Opportunity at
PinterestStaff Software Engineer, Ads & Core Serving Platform
Pinterest operates a visual discovery platform used by millions of individuals around the globe to gather creative ideas and plan projects. The company is currently hiring…
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About This Role
Pinterest operates a visual discovery platform used by millions of individuals around the globe to gather creative ideas and plan projects. The company is currently hiring a Staff Software Engineer, Ads & Core Serving Platform to direct technical strategy for the backend systems powering core and advertising features. This position suits an experienced software professional skilled in low-latency architecture, distributed networks, and cross-functional engineering leadership. In this capacity, the professional…
Job Description
Pinterest operates a visual discovery platform used by millions of individuals around the globe to gather creative ideas and plan projects. The company is currently hiring a Staff Software Engineer, Ads & Core Serving Platform to direct technical strategy for the backend systems powering core and advertising features. This position suits an experienced software professional skilled in low-latency architecture, distributed networks, and cross-functional engineering leadership.
In this capacity, the professional will spearhead high-impact platform initiatives, modernize serving frameworks, and build reliable, scalable infrastructure. Responsibilities span guiding end-to-end projects, collaborating with machine learning and infrastructure units, utilizing artificial intelligence to boost development speed, and mentoring engineering peers. Candidates should note that this role operates on a hybrid schedule, requiring employees to work from either the San Francisco or Palo Alto offices one to two days per week. The position is open to US-based applicants only and includes equity compensation alongside a base salary range of $208,454 to $364,795 USD.
Responsibilities
- Define technical direction and head architecture for major serving-platform initiatives across Ads and Core engineering groups.
- Develop and maintain scalable, highly available systems focused on performance, efficiency, and reliability.
- Collaborate with product, infrastructure, and machine learning teams to translate complex requirements into reusable platform capabilities.
- Enhance the serving stack through framework modernization, experimentation controls, API evolution, observability, and debugging tools.
- Drive complex projects end to end, covering strategy, design, implementation, rollout, adoption, and operations.
- Leverage artificial intelligence to accelerate analysis, debugging, and design exploration while applying rigorous engineering judgment.
- Elevate technical quality via design reviews, code reviews, documentation, and operational excellence.
- Mentor engineers and scale technical leadership throughout the organization.
Requirements
- Have 8 or more years of software engineering experience building and running production backend or distributed systems.
- Possess a demonstrated history of leading complex technical initiatives across multiple teams or organizations.
- Show strong expertise in distributed systems, online serving, low-latency services, or infrastructure platforms.
- Demonstrate the ability to balance tradeoffs among latency, cost, reliability, scalability, and developer experience.
- Exhibit strong communication and collaboration abilities with technical and cross-functional partners.
- Demonstrate proficiency in at least one programming language such as C++, Java, Go, or Python.
- Show a proven ability to use artificial intelligence to enhance daily engineering workflows with a rigorous validation approach.
- Be able to work in-person from the Palo Alto or San Francisco office 1 to 2 times per week.
Qualifications
- Hold a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, a related technical field, or possess equivalent practical experience.
- Bring background in ads delivery, search serving, recommendation systems, retrieval, ranking, or experimentation platforms.
- Have previous exposure to serving-framework migrations, platform consolidation, or developer tooling.
- Possess experience with observability, production debugging, traffic management, or incident response.
Core Skills
Benefits
- Eligible for equity compensation in addition to the base salary.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the location and remote work policy for this position?
This role is hybrid and requires employees to be within commutable distance of either the San Francisco or Palo Alto offices. In-person collaboration is required one to two times per week, and the position is restricted to applicants based in the United States.
What is the salary range for the Staff Software Engineer role?
The base salary range provided for US-based applicants is $208,454 to $364,795 USD. The position is also eligible for equity, with the final pay determined by factors like location, relevant prior experience, travel, and specific expertise.
How many years of experience are required?
Candidates must have eight or more years of software engineering experience focused on building and operating production backend or distributed systems.
Is relocation assistance available?
No, this position is not eligible for relocation assistance.
Sample Interview Questions
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