engineer

Snap Inc.; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Snap Inc. in Los Angeles is seeking a Senior Software Engineer responsible for designing, implementing, and scaling engineering components supporting strategic initiatives. You will collaborate with teams to create innovative products and advocate for best practices in availability and scalability.

The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor's in a technical field and 10+ years of software development experience, with a strong emphasis on technical leadership and collaboration. Keys to success include having a vision for future products and the ability to communicate clearly.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software development experience.
• 2+ years in technical leadership roles.
• Experience in designing distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Build and scale engineering components and services.
• Collaborate across teams to meet product requirements.
• Provide technical direction influencing the company.

Skills

Programming and software design skills

Debugging skills

Performance analysis

Test design skills

Collaboration and mentorship

Education

Bachelor's in a technical field

Master's or PhD in a technical field

Job description

Requirements

• Excellent programming and software design skills, including debugging, performance analysis, and test design
• Proven track record of operating highly‑available systems at scale
• Ability to proactively learn new concepts and technology and apply them at work
• Skilled at solving ambiguous problems
• Strong collaboration and mentorship skills
• Bachelor’s in a technical field such as computer science, mathematics, statistics or equivalent years of experience
• 10+ years of post‑Bachelor’s software development experience; or a Master’s degree in a technical field + 9+ years of post‑grad software development experience; or a PhD in a related technical field + 6+ years of post‑grad software development experience
• 2+ years of experience with technical leadership or acting as the domain‑expert to a technical organization
• Experience in technical leadership/ownership and setting technical direction for engineering projects
• Experience architecting, designing, and developing distributed systems
• (Desirable) Advanced degree in a technical field such as computer science
• (Desirable) Experience with cross‑platform development
• (Desirable) Ability to promote product excellence and collaboration, driving a portfolio of concurrent engineering projects, from short‑term critical feature launches to long‑term research initiatives
• (Desirable) Ability to create a compelling vision for the future, communicate clearly, and have a collaborative leadership approach

What the job involves

• Snap Engineering teams build fun and technically sophisticated products that reach hundreds of millions of Snapchatters around the world every day. We’re deeply committed to the well‑being of everyone in our global community, which is why our values are at the root of everything we do. We move fast, with precision, and always execute with privacy at the forefront
• Design, implement, and scale critical engineering components and services to support Snap’s most strategic initiatives
• Work across teams to understand product requirements, evaluate trade‑offs, and deliver the solutions needed to build innovative products or services
• Advocate for and apply best practices when it comes to availability, scalability, operational excellence, and cost management
• Provide technical direction that influences the entire company