Staff Software Engineer, Ads Platform, Level 6

Location: Los Angeles, Canada | 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 presents the greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate. We empower people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together through Snapchat, Lens Studio, and Spectacles. Our Engineering teams build fun and technically sophisticated products that reach hundreds of millions of Snapchatters daily, deeply committed to privacy, speed, and precision. Join the Ads Platform team as a Staff Software Engineer, Level 6, to drive innovation in advertising that enhances our AR-powered, camera-first experiences and fuels Snap’s creative culture. In this role, you’ll build next-generation ad formats and backend infrastructure to maximize clicks, conversions, and advertiser value within Snapchat’s visual ecosystem. Work end-to-end—from ideation and experimentation to analysis and optimization—while collaborating across teams to translate product requirements into scalable solutions. You’ll advocate for best practices in availability, scalability, operational excellence, and cost management, providing technical direction that influences the company and integrates seamlessly with AR innovations like Lenses and Spectacles. Leverage your expertise in distributed systems and high-scale operations to solve ambiguous challenges, mentor engineers, and shape Snap’s performance advertising suite. With a passion for ads and camera technology, you’ll optimize real-time ad delivery to enhance creative, immersive experiences for Snapchatters worldwide. We practice a 'Default Together' policy, expecting 4+ days in office to foster dynamic collaboration in our inclusive, innovative culture.

What You'll Do

• Build next-generation ad formats and backend infrastructure to deliver more clicks, conversions, and value for advertisers on Snapchat
• Work end-to-end on innovating new ads product, format ideas, or infrastructure, including experimentation, analysis, and optimization
• Collaborate across teams to understand product requirements, evaluate trade-offs, and deliver solutions for Snap’s performance advertising suite
• Advocate for best practices in availability, scalability, operational excellence, and cost management
• Provide technical direction that influences the entire company, integrating with camera and AR technologies
• Mentor engineers and drive technical strategy for the Ads Platform team
• Solve ambiguous problems in high-scale environments reaching hundreds of millions of Snapchatters
• Optimize ad delivery systems to enhance AR-powered experiences and creative ad formats
• Analyze performance data to improve ad relevance in real-time camera and Lens interactions
• Lead cross-functional initiatives to innovate advertising within Snapchat’s visual messaging ecosystem

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field such as computer science, mathematics, statistics, or equivalent practical experience
• 9+ years of industry experience in software engineering
• 2+ years of experience in technical leadership or acting as the domain expert to a technical organization
• Experience in technical leadership/ownership and setting technical direction for engineering projects
• Experience architecting, designing, and developing distributed systems
• Proven track record of operating highly-available systems at scale

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience delivering large-scale projects in attribution and measurement
• Experience with backend services or distributed systems at significant scale
• Ads domain experience and deep interest in performance advertising
• Proven track record of technical influence spanning large organizations
• Experience optimizing systems for cost management and operational excellence

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Excellent programming and software design skills
• Debugging and performance analysis expertise
• Test design and implementation
• Distributed systems architecture
• High-availability systems operations at scale
• Proactive learning of new technologies
• Solving ambiguous problems
• Strong collaboration and mentorship
• Technical leadership and direction-setting
• Ads domain expertise
• Scalability and optimization techniques
• Data analysis for experimentation
• Cross-team communication
• Privacy-focused engineering practices
• 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
• Flexible paid time off and wellness programs
• Professional development opportunities in AR and camera technologies
• Collaborative 'Default Together' office environment 4+ days per week
• Snacks, meals, and perks supporting creative culture

Compensation

$229,000-$343,000 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.