Principal Engineer, Online Systems

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.

What You’ll Do

• Improve reliability, scalability and infra efficiency for Pinterest’s critical online systems across storage and caching, online service and realtime analytics systems to support continued business growth.
• Lead cross-functional strategic initiatives to modernize Pinterest’s online serving stack through multi-region deployment, Kubernetes migration, and the adoption of cutting-edge technologies and industry best practices.
• Quality champion for online systems and the broad engineering organization, holding a high bar on execution quality and operational excellence.
• Drive the online systems vision and strategy for the next 3 years and beyond, and translate that strategy into cross-functional roadmaps with measurable outcomes.
• Foster a diverse and inclusive engineering culture that makes all feel welcome, and invest in mentorship, critical thinking, and candid feedback to strengthen individual and organizational growth.

What We’re Looking For

• 12+ years of software engineering experience with deep expertise in distributed systems, especially online serving, storage, and caching systems: hands-on experience building and operating highly available, reliable, production-grade systems at large scale; strong technical judgment in reliability, scalability, performance, and infrastructure efficiency; proficiency in at least one of C++, Java, or Python.
• Proven track record driving large-scale technical impact: experience leading reliability and scalability improvements, cost efficiency initiatives, and modernization efforts across critical production systems; able to define technical strategy, influence architecture decisions, and drive execution through cross-functional collaboration, strong communication, and operational excellence.
• Strong ownership, quality mindset, and thoughtful use of AI: demonstrates high standards for engineering quality, integrity, and accountability for final outcomes; able to use AI to accelerate analysis, debugging, design exploration, or operational workflows while applying critical thinking, validating correctness, and maintaining sound technical judgment rather than outsourcing ownership to tools.
• Exceptional collaboration skills with cross-functional partners, with the ability to navigate ambiguity, make tradeoffs, and keep stakeholders aligned on priorities and progress.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, a related technical field, or equivalent experience.

Qualifications

• Relocation Statement: This position is not eligible for relocation assistance.
• 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 one of the following offices: PA or SF offices.

Pay & Benefits

• $285,452—$499,541 USD

Equal Opportunity Employer

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.