Principal Software Engineer

Snap Inc.

Confirmed live yesterday High trust

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: Bellevue, WALos Angeles, CANew York, NYPalo Alto, CASan Francisco, CASeattle, WA
Salary: $276,000–$414,000 / yr
Posted: 52 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live yesterday
Nearby: 99+ roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

Above market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $200k

This role $345k

$110k most similar roles pay here $447k

This role pays more than 98% of similar roles. Most pay $174,600–$225,000 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $345k versus about $200k for comparable roles.

Based on 240 similar postings.

Employer

About Snap Inc.

Snap Inc. is a technology and camera company, best known for Snapchat, offering visual communication, augmented reality, and advertising products.

Snap Inc. currently has 76 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $209,000–$313,000 across 58 roles with salary data.

Most-posted roles

View all roles at Snap Inc.

At a glance

TL;DR · Principal Software Engineer

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Principal Software Engineer The Principal Software Engineer joins the engineering team to design, implement, and scale critical components and services supporting strategic initiatives. This role involves collaborating across teams to evaluate trade-offs, provide technical direction for the entire company, and advocate for best practices in availability, scalability, and cost management. The engineer will build high-quality, production-ready code while utilizing AI tools and high-velocity workflows to solve ambiguous problems. Key requirements include extensive experience in distributed systems, performance analysis, test design, and debugging. Candidates must demonstrate proficiency in leveraging AI systems to streamline development while maintaining architectural integrity and security. This role focuses on the technical challenges of building sophisticated products for a global community, requiring expertise in managing complex engineering projects ranging from immediate feature launches to long-term research initiatives within a high-scale environment.

What does a Software Engineer earn in Washington?

Median $202800 from 326 postings across 28 companies.

See salary data

Skills

Distributed Systems AI Tools cross platform development Software Design Debugging Performance Analysis Test Design Scalable Services

What you'll do

Design, implement, and scale critical engineering components and services for strategic initiatives.
Provide technical direction that influences the entire company's engineering goals.
Advocate for best practices regarding availability, scalability, operational excellence, and cost management.
Use AI tools and high-velocity workflows to ship scalable, secure, and production-ready code.
Audit AI-generated output for architectural integrity, performance bottlenecks, and security risks.
Solve ambiguous problems by evaluating trade-offs to deliver innovative products or services.
Manage a portfolio of concurrent projects ranging from short-term features to long-term research.

What we're looking for

Bachelor's degree in a technical field such as computer science, mathematics, or statistics.
Master's degree in a technical field with 9+ years of post-grad software development experience.
PhD in a related technical field with 6+ years of post-grad software development experience.
10+ years of post-Bachelor’s software development experience.
At least 2 years of experience in technical leadership or as a domain expert for a technical organization.
Experience architecting, designing, and developing distributed systems at scale.
Proficiency in leveraging AI tools to streamline development while ensuring architectural integrity and security.
Proven track record of providing technical direction and ownership for engineering projects.

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