Principal Software Engineer, Growth, Level 7

Location: Bellevue, India | Los Angeles, Canada | New York, United States | Palo Alto, Canada | Seattle, India

Department: Engineering

Employment Type: Full time

About Snap Inc

Snap Inc is a technology company. We believe the camera presents the greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate. Snap contributes to human progress by empowering people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together.

About the Role

Snap Inc is a camera company that believes the camera represents the greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate. We contribute to human progress by empowering people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together through our core products: Snapchat, a visual messaging app; Lens Studio, an AR platform; and Spectacles, our AR glasses. Snap Engineering teams build fun, technically sophisticated products reaching hundreds of millions of Snapchatters daily. We're deeply committed to our creative culture, moving fast with precision while prioritizing privacy. Join our Growth Team as a Principal Software Engineer, Level 7, to drive the infrastructure powering user acquisition, engagement, and retention in this innovative, camera-first ecosystem. In this role, you'll design, implement, and operate our most critical, scalable services—from ML-powered recommendation engines and push notifications to friending graphs and login systems—all optimized for Snapchat's real-time AR and camera experiences. You'll collaborate across teams to translate product requirements into robust solutions, evaluating trade-offs in scalability, latency, and cost to fuel growth features like personalized Lenses and Spectacles integrations. As a technical leader, you'll advocate for best practices in availability and operational excellence, driving company-wide influence on systems that handle massive scale while fostering our creative, collaborative culture. We're seeking a seasoned engineer with deep expertise in distributed systems and a passion for AR innovation. You'll mentor teams, partner with executives in our globally distributed organization, and deliver in fast-paced, multi-stakeholder environments. At Snap, our 'Default Together' policy means working in-office 4+ days per week to build culture through dynamic collaboration. We celebrate diverse backgrounds and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to inclusive hiring practices.

What You'll Do

• Design, implement, and operate Snap's most critical and scalable services, including ML systems, push notifications, friending graph, login and registration, optimized for Snapchat's camera-first experiences
• Work across engineering, product, and AR teams to understand requirements for innovative features like AR Lenses and Spectacles integration
• Evaluate trade-offs in scalability, latency, and privacy to deliver solutions that power hundreds of millions of daily Snapchatters
• Advocate for best practices in availability, scalability, operational excellence, and cost management across Growth infrastructure
• Drive technical influence spanning the entire company, collaborating on camera technology and AR innovation initiatives
• Lead the development of distributed systems that enhance user growth through personalized recommendations and real-time notifications
• Optimize services for global scale, ensuring seamless performance for visual messaging and live AR interactions
• Partner with ML teams to build recommender systems that boost engagement with Snapchat's creative tools
• Mentor engineers and foster a culture of innovation in a fast-paced, camera-centric environment
• Champion privacy-by-design in all Growth systems, aligning with Snap's commitment to user trust
• Contribute to infrastructure that supports Lens Studio and Spectacles, enabling new AR experiences

Minimum Qualifications

• 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 to a technical organization
• Experience with backend services or distributed systems
• Proven track record of operating highly-available systems at significant scale
• Experience in at least one of: Large-scale microservices and distributed systems, Cloud computing and storage systems, Infrastructure and large-scale system design, Information Retrieval/Search Systems, Machine learning for search and/or recommender systems, Notifications infrastructure, Search engine optimization
• Experience with Java, C++ and/or Go
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field (or equivalent practical experience)

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience partnering with cross-functional executives and management across a globally distributed organization and exercising sound judgment
• Experience working directly with business critical functions like growth
• Building and operating ML/ML-adjacent systems
• Track record of delivery in rapidly changing, highly collaborative, multi-site, multi-stakeholder environments
• Experience with AR-related systems or camera technology integrations

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Backend services and distributed systems design
• Large-scale microservices architecture
• Cloud computing (e.g., AWS, GCP) and storage systems
• Infrastructure and large-scale system design
• Information Retrieval and Search Systems
• Machine learning for search/recommender systems
• Notifications infrastructure at scale
• Search engine optimization techniques
• Java, C++, or Go programming expertise
• Operating highly-available systems
• Technical leadership and mentorship
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Privacy and security best practices
• Scalability and performance optimization
• Trade-off analysis for product requirements
• Global team coordination
• AR/ML-adjacent systems experience
• Cost management in cloud environments

Our Benefits

• Paid parental leave
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Emotional and mental health support programs
• Competitive compensation packages with equity in the form of RSUs
• 401(k) matching and financial wellness programs
• Flexible paid time off and wellness stipends
• Onsite fitness centers and catered meals at Snap offices
• Professional development opportunities and learning stipends
• Commuter benefits and employee discounts on Snap products

Compensation

$276,000-$414,000 annually

This position is eligible for equity in the form of RSUs.

"Default Together" Policy: At Snap Inc, we practice a "default together" approach and expect team members to work in an office 4+ days per week.

Snap is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.