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Verified active · 2h ago

Sr. Staff Software Engineer, Merchants

PinterestPinterest·Social Media

Compensation

$245,402 - $429,454 USD

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~12 min

Company site

Posted

12 days

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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.

Our Merchants organization focuses on onboarding and activation, catalog quality and health, merchant presence (including creator/UGC and trust signals), and ads upsell—helping merchants build healthy catalogs, reach the right audiences, and unlock clear paths to growth.

In this role, you’ll lead high-impact engineering at the intersection of commerce platforms, catalog systems, and AI-native experiences. This includes applying ML, AI-assisted workflows, and GenAI where appropriate to improve metadata quality, merchant tooling, and operational efficiency. You’ll partner closely with Engineering Managers, Product Managers, Data Scientists, and other senior engineers to deliver systems with measurable business and user impact.

What you’ll do:

  • Own end-to-end technical delivery for cross-team initiatives—from problem framing and technical strategy through architecture, implementation, rollout, and iteration.
  • Shape catalog and integration systems for scale, reliability, and quality, ensuring merchant data is deep, broad, fresh, and actionable across partners, formats, and key signals such as inventory and pricing where relevant.
  • Build and evolve ML-, GenAI-, and AI-assisted merchant experiences with strong validation and guardrails—for example, metadata enrichment, gap-filling, and internal tools that improve catalog health without compromising trust.
  • Contribute to merchant onboarding and activation systems that span teams, creating streamlined flows, signals, and decisioning pathways that improve approval rates, merchant quality, and time to value.
  • Partner where appropriate on organic attribution, merchant insights, and data-driven pathways from organic success to paid products, ensuring strategy is measurable rather than anecdotal.
  • Drive technical decisions using clear tradeoffs across revenue, conversion, catalog health, engagement, and Torso success.
  • Mentor senior engineers and raise the bar for technical design, engineering quality, and production readiness across the organization.
  • Use AI to accelerate your own work—across exploration, drafting, analysis, and synthesis—while maintaining strong judgment, rigorous validation, and accountability for outcomes.

What we’re looking for:

  • 10+ years of software engineering experience, including meaningful time as a Staff, Senior Staff, or equivalent-level IC building and operating complex production systems.
  • Strong track record in commerce, marketplaces, ads, or other adjacent large-scale domains, including leadership on cross-team technical initiatives.
  • Deep experience in systems design, API design, and data-intensive systems, with the ability to navigate tradeoffs in performance, reliability, and scalability.
  • Experience building or partnering on ML-, AI-, or GenAI-adjacent systems, with a pragmatic understanding of where these technologies add value and how to deploy them responsibly.
  • Catalog, integrations, or merchant platform experience is a strong plus.
  • Experience with growth, measurement, funnel optimization, or organic-to-paid ecosystems is a plus.
  • Strong communication skills and the ability to influence technical direction without directly owning every implementation detail.
  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field—or equivalent practical experience.

Relocation Statement:

  • This position is not eligible for relocation assistance. Visit our PinFlex page to learn more about our working model.

In-Office Requirement Statement:

  • We recognize that the ideal environment for work is situational and may differ across departments. What this looks like day-to-day can vary based on the needs of each organization or role.
  • This role will need to be in the office for in-person collaboration 1-2 times/month, and therefore needs to be in a commutable distance from one of the following offices: San Francisco or Palo Alto.

#LI-HYBRID

#LI-CL5

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.

US based applicants only
$245,402$429,454 USD

Our Commitment to Inclusion:

Pinterest is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit. We want to have the best qualified people in every job. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, status as a protected veteran, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information or characteristics (or those of a family member) or any other consideration made unlawful by applicable federal, state or local laws. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you require a medical or religious accommodation during the job application process, please complete this form for support.
By submitting this application, I certify that all information submitted in my application and throughout the hiring process is true, accurate, and complete to the best of my knowledge. I understand that any false statement, omission, or misrepresentation may disqualify me from employment consideration or result in termination if discovered after hire.
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Aplyr's read

Pinterest is a hub for creative inspiration, attracting individuals passionate about visual discovery and digital content curation.

Synthesized from recent postings & public sources

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?

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About Pinterest

PINS$21.16-0.80%

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.

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