Principal Software Engineer II - Product Security

Snowflake; Menlo Park (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading data cloud company is hiring a Principal Software Engineer II to lead the Product Security team. This role focuses on shaping the company’s security strategy and requires over 15 years of experience in software engineering, particularly in securing large-scale distributed systems and cloud-native platforms. The candidate should have expertise in AI security, cryptography, and strong leadership skills, mentoring engineers, and promoting a robust security culture across the organization.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of software engineering experience building and securing large-scale distributed systems and cloud-native platforms.
• Deep expertise in multiple security domains including AI/ML security, cloud security, and software supply chain security.
• Exceptional communication skills to influence senior technical audiences.
• Deep expertise in AI/ML security, cryptography, identity and access management, and cloud security.
• Experience securing AI/ML systems or building security controls for AI platforms.
• Exceptional ability to influence senior technical and executive audiences.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior technical authority for Product Security and define the security architecture.
• Drive security strategy across AI, authentication, and software supply chain security.
• Mentor engineers and promote a strong security mindset across the company.
• Mentor engineers and promote a strong security mindset across the company.
• Collaborate with product and engineering teams to implement security best practices.

Skills

Software engineering experience

AI/ML system security

Applied cryptography

Cloud security fundamentals

Distributed systems

Strong communication skills

Cross-organizational leadership

Python

C++

Education

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

Tools

Java

Go

Python

C

C++

Job description

Snowflake is about empowering enterprises to achieve their full potential — and people too. With a culture that’s all in on impact, innovation, and collaboration, Snowflake is the sweet spot for building big, moving fast, and taking technology — and careers — to the next level.

The Product Security team ensures that Snowflake products are built and shipped with the highest level of security. Our team drives the security posture of Snowflake products and is responsible for embedding security into every stage of the product lifecycle, from design through deployment and beyond. We design and build frameworks, systems and services that keep Snowflake secure.

As a Principal Software Engineer II on the Product Security team, you will be the senior technical authority for Product Security and play a critical leadership role in shaping and advancing Snowflake’s security. This is a unique opportunity to define and influence our long-term security strategy and have a direct impact on the security of the Snowflake platform and the trust of our customers. You will operate across organizational boundaries, guiding major security initiatives, influencing architectural decisions at the highest levels, setting the technical direction for the organization, and ensuring consistent security excellence across all product teams while working closely with business leaders to advance Snowflake’s business. The role requires deep expertise in security, software engineering, distributed systems, software infrastructure, AI/ML, applied cryptography, threat modeling and cloud security fundamentals.

IN THIS ROLE AT SNOWFLAKE, YOU WILL:

• Serve as the senior technical authority and architectural leader for Product Security, defining the long-term technical vision and security architecture for Snowflake.
• Drive the security strategy across key domains, including AI security, authentication, authorization, data protection, and software supply chain security.
• Design and develop scalable, secure-by-default frameworks, services, and tools to secure Snowflake's infrastructure and protect customer data and accounts.
• Define and implement proactive strategies to mitigate emerging AI-related threats, both by securing Snowflake’s AI offerings and leveraging AI to enhance the company's overall security posture.
• Anticipate emerging security risks and proactively define long-term mitigation strategies aligned with business and product goals.
• Ensure cohesive execution by driving alignment across engineering, infrastructure, AI/ML, and security teams.
• Partner with product and engineering teams to implement security best practices.
• Mentor engineers, influence the engineering culture, and promote a strong security mindset company-wide.

WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU IF YOU H A V E:

• 15+ years of software engineering experience building and securing large-scale distributed systems and cloud-native platforms.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science or related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Demonstrated company-level technical leadership with cross-organizational impact.
• Deep expertise in multiple security domains, including AI/ML system security, applied cryptography, identity and access management, secure distributed system design, cloud and infrastructure security and/or software supply chain security
• Experience securing AI/ML systems or building security controls for AI-driven platforms.
• Strong systems thinking with experience identifying and mitigating systemic risks at scale.
• Track record of leading complex, multi-year technical initiatives with broad organizational impact.
• Experience in software development working with one or more of the following languages: Java, Go, Python, C, C++
• Exceptional communication skills and the ability to influence senior technical and executive audiences.

Every Snowflake employee is expected to follow the company’s confidentiality and security standards for handling sensitive data. Snowflake employees must abide by the company’s data security plan as an essential part of their duties. It is every employee's duty to keep customer information secure and confidential.

Snowflake is growing fast, and we’re scaling our team to help enable and accelerate our growth. We are looking for people who share our values, challenge ordinary thinking, and push the pace of innovation while building a future for themselves and Snowflake.

How do you want to make your impact?

For jobs located in the United States, please visit the job posting on the Snowflake Careers Site for salary and benefits information: careers.snowflake.com