Principal Engineer, AI Platform

Pinterest

Confirmed live 2 days ago High trust
Remote

Quick summary

Work type
Remote
Location
Palo Alto, CASan Francisco, CA
Salary
$242,634–$499,541 / yr
Posted
6 days ago
Freshness
Confirmed live 2 days ago
Nearby
99+ roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $213k
This role $371k
$103k most similar roles pay here $542k

This role pays more than 99% of similar roles. Most pay $186,250–$240,059 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $371k versus about $213k for comparable roles.

Based on 240 similar postings.

Employer

About Pinterest

Pinterest is a visual discovery and inspiration platform where people find ideas for home, style, recipes, and more. It serves hundreds of millions of users worldwide through its image and video pinboard product.

Pinterest currently has 22 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $177,185–$332,012 across 17 roles with salary data.

Most-posted roles

View all roles at Pinterest

At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Engineer, AI Platform

Role Posting Log in to save

As a Principal Engineer on the AI Platform team, you will architect the infrastructure powering Generative AI and Recommender Systems across the entire product suite. You will set the technical vision and roadmap for the platform while driving cross-functional initiatives involving multimodal data management, post-training, evaluation, and high-performance inference. Your daily work involves building end-to-end engines for petabyte-scale data orchestration and training infrastructure to support hundreds of millions of inferences per second. The role requires deep expertise in AI/ML infrastructure and distributed systems to solve complex problems regarding feature stores and automated user experience tools. You must demonstrate proficiency in at least one of C++, Java, or Rust while navigating ambiguity to influence architecture decisions. This position focuses on the technical challenges of scaling machine learning models for a massive global user base.

What does a Engineer earn in California?

Median $212200 from 90 postings across 26 companies.

See salary data

Skills

AI/ML Infrastructure Distributed Systems Generative AI Recommender Systems C++ Java Rust Data Orchestration Model Training Fine-tuning Inference Feature Stores Multimodal Data Management

What you'll do

  • Architect infrastructure for Generative AI and Recommender Systems across Pinterest's entire product suite.
  • Set the technical vision and roadmap for the AI Platform aligned with business priorities.
  • Manage petabyte-scale data orchestration, model training, and fine-tuning processes.
  • Build high-performance inference systems capable of handling hundreds of millions of inferences per second.
  • Drive cross-functional initiatives for multimodal data management and feature stores.
  • Develop AI-powered tools to automate user experiences and accelerate the ML lifecycle.
  • Lead company-wide initiatives by influencing architecture decisions and aligning cross-functional partners.

What we're looking for

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field.
  • Deep expertise in AI/ML infrastructure and distributed systems.
  • Experience designing, building, and operating highly available, production-grade systems at large scale.
  • Proficiency in at least one of C++, Java, or Rust.
  • Proven track record of leading cross-organizational initiatives and defining technical strategy.
  • Ability to influence architecture decisions and align cross-functional partners and executives.
  • Strong ownership and commitment to high engineering standards for quality and accountability.
  • Must be a US-based applicant.

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