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Principal Software Engineer, Ads Format

Snap Inc.· Engineering
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Hybrid (Bellevue), Hybrid (Los Angeles), Hybrid (New York), Hybrid (Palo Alto), Hybrid (San Francisco), Hybrid (Seattle)$235k - $414kFull timePosted 6mo ago

About the role

Principal Software Engineer to join the Ads Format team at Snap, focusing on scalable ad formats infrastructure, automated systems for ad serving, optimization, and A/B testing, with leadership responsibilities across vision, strategy, and mentoring.

Responsibilities

  • Design and implement highly automated systems for ad format serving, optimization, and A/B testing to maximize user engagement and advertiser ROI.
  • Lead the vision and strategy for our next-generation ad formats infrastructure, focusing on scalability, performance, and advertiser value.
  • Innovate and conceptualize new ad format ideas, leveraging market trends, user behavior, and advertiser needs.
  • Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including product management, design, data science, and other engineering teams, to deliver cohesive and impactful solutions.
  • Advocate for and apply best practices when it comes to availability, scalability, operational excellence, and cost management
  • Mentor and guide other engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and continuous learning within the team.

Qualifications

  • Deep expertise in building and scaling ad formats or similar user-facing content delivery systems.
  • Excellent programming and software design skills, including debugging, performance analysis, and test design
  • Proven track record of operating highly-available systems at scale
  • Ability to proactively learn new concepts and technology and apply them at work
  • Skilled at solving ambiguous problems
  • Strong collaboration and mentorship skills
  • Ads domain experience
  • Client side and full stack experience preferred
  • 10+ years of post-Bachelor’s software development experience; or a Master’s degree in a technical field + 9+ year of post-grad software development experience; or a PhD in a related technical field + 6+ years of post-grad software development experience
  • 2+ years of experience with technical leadership or acting as the domain-expert to a technical organization
  • Experience in technical leadership/ownership and setting technical direction for engineering projects
  • Experience architecting, designing, and developing distributed systems

Skills

Required:Ad formats / content delivery systemsProgramming and software designDistributed systemsCross-functional collaborationLeadership / mentorship
Nice to have:Ads domain experience

Benefits

  • paid parental leave
  • comprehensive medical coverage
  • emotional and mental health support programs
  • compensation packages that let you share in Snap’s long-term success
Last updated Oct 21, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Snap Inc.

We contribute to human progress by empowering people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together.

We believe the camera presents the greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate.

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