Principal Software Engineer II - Next-Gen Data Transformations

Snowflake2 weeks ago

Location

US-WA-Bellevue

Type

Full Time

Salary

USD 304,000 – 437,000

Level

Principal

Role

Principal Software Engineer

Posted

Feb 24, 2026

Full TimePrincipal

The role

Summary

Snowflake is seeking a Principal Software Engineer II to architect the core data processing engine for their Data & AI Cloud platform. This role involves building distributed systems primitives that enable agentic AI workflows, including stateful stream processing engines, incremental view maintenance kernels, and distributed orchestration fabric. The position requires 14+ years of experience in database kernels or distributed systems, with expertise in systems programming and a vision for supporting autonomous agent ecosystems.

What you'll do

Architect Foundation Primitives: Design internal engines for Dynamic Tables, Streams, and Tasks to provide elastic, serverless foundation for real-time agentic reasoning

Build Autonomic Processing Fabric: Develop low-level infrastructure for automated triggers and incremental processing logic for proactive data state management

Drive System Internals Innovation: Lead long-term roadmap for stateful streaming and freshness-first system architecture for model consumption

Eliminate Legacy Orchestration: Build native processing capabilities within Snowflake kernel to replace external schedulers and simplify architecture

Engineer for Global Scale: Design multi-tenant system internals handling exabytes of data while maintaining resource isolation and security

Provide Technical Leadership: Influence technical strategy across departments for AI era compute fabric evolution and autonomous agent ecosystems

Customer Engagement: Partner with strategic customers and field engineering teams to translate architectural challenges into core engine requirements

Ensure Operational Excellence: Take responsibility for service operational readiness, reliability, availability, and performance commitments

What we look for

Technical

Systems Programming MasteryDeep expertise in stateful stream processing, incremental view maintenance, distributed transactions, and query execution internals

Database Kernel Experience14+ years building database kernels, distributed systems internals, or large-scale data processing engines

Distributed Systems ExpertiseProven track record in consensus, replication, and high-concurrency environments at cloud scale

Infrastructure-First MindsetPreference for building operating systems and engines over applications or end-user pipelines

Ecosystem Architecture KnowledgeUnderstanding of limitations in tools like Airflow or dbt and vision for native system solutions

Education

Advanced Computer Science DegreeMaster's or PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent technical field preferred

Systems Engineering BackgroundStrong foundation in computer systems, databases, and distributed computing principles

Experience

Senior Engineering Experience14+ years of industry experience in systems-level software development

Database Systems ExperienceDirect experience with query optimizers, storage engines, or transaction managers preferred

Streaming Systems ExperienceKnowledge of Flink, Beam, or Spark Streaming internals and multi-tenant cloud limitations

Leadership ExperienceAbility to mentor engineers and work in globally distributed environments

Skills

Required skills

Systems ProgrammingExpert-level proficiency in C++, Java, or Rust for kernel-level development

Distributed SystemsDeep understanding of consensus algorithms, replication, and distributed consistency

Database InternalsExperience with query execution, storage engines, and transaction management

Stream ProcessingExpertise in stateful streaming, incremental processing, and real-time data systems

Cloud ArchitectureKnowledge of multi-tenant, scalable cloud infrastructure design

Technical LeadershipAbility to drive technical vision and mentor engineering teams

Nice to have

AI/ML SystemsUnderstanding of agentic AI workflows and model context protocols

Query OptimizationExperience with database query optimizers and execution planning

Autonomic SystemsBackground in self-healing distributed systems and zero-ops infrastructure

Open Source ContributionsContributions to major distributed systems or database projects

Customer-Facing ExperienceExperience working with enterprise customers on architectural challenges

Compensation & benefits

Salary

USD 304,000 – 437,000 (annual)

Stock options

Available

Benefits

Equity Plan

Participation in Snowflake's equity compensation program

Bonus Plan

Eligible for performance-based bonus compensation

Health Benefits

Comprehensive health insurance coverage

Professional Development

Opportunities for career growth and technical skill advancement

Innovation Culture

Work environment focused on impact, innovation, and collaboration

Interview process

1
Initial Screening — Phone or video call with recruiter to discuss background and role alignment
2
Technical Phone Interview — Systems design discussion focusing on distributed systems and database architectures
3
Technical Deep Dive — In-depth technical interview covering database internals, streaming systems, and architectural decisions
4
System Design Interview — Design exercise for large-scale data processing systems and infrastructure
5
Leadership Interview — Discussion of technical leadership experience, mentoring, and cross-functional collaboration
6
Final Round — On-site or virtual interviews with senior engineering leaders and potential team members
7
Reference Check — Verification of experience and performance with previous employers