About the role
About Pinterest:
Millions of people around the world come to our platform to find creative ideas, dream about new possibilities and plan for memories that will last a lifetime. At Pinterest, we’re on a mission to bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love, and that starts with the people behind the product.
Discover a career where you ignite innovation for millions, transform passion into growth opportunities, celebrate each other’s unique experiences and embrace the flexibility to do your best work. Creating a career you love? It’s Possible.
At Pinterest, AI isn't just a feature, it's a powerful partner that augments our creativity and amplifies our impact, and we’re looking for candidates who are excited to be a part of that. To get a complete picture of your experience and abilities, we’ll explore your foundational skills and how you collaborate with AI.
Through our interview process, what matters most is that you can always explain your approach, showing us not just what you know, but how you think. You can read more about our AI interview philosophy and how we use AI in our recruiting process here.
We’re looking for a Staff Software Engineer to help build the next generation of Pinterest’s big data storage platform. You’ll work on some of the most exciting big data open source technologies — especially Apache Iceberg — at exabyte scale to power the data infrastructure that helps Pinners discover and do what they love.
As a Staff Software Engineer, you’ll serve as a technical leader and hands-on contributor, designing and building highly scalable storage systems for Pinterest’s data lake. You’ll partner closely with teams across data, ML/AI, analytics, and infrastructure to evolve our storage and metadata management capabilities, enabling efficient, reliable, and governed access to data at massive scale.
What you’ll do:
- Design, implement, and optimize Pinterest’s exabyte-scale data lake storage platform.
- Lead complex technical projects and initiatives for data lake storage and metadata management, driving them from architecture through execution.
- Collaborate with stakeholders and partner teams across the organization to design storage and metadata layer technologies that unlock big data and ML/AI innovations.
- Build storage capabilities that efficiently support large-scale ML/AI workloads, including high-throughput data access, schema evolution, and large-scale column backfills.
- Shape the long-term technical direction for scalable, reliable, and efficient big data storage systems.
- Engage with and contribute to open source communities such as Apache Iceberg, Spark, and Flink to help address Pinterest’s scaling challenges.
What we’re looking for:
- 8+ years of relevant industry experience designing and building large-scale production distributed systems.
- Strong experience designing and maintaining scalable storage, metadata, or data lake infrastructure.
- Experience building storage capabilities for large-scale ML/AI or analytics workloads, including high-throughput data access, schema evolution, and large-scale column backfills.
- Deep knowledge with building distributed systems, data storage systems, and production infrastructure.
- Experience with big data technologies such as Apache Iceberg, Spark, Flink, Presto/Trino, Hive, or similar systems.
- Proficiency in programming languages like Java, Scala, or Python.
- Proven ability to lead complex technical initiatives and influence architecture across teams.
- Strong collaboration, communication, and problem-solving skills, with a drive for technical excellence and innovation.
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as Computer Science, or equivalent experience
In-Office Requirement Statement:
- We let the type of work you do guide the collaboration style. That means we're not always working in an office, but we continue to gather for key moments of collaboration and connection.
- This role will need to be in the office for in-person collaboration 1-2 times/quarter and therefore can be situated anywhere in the country.
Relocation Statement:
- This position is not eligible for relocation assistance. Visit our PinFlex page to learn more about our working model.
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At Pinterest we believe the workplace should be equitable, inclusive, and inspiring for every employee. In an effort to provide greater transparency, we are sharing the base salary range for this position. The position is also eligible for equity. Final salary is based on a number of factors including location, travel, relevant prior experience, or particular skills and expertise.
Information regarding the culture at Pinterest and benefits available for this position can be found here.
Our Commitment to Inclusion:
Aplyr's read
Pinterest is a hub for creative inspiration, attracting individuals passionate about visual discovery and digital content curation.
What's promising
- •Pinterest's unique visual discovery platform attracts a creative and engaged user base.
- •The company offers diverse roles, from engineering to creative strategy, indicating growth and innovation.
- •Pinterest's focus on machine learning and big data suggests a strong investment in technology.
What to watch
- •Pinterest faces stiff competition from other social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
- •Monetization challenges persist, particularly in converting user engagement into revenue.
- •The company's reliance on ad revenue makes it vulnerable to economic downturns.
Why Pinterest
- •Pinterest's platform centers on visual discovery rather than traditional social networking.
- •The company emphasizes user inspiration and idea curation over personal connections.
- •Pinterest's integration of machine learning enhances personalized content discovery.
Aplyr’s read is generated by AI from public sources. Was it useful?
About Pinterest
Pinterest is a visual discovery engine that allows users to find and save ideas for various interests, including home decor, fashion, and recipes. By enabling users to curate and share their inspirations, Pinterest has become a significant platform for creativity and planning, impacting how people discover and engage with content online.
