Principal Software Engineer II, Horizon Catalog

Snowflake3 months ago

Location

US-CA-Menlo Park

Type

Full Time

Salary

USD 304,000 – 437,000

Level

Principal

Role

Principal Software Engineer

Posted

Nov 26, 2025

Full TimePrincipal

The role

Summary

Snowflake is seeking a Principal Software Engineer II to lead technical strategy and execution for the Horizon Catalog, their Universal AI Catalog platform. This senior leadership role requires 15+ years of distributed systems experience and deep expertise in metadata management and data governance architectures. The position offers $304K-$437K annually and involves driving cross-organizational technical initiatives while mentoring senior engineers.

What you'll do

Strategic Technical Leadership: Set technical vision and lead strategic planning for the Horizon Catalog, translating complex business goals into technical architecture

Product Roadmap Development: Actively influence and co-develop the product roadmap in partnership with the PM team

Complex Initiative Execution: Directly lead execution of high complexity, multi-year initiatives with cross-organizational impact

Team Guidance and Mentorship: Guide execution of team initiatives and mentor senior engineers to accelerate their growth

Cross-Team Technical Strategy: Drive company-wide technical strategy and influence technical direction across multiple teams

Architecture Design: Design and architect fine-grained access control, audit systems, and metadata management solutions

Engineering Roadmap Development: Translate high-level business strategy into actionable engineering roadmaps

What we look for

Technical

Distributed Systems Experience15+ years experience designing and building large-scale distributed services

Metadata Management ExpertiseDeep expertise in metadata management and designing architectures to unify data from heterogeneous sources

Data Governance ArchitectureProven ability to architect fine-grained access control and audit systems

Java ProgrammingFluency in Java or similar procedural object-oriented programming language

Strategic LeadershipTrack record of translating business strategy into engineering roadmaps and influencing technical direction

Education

Computer Science DegreeBS, Masters, or PhD in Computer Science or related technical field

Experience

Senior Engineering Leadership15+ years of progressive experience in software engineering with leadership responsibilities

Large-Scale SystemsExtensive experience building and operating distributed systems at enterprise scale

Cross-Functional CollaborationExperience working closely with product management and cross-organizational teams

Skills

Required skills

Large-Scale Distributed Systems15+ years designing and building enterprise-scale distributed services

Metadata ManagementDeep expertise in metadata architectures and data governance systems

Java ProgrammingFluency in Java or similar object-oriented programming languages

Strategic LeadershipAbility to translate business strategy into technical roadmaps and influence across teams

Access Control SystemsExperience architecting fine-grained access control and audit systems

Nice to have

AI/Semantic ArchitectureExperience leveraging semantic metadata to power AI experiences like RAG for discovery

Competitive AnalysisAbility to articulate architectural differentiation against key market competitors

Modern Access ControlUnderstanding of RBAC and ABAC principles for scalable permissioning layers

MCP/Agent EcosystemsExperience with Multi-Cloud Platforms and third-party agent integrations

Cloud Data PlatformsExperience with cloud-native data warehousing and analytics platforms

Compensation & benefits

Salary

USD 304,000 – 437,000 (annual)

Stock options

Available

Benefits

Comprehensive Health Insurance

Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and families

Equity Participation

Stock options and equity participation in Snowflake's growth

Professional Development

Learning and development opportunities, conference attendance, and skill advancement programs

Flexible Time Off

Generous vacation policy and flexible time off arrangements

Retirement Benefits

401(k) plan with company matching contributions

Parental Leave

Comprehensive parental leave policies for new parents

Innovation Culture

Culture focused on impact, innovation, and collaboration with cutting-edge technology projects

Interview process

1
Initial Screening — Phone or video call with talent acquisition to discuss background, experience, and role fit
2
Technical Leadership Interview — Deep technical discussion focusing on distributed systems architecture, metadata management, and strategic leadership experience
3
System Design Interview — Whiteboard or collaborative design session covering large-scale system architecture, particularly around data governance and catalog systems
4
Cross-Functional Collaboration — Interview with product management and cross-functional partners to assess collaboration and strategic thinking skills
5
Engineering Leadership Panel — Panel interview with senior engineering leaders to evaluate technical vision, mentorship capabilities, and cultural fit
6
Executive Interview — Final interview with executive leadership to discuss strategic vision and long-term technical direction
7
Reference Checks — Verification of past performance and leadership impact through professional references