Staff Software Engineer, Edge

Pinterest; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 177,185 - 364,795; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity opportunities

Flexible working model

Job summary

Pinterest is seeking a Staff Software Engineer for their Edge Team in San Francisco, California. The role involves managing Edge systems that connect over 600M users and encompasses a leadership position focusing on automation traffic management through innovative design solutions.

Ideal candidates will have at least 6 years of experience in infrastructure and strong proficiency in languages such as C++, Golang, and Python. A competitive salary ranging from $177,185 to $364,795 USD is offered based on qualifications and experience.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in infrastructure or platform engineering, focusing on traffic management.
• Experience with bot detection or automation traffic management is a plus.
• Deep understanding of network protocols across L3-L7.

Responsibilities

• Build Edge systems and manage automation traffic.
• Design processing logic in Envoy for routing and classification.
• Mentor engineers and drive reliability improvements.

Skills

Infrastructure experience

Networking knowledge

Traffic management systems

C++ proficiency

Golang proficiency

Python proficiency

AI application

Education

Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Envoy proxy

Nginx

Varnish

Traefik

Job description

Job Title: Staff Software Engineer, Edge Team

Intro: The Edge team owns the systems (including CDN, TLS, DNS, ingress/egress proxy fleet, and rate limiting) that connect 600M+ users to Pinterest. We're looking for a Staff Software Engineer to lead our efforts to manage automation traffic (such as bots and crawlers) at the Edge, while shaping the future of our rate limiting platform.

What you'll do:

• Build Edge systems that combine in-house implementation, open-source software like Envoy proxy, and multiple CDN & DNS providers. Balance what to build, what to leverage from the community, and what to orchestrate across vendors.
• Drive automation traffic management efforts in the Edge space, designing solutions to manage bots and crawlers at scale.
• Design and implement request processing logic in Envoy to support Edge capabilities such as routing, traffic classification, and enforcement. Write, review, and maintain code written in C++, Golang, and Python.
• Collaborate with CDN vendors and internal platform teams to define integration points.
• Study internal user pain points with the rate limiting platform and translate findings into a prioritized roadmap.
• Mentor engineers within the team and demonstrate technical leadership through design reviews, pairing, and coaching.
• Use AI to accelerate prototyping, analysis, and operational tasks, while applying engineering judgment to verify correctness and production-readiness.
• Participate in oncall for Edge systems and drive incident response, post-mortems, and reliability improvements.

What we're looking for:

• 6+ years of experience in infrastructure, networking, or platform engineering, with a deep focus on traffic management systems (CDN, HTTP gateways, service mesh, or load balancing).
• Experience with bot detection, scraping prevention, or automation traffic management systems is a plus.
• Proficiency in C++, Golang, or Python, with experience developing L7 HTTP proxies such as Envoy, Nginx, Varnish, and Traefik.
• Deep understanding of network protocols across L3-L7 and hands-on experience debugging production networking issues at scale.
• Experience gathering requirements from internal users, aligning cross-functional stakeholders, and delivering credible technical plans.
• Proven ability to design distributed systems architectures and drive them from proposal through proof of concept to production.
• Demonstrated experience using AI to accelerate engineering workflows (design exploration, code generation, operational analysis), with a clear approach to validating correctness and quality.
• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

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 every 6-months and therefore can be situated anywhere in the country.

Benefits and Compensation

Base salary range: $177,185 – $364,795 USD. The position is also eligible for equity. Final salary is based on a number of factors including location, travel, relevant prior experience, or particular skills and expertise.

Our Commitment to Inclusion

Pinterest is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit. We want to have the best qualified people in every job. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, status as a protected veteran, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information or characteristics (or those of a family member) or any other consideration made unlawful by applicable federal, state or local laws. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you require a medical or religious accommodation during the job application process, please complete this form for support.

By submitting this application, I certify that all information submitted in my application and throughout the hiring process is true, accurate, and complete to the best of my knowledge. I understand that any false statement, omission, or misrepresentation may disqualify me from employment consideration or result in termination if discovered after hire.