Staff Software Engineering, GenAI Applications, YouTube

Google LLC; Northern, San Bruno (KY, CA); Hybrid; USD 207,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Bonus target

Job summary

Google LLC's YouTube team seeks a Staff Software Engineer to advance GenAI Applications. You will architect the semantic layer powering GDA products like YouTube SQL Assistant, YouTube Debugger, and define end-to-end context retrieval for large-scale data landscapes.

You will lead embedding strategy evaluation, build real-time data pipelines, mentor senior engineers, and collaborate with Google DeepMind and YouTube infrastructure to adopt cutting-edge research.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 8 years of experience in software development.
• 5 years of experience testing, and launching software products, and 3 years of experience with software design and architecture.
• 5 years of experience with machine learning algorithms and tools (e.g. TensorFlow), artificial intelligence, deep learning, or natural language processing.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, deploy, maintain, and enhance software solutions.
• Architect the semantic layer powering GDA products like YouTube SQL Assistant and YouTube Debugger.
• Define end-to-end strategy for context retrieval within YouTube data landscape.
• Lead evaluation and fine-tuning of embedding strategies for multiple retrieval approaches.
• Mentor Senior Engineers and collaborate with Google DeepMind and YouTube infrastructure.

Skills

Software development

Testing software

Software architecture

Machine learning

NLP basics

Data structures and algorithms

Leadership mentoring

Context retrieval systems

SQL

Embedding techniques

Massive data querying

Vector space models

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

TensorFlow

Vector space models

Job description

Staff Software Engineering, GenAI Applications, YouTube

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• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 8 years of experience in software development.
• 5 years of experience testing, and launching software products, and 3 years of experience with software design and architecture.
• 5 years of experience with machine learning algorithms and tools (e.g. TensorFlow), artificial intelligence, deep learning, or natural language processing.

Preferred qualifications:

• 8 years of experience with data structures and algorithms.
• Experience leading technical strategy for large-scale projects and mentoring executive engineers.
• Experience designing and implementing complex context retrieval systems (context scaffolding) for large language models in production.
• Proficiency in SQL.
• Understanding of vector space models, semantic search, and experience evaluating embedding techniques (e.g., dense versus sparse retrieval, re-ranking strategies).
• Ability to independently query massive datasets to diagnose model behavior, identify edge cases, and drive data-informed architectural decisions.

About the job

Google's software engineers develop the next-generation technologies that change how billions of users connect, explore, and interact with information and one another. Our products need to handle information at massive scale, and extend well beyond web search. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from all areas, including information retrieval, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, UI design and mobile; the list goes on and is growing every day. As a software engineer, you will work on a specific project critical to Google’s needs with opportunities to switch teams and projects as you and our fast-paced business grow and evolve. We need our engineers to be versatile, display leadership qualities and be enthusiastic to take on new problems across the full-stack as we continue to push technology forward.

With your technical expertise you will manage project priorities, deadlines, and deliverables. You will design, develop, test, deploy, maintain, and enhance software solutions.

The YouTube GDA (Generative Data Analytics) team in YouTube Data Organization is democratizing the data ecosystem by leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) to transform complex data into actionable intelligence.

As a Software Engineer, you will architect the semantic layer that powers GDA products like YouTube SQL Assistant, YouTube Debugger, etc. You will define how our models understand YouTube’s massive data landscape, owning the end-to-end strategy for context retrieval.

At YouTube, we believe that everyone deserves to have a voice, and that the world is a better place when we listen, share, and build community through our stories. We work together to give everyone the power to share their story, explore what they love, and connect with one another in the process. Working at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and boundless creativity, we move at the speed of culture with a shared goal to show people the world. We explore new ideas, solve real problems, and have fun — and we do it all together.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $207000 - $300000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google .

• Design and implement dynamic context construction strategies for RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) systems.
• Solve challenges related to limited context versus massive schema documentation, optimizing for precision, recall, and cost.
• Lead the evaluation and fine-tuning of embedding strategy (dense, sparse, and hybrid) to capture domain‑specific YouTube terminology. You will decide how we represent data tables, column definitions, and debug logs in vector space.
• Build data pipelines that keep our semantic index fresh in real‑time as YouTube’s data schemas evolve.
• Mentor Senior Engineers, drive technical roadmap planning, and collaborate with partners in Google DeepMind and YouTube infrastructure to adopt research.

Google is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the users we serve, creating a culture of belonging, and providing an equal employment opportunity regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), expecting or parents‑to‑be, criminal histories consistent with legal requirements, or any other basis protected by law. See also Google's EEO Policy , Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal , Belonging at Google , and How we hire .

Google is a global company and, in order to facilitate efficient collaboration and communication globally, English proficiency is a requirement for all roles unless stated otherwise in the job posting.

Equity is granted exclusively and discretionarily by Alphabet Inc. on the basis of an agreement concluded between you and Alphabet Inc. Alphabet Inc. is your sole contractual partner with respect to equity grants. GSU grants are not guaranteed, are discretionary, are subject to approval by the Alphabet Inc. board of directors or its delegate, the terms of the relevant Alphabet Inc. stock plan, and your grant agreement. They have no impact on statutory payments. Current or past grants do not confer an acquired right.