Staff Software Engineer, Cache Infra

Pinterest; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 208,454 - 364,795; Full time

Job summary

Pinterest is seeking an experienced Backend Engineer to join the Cache Infra team in San Francisco. The role involves leading a high-performing team to build and maintain large-scale caching systems critical to the company's operations. Candidates should have a bachelor's degree in computer science and at least 8 years of relevant experience.

The position offers a competitive salary range of $208,454 – $364,795 USD and requires applicants to be located within commuting distance to the office, visiting in-person up to two times per quarter.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of hands-on experience in backend software engineering.
• Experience in building/managing caching systems at scale.
• Strong analytical mindset to guide data-driven decisions.

Responsibilities

• Lead a high-performing team to build efficient caching systems.
• Contribute to modernization of the cache infrastructure tech stack.
• Maintain high engineering standards for cache systems.

Skills

Backend software engineering

Large-scale distributed caching systems

Technical leadership

Problem-solving

AI leveraging

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent

Tools

Memcached

Redis

Java

Python

C/C++

Job description

The Cache Infra team manages one of Pinterest's most vital backend systems, offering huge scope and impact by serving hundreds of business-critical use cases across the entire company. Pinterest's cache infra operates at a massive scale, managing 100+ production clusters with 450M total QPS. This role provides a unique opportunity to gain hands‑on experience in building and operating large-scale distributed systems. The team works on challenging, exciting, and impactful projects, including next‑generation cache infrastructure, compute modernization initiatives, and innovations related to AI.

What You'll Do:

1. Provide technical guidance and direction to a high-performing team to build reliable, performant and efficient caching systems that operate at a huge scale and empower numerous business critical applications across the entire company.
2. Contribute to a cross-functional strategic initiative to modernize the cache infra tech stack by adopting cutting‑edge technologies.
3. Maintain a high engineering standard for cache infrastructure, focusing on continuous improvement in reliability, scalability, performance, cost efficiency, and developer velocity.
4. Serve as a member of the Cache Infra on‑call team, providing timely support for all pages and critical issues, including monitoring, prompt response to alerts, issue diagnosis/resolution, and communicating status to stakeholders.
5. Use AI to accelerate team execution, system design, and decision-making, applying sound judgment to validate outputs and ensure correctness and quality.
6. Establish and maintain a high standard for technical excellence and production quality.
7. Mentor senior engineers on the team, developing the next generation of caching infrastructure team leaders.

What We're Looking For:

1. Bachelor's degree in computer science, a related field or equivalent experience.
2. 8+ years of hands‑on backend software engineering experience in large‑scale distributed caching systems.
3. Experience building/managing caching systems such as memcached or Redis at scale.
4. Hands on experience building and operating highly available, reliable, production‑grade systems at scale.
5. Demonstrated technical leadership in setting roadmap and driving execution – including defining technical direction, leading engineering alignment, and partnering across teams to deliver complex platform investments.
6. Strong problem‑solving skills and analytical mindset, with the ability to use data to guide decisions.
7. Experience coding in one of the following languages: Java, Python and/or C/C++.
8. Demonstrated experience leveraging AI to accelerate development, enhance operations, and improve customer support.

Relocation Statement

This position is not eligible for relocation assistance. Visit our PinFlex page to learn more about our working model.

In-Office Requirement Statement

We recognize that the ideal environment for work is situational and may differ across departments. What this looks like day‑to‑day can vary based on the needs of each organization or role. This role will need to be in the office for in‑person collaboration 1‑2 times per quarter and therefore needs to be in a commutable distance from the following offices: PA office.

US based applicants only.

Base salary range: $208,454 – $364,795 USD. Position also eligible for equity.

Pinterest is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, status as a protected veteran, physical or mental disability, medical condition or genetic information. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.