Staff Software Engineer, Edge

Pinterest Engineering; United States; Hybrid; USD 177,000 - 365,000; Full time

Job summary

Pinterest is seeking a Staff Software Engineer for the Edge Team to lead automation traffic management at the edge and shape our rate limiting platform. You will work with Envoy and multiple CDNs to deliver scalable, reliable edge solutions.

You will design and implement edge routing, traffic classification, and enforcement, writing in C++, Golang, and Python, while mentoring teammates and collaborating with CDN vendors. This role is US-based with in-office cadence.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in infrastructure, networking, or platform engineering focusing on traffic management.
• Experience with bot detection or automation traffic management is a plus.
• Proficiency in C++, Golang, or Python; experience with L7 proxies.
• Deep understanding of L3-L7 networking; debugging production issues at scale.
• Experience gathering requirements from internal users and stakeholders.
• Ability to design distributed systems and drive from concept to production.
• Demonstrated experience using AI to accelerate engineering workflows with validation.
• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in CS/CE or related field, or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Build Edge systems with in-house code, Envoy, and multiple CDN/DNS providers.
• Drive automation traffic management for bots and crawlers at scale.
• Design request processing logic in Envoy for routing, classification, and enforcement; code in C++, Go, Python.
• Collaborate with CDN vendors and internal teams to define integration points.
• Study internal user pain points and translate findings into a roadmap.
• Mentor engineers through design reviews, pairing, and coaching.
• Use AI to accelerate prototyping, analysis, and operational tasks with validation.
• Participate in on-call for Edge systems and drive reliability improvements.

Skills

C++

Golang

Python

Distributed systems design

Education

CS/CE degree

Tools

Envoy

Nginx

Varnish

Traefik

Job description

About Pinterest:

Millions of people around the world come to our platform to find creative ideas, dream about new possibilities and plan for memories that will last a lifetime. At Pinterest, we’re on a mission to bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love, and that starts with the people behind the product.

Discover a career where you ignite innovation for millions, transform passion into growth opportunities, celebrate each other’s unique experiences and embrace the flexibility to do your best work. Creating a career you love? It’s Possible.

At Pinterest, AI isn't just a feature, it's a powerful partner that augments our creativity and amplifies our impact, and we’re looking for candidates who are excited to be a part of that. To get a complete picture of your experience and abilities, we’ll explore your foundational skills and how you collaborate with AI.

Through our interview process, what matters most is that you can always explain your approach, showing us not just what you know, but how you think. You can read more about our AI interview philosophy and how we use AI in our recruiting process here.

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.

#LI-REMOTE

#LI-KBF

At Pinterest we believe the workplace should be equitable, inclusive, and inspiring for every employee. In an effort to provide greater transparency, we are sharing the base salary range for this position. 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.

Information regarding the culture at Pinterest and benefits available for this position can be found here.

US based applicants only

$177,185—$364,795 USD

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 or 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.