Principal Software Engineer, Ads Platform

Snap Inc.; Santa Monica (CA); On-site; USD 235,000 - 414,000; Full time

Job summary

Snap Inc. is seeking a Principal Software Engineer for the Ads Platform to drive next‑gen ads formats, backend infrastructure, and scalable services. You will work end‑to‑end with product, data science, and platform teams, pushing for high availability, performance, and cost‑effective solutions.

You will mentor engineers, shape technical direction, and apply evolving AI tools to build robust systems that deliver value to advertisers and Snap’s ecosystem.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of post‑Bachelor’s software development experience (or Master’s +9+ years; PhD +6+ years).
• 2+ years in technical leadership or domain expert role.
• Experience setting technical direction for engineering projects.
• Experience architecting, designing, and developing distributed systems.

Responsibilities

• Build the next generation ads formats and backend infrastructure.
• Work end‑to‑end across ads product ideas, experiments, and optimization.
• Collaborate across teams to understand requirements and trade‑offs.
• Advocate for availability, scalability, and cost management.
• Provide technical direction influencing the company.
• Design scalable services and production‑ready code with AI tools.

Skills

Programming & design

Distributed systems

Learning agility

Problem solving

Mentorship

Ads domain knowledge

AI/ML awareness

Education

Bachelor’s in technical field

Master’s +9+ years

PhD +6+ years

Job description

Snap Inc is a technology company. We believe the camera presents the greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate. Snap contributes to human progress by empowering people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together.

The Company operates Snapchat, a visual messaging app that enhances your relationships with friends, family, and the world, and Specs Inc., a wholly‑owned subsidiary dedicated to making computing more human, in addition to Bitmoji, Saturn, and other digital services.

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 front‑end.

We’re looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join the Ads Platform team at Snap.

What you’ll do

• Build the next generation ads formats and backend infrastructure and solutions to deliver more clicks and conversion and value for advertisers.
• Work end‑to‑end across innovating new ads product, format ideas, or infrastructure ideas experimentation, analysis and optimization.
• 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.
• Work across teams to understand product requirements, evaluate trade‑offs, and deliver the solutions needed to support Snap’s performance advertising suite.
• Technical influence that spans the entire company.
• Utilize AI tools and high‑velocity engineering workflows to design and ship scalable services while upholding rigorous standards for code correctness, security, and production‑ready quality code.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• 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.
• Ads domain expertise and a strong interest in Ads.
• Adaptability in learning and applying evolving AI systems and tools to remain at the forefront of engineering trends and modern development practices.

Minimum Qualifications

• 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+ year 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.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in technical leadership/ownership and setting technical direction for engineering projects.
• Proven track record of delivering large scale projects in attribution and measurement.
• Experience operating highly‑available systems at significant scale.
• Experience with backend services or distributed systems.
• Ads domain experience.

If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please don’t be shy and provide us some information.

"Default Together" Policy at Snap: At Snap Inc. we believe that being together in person helps us build our culture faster, reinforce our values, and serve our community, customers and partners better through dynamic collaboration. To reflect this, we practice a “default together” approach and expect our team members to work in an office 4+ days per week.

At Snap, we believe that having a team of diverse backgrounds and voices working together will enable us to create innovative products that improve the way people live and communicate. Snap is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and committed to providing employment opportunities regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected classification, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. EOE, including disability/vets.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable law (by example, the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, where applicable).

Benefits

Snap Inc. is its own community, so we’ve got your back! We do our best to make sure you and your loved ones have everything you need to be happy and healthy, on your own terms. Our benefits are built around your needs and include paid parental leave, comprehensive medical coverage, emotional and mental health support programs, and compensation packages that let you share in Snap’s long‑term success!

Compensation

In the United States, work locations are assigned a pay zone which determines the salary range for the position. The successful candidate’s starting pay will be determined based on job‑related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. The starting pay may be negotiable within the salary range for the position. These pay zones may be modified in the future.

• Zone A (CA, WA, NYC): The base salary range for this position is $276,000-$414,000 annually.
• Zone B: The base salary range for this position is $262,000-$393,000 annually.
• Zone C: The base salary range for this position is $235,000-$352,000 annually.

This position is eligible for equity in the form of RSUs.