Software Engineer, Backend, Level 5 – Ads Delivery

Snap Inc.; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 209,000 - 313,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid parental leave

Medical coverage

Mental health support

Equity in RSUs

Job summary

Snap Inc. is seeking a Backend Engineer for the Ads Delivery Platform team in the United States. You will design, implement, and operate ads delivery infrastructure, owning critical systems for reliable, scalable ad delivery.

You’ll collaborate with Product, Data Science, ML, and Infrastructure to translate product vision into scalable solutions, driving end-to-end execution from concept to launch and optimization. Experience with distributed systems and modern backend stacks is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical field or equivalent practical experience.
• 6+ years of software development experience post-bachelor's or 5+ years with a Master's +6+ years overall.
• Experience with distributed systems and Java, C++, or Python.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and operate ads delivery infrastructure and services.
• Partner with Product, Data Science, ML, and Infrastructure to translate product vision into scalable solutions.
• Design, test, debug, and maintain production systems with observability and automation.
• Champion best practices in distributed systems, availability, scalability, and security.
• Leverage AI tools and fast workflows to ship scalable services with high code quality.

Skills

Distributed systems

Java

C++

Python

Cloud computing

Kubernetes

AWS/GCP

AI tools for development

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or equivalent

Tools

NoSQL databases

Memcache/Redis

Kubernetes

AWS Services

Google Cloud services

Job description

We’re looking for a Backend Engineer to join Snap Inc. within our Ads Delivery Platform team.

What you’ll do:

• Design, implement, and operate our ads delivery infrastructure and services. Own critical serving‑time systems and business logic that enable reliable, scalable, and efficient ad delivery.
• Partner closely with Product, Data Science, ML, and Infrastructure teams to translate product vision into scalable technical solutions, driving end‑to‑end execution from concept to launch and ongoing optimization.
• Design, test, debug, and maintain high‑quality production systems, leveraging observability, experimentation, and automation to ensure robust and resilient services.
• Champion best practices in distributed systems, availability, scalability, operational excellence, security, and infrastructure efficiency while helping evolve the long‑term architecture of the ads delivery platform.
• 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:

• Experience with backend services or distributed systems.
• Experience in at least one of the following areas: large‑scale microservices and distributed systems, cloud computing and storage systems, infrastructure and large‑scale system design, security, networking and data storage, machine learning and natural language processing.
• Proven track record of operating highly‑available systems at significant scale.
• Experience with Java, C++, and/or Python.
• Experience with NoSQL solutions, Memcache/Redis, Kubernetes, or Google/AWS services.
• You can independently execute on medium‑sized features, taking a few weeks and multiple PRs to complete.
• You understand the operational aspects of your system and may participate in incident or hotfix investigation and resolution.
• Ability to collaborate and work well with others.
• Proficiency in, or a strong aptitude for, leveraging AI tools to streamline development, paired with the critical judgment to audit generated output for architectural integrity, performance bottlenecks, and security risks.
• 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 Degree in a relevant technical field such as computer science or equivalent years of practical work experience.
• 6+ years of post‑Bachelor’s software development experience; or Master’s degree in a technical field + 5+ years of post‑grad software development experience; or PhD in a relevant technical field + 2+ years of post‑grad software development experience.
• Experience with distributed systems.
• Experience with Java, C++, and/or Python.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience building ad delivery, recommendation, marketplace auction, search, retrieval, or other high‑throughput online serving systems.
• Experience supporting multiple product surfaces through shared backend platforms and frameworks.
• Familiarity with ads concepts, including ad serving, targeting, frequency capping, auctions, bidding systems, pacing, or campaign optimization.
• Experience improving system efficiency, infrastructure utilization, and cost‑performance tradeoffs at scale.
• Experience leveraging AI‑assisted development tools and modern engineering workflows to improve engineering productivity and software quality.

If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.

Equal Opportunity

Snap is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, 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.

Benefits

Snap Inc. offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid parental leave, medical coverage, mental health support, 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 starting pay will be determined based on job‑related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions.

Zone A (CA, WA, NYC): The base salary range is $209,000–$313,000 annually.

Zone B: The base salary range is $199,000–$297,000 annually.

Zone C: The base salary range is $178,000–$266,000 annually.

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