Staff Backend Engineer, Programmatic Ads & AI-Driven Systems

Pinterest; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 177,000 - 365,000; Full time

Job summary

Pinterest is seeking an experienced backend engineer to own high-scale integrations and help shape product direction using AI. You will collaborate with product managers, data scientists, and external partners to translate requirements into robust technical solutions.

This role requires a BS in computer science (or equivalent), 7+ years in distributed systems, and a proven track record of ownership and mentoring.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or related field or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of hands-on backend software engineering experience in large-scale distributed systems.
• Passion for working on ad products work.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder alignment skills.
• Strong problem-solving skills and analytical mindset, with the ability to use data to guide decisions.
• Experience with ad serving platform, ad exchange, supply-side platform, or demand-side platform.
• Demonstrated ability to use AI to accelerate team execution, system design, and decision-making, paired with sound judgment in validating outputs, maintaining quality, and taking ownership of final outcomes.
• High integrity and ownership: you protect sensitive data, avoid over-reliance on AI, and remain accountable for final decisions and deliverables.
• Demonstrated ability to transform a team’s engineering workflow using AI—from pilot to broad adoption—through tooling, enablement, and change leadership, with clear metrics (cycle time, defect rate, on-call load, incident rate).

Responsibilities

• Lead one or two partner integrations, and work closely with product managers, data scientists, other cross-functional teams, and external partners to understand business requirements and translate them into technical solutions.
• Use AI to accelerate team execution, system design, and decision-making, applying sound judgment to validate outputs and ensure correctness and quality.
• Independently drive the full software development lifecycle, including ideation, technical design, prototyping, development, and release.
• Independently drive problem-solving and product iterations by utilizing A/B testing.
• Establish and maintain a high standard for technical excellence and production quality.
• Mentor junior engineers on the team and provide design and coding feedback.

Skills

Backend engineering

Distributed systems

Communication

Problem-solving

AI in engineering

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

AI tooling familiarity

Job description

Pinterest is seeking an experienced backend engineer to own high-scale integrations and help shape product direction using AI. You will collaborate with product managers, data scientists, and external partners to translate requirements into robust technical solutions.

This role requires a BS in computer science (or equivalent), 7+ years in distributed systems, and a proven track record of ownership and mentoring.