Principal Software Engineer
Snap Inc. is a technology company focused on the camera as the greatest opportunity to improve how people live and communicate. We contribute to human progress by empowering expression, living in the moment, learning about the world, and having fun together. Our products include Snapchat, Specs Inc., Bitmoji, and Saturn, reaching hundreds of millions of users globally.
About the role
We’re looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join our team. You’ll design, implement, and scale critical engineering components and services for Snap’s most strategic initiatives, working across teams to deliver innovative products while upholding best practices in availability, scalability, operational excellence, and cost management. This role influences technical direction company-wide and leverages AI tools to ship scalable, high-quality services.
Responsibilities
- Design, implement, and scale critical engineering components and services to support Snap’s strategic initiatives.
- Collaborate across teams to understand product requirements, evaluate trade-offs, and deliver solutions for innovative products or services.
- Advocate for and apply best practices in availability, scalability, operational excellence, and cost management.
- Provide technical direction that influences the entire company.
- Utilize AI tools and high-velocity engineering workflows to design and ship scalable services while maintaining rigorous standards for code correctness, security, and production readiness.
- Solve ambiguous problems and mentor other engineers.
Requirements
- Excellent programming and software design skills, including debugging, performance analysis, and test design.
- Proven track record of operating highly-available systems at scale.
- Ability to proactively learn new concepts and technology and apply them at work.
- Strong collaboration and mentorship skills.
- Proficiency in leveraging AI tools to streamline development, paired with critical judgment to audit generated output for architectural integrity, performance bottlenecks, and security risks.
- Adaptability in learning and applying evolving AI systems and tools to remain at the forefront of engineering trends.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in a technical field such as computer science, mathematics, or statistics, or equivalent years of experience.
- 10+ years of post-Bachelor’s software development experience; or a Master’s degree in a technical field + 9+ years of post-grad software development experience; or a PhD in a related technical field + 6+ years of post-grad software development experience.
- 2+ years of experience with technical leadership or acting as the domain expert for a technical organization.
- Experience in technical leadership/ownership and setting technical direction for engineering projects.
- Experience architecting, designing, and developing distributed systems.
Preferred Qualifications
- Advanced degree in a technical field such as computer science.
- Experience with cross-platform development.
- Ability to promote product excellence and collaboration, driving a portfolio of concurrent engineering projects, from short-term feature launches to long-term research initiatives.
- Ability to create a compelling vision for the future, communicate clearly, and demonstrate a collaborative leadership approach.
Schedule
This role follows a “default together” approach, requiring in-office work 4+ days per week to foster collaboration and culture.
Benefits
- Paid parental leave.
- Comprehensive medical coverage.
- Emotional and mental health support programs.
- Compensation packages that include equity (RSUs) to share in Snap’s long-term success.
Pay
In the United States, work locations are assigned a pay zone determining the salary range for the position. Starting pay is based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions, and may be negotiable within the range.
- Zone A (CA, WA, NYC): $276,000–$414,000 annually.
- Zone B: $262,000–$393,000 annually.
- Zone C: $235,000–$352,000 annually.
This position is also eligible for equity in the form of RSUs.