Senior Software Engineer, Data Governance

Snowflake3 days ago

Location

US-CA-Menlo Park

Type

Full Time

Salary

USD 200,000 – 287,500

Level

Senior

Role

Senior Software Engineer

Posted

Jun 26, 2026

Full TimeSenior

The role

Summary

As a Senior Software Engineer in Data Governance at Snowflake, you'll design and build sophisticated data governance features and services that help enterprise customers manage their complete data lifecycle. This role combines deep systems engineering with database expertise to deliver secure data access controls, privacy protection, data lineage tracking, and comprehensive auditability solutions. You'll work on large-scale distributed systems leveraging machine learning techniques to enhance the data stewardship experience, collaborating across cross-functional teams in a fast-paced, AI-native environment where you'll solve complex problems at Snowflake scale.

What you'll do

Design and Build Data Governance Features: Architect and implement sophisticated data governance services and product features that enable customers to govern data assets throughout their complete lifecycle. This includes designing secure access control mechanisms, data privacy protections, and tracking systems that operate at enterprise scale on the Snowflake platform.

Drive Projects from Conception to Implementation: Collaborate closely with Product Managers to guide initiatives from initial idea formulation through design and full implementation. Own the technical vision for assigned projects, making critical architectural decisions and ensuring delivery of high-quality solutions that meet customer needs.

Solve Business Problems at Scale: Apply advanced software engineering and analytical problem-solving skills to address real business needs affecting thousands of enterprise customers. Design systems that balance performance, scalability, and maintainability while handling massive volumes of data and complex governance requirements.

Navigate System Design Trade-offs: Evaluate and prioritize competing design considerations to optimize for Snowflake customers' specific needs. Make informed decisions about architecture, performance, security, and usability to deliver the best possible solutions within technical and business constraints.

Cross-Functional Team Collaboration: Work effectively with engineers across multiple teams to deliver integrated initiatives that span data governance domains. Contribute to the broader engineering organization while maintaining deep expertise in your specialized area, facilitating knowledge sharing and architectural consistency.

Implement Secure Data Access and Privacy Controls: Develop fine-grained access control systems and data privacy mechanisms that protect sensitive information while maintaining functionality. Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and customer security policies through robust implementation of security guardrails.

Build Data Lineage and Auditability Systems: Engineer comprehensive tracking and auditing capabilities that provide complete visibility into data provenance, transformations, and access patterns. Create systems that help Data Stewards understand data relationships and maintain compliance through detailed audit trails.

Leverage Machine Learning for Data Governance: Apply ML techniques and algorithms to enhance data governance capabilities and simplify the Data Steward experience. Research and implement intelligent features that reduce manual effort and provide proactive governance insights across the data platform.

What we look for

Technical

Java ProficiencyFluent in Java with deep understanding of the language ecosystem, standard libraries, and framework landscape. Demonstrate strong ability to write clean, maintainable code with attention to performance optimization and concurrency patterns.

Database FundamentalsComprehensive knowledge of database design, architecture, and operations. Proficiency with SQL including complex queries, optimization techniques, query planning, and understanding of indexing strategies. Experience with both relational database concepts and modern cloud data warehouse platforms.

Systems Programming and ConcurrencyStrong expertise in multi-threading, concurrency control, and parallel processing. Deep understanding of synchronization mechanisms, race conditions, deadlock prevention, and lock-free programming patterns. Ability to design systems that handle high throughput and complex concurrent operations reliably.

Distributed Systems DesignExperience designing and building scalable distributed systems that operate reliably at enterprise scale. Understanding of consistency models, fault tolerance, replication strategies, and performance optimization for systems serving thousands of concurrent users.

Data Access Control and SecurityKnowledge of security architecture patterns, authentication and authorization mechanisms, and role-based access control (RBAC) systems. Understanding of encryption techniques, secure communication protocols, and security best practices for data platforms.

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer ScienceBS in Computer Science or related field (such as Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Mathematics) required. This foundation provides essential knowledge of algorithms, data structures, computer architecture, and theoretical computer science principles.

Advanced Degree PreferredMaster's degree or PhD in Computer Science or related discipline preferred. Advanced degree holders often demonstrate research skills, depth in specialized areas, and exposure to cutting-edge computing concepts relevant to large-scale systems development.

Experience

Senior-Level Software Engineering ExperienceMinimum 7+ years of hands-on software engineering experience with proven track record of designing and shipping production systems at scale. This includes experience owning the full software development lifecycle from architecture through deployment and ongoing maintenance.

Data Governance or Database Security ExperienceBonus experience building data governance systems, implementing database security features, or working on data privacy and compliance solutions. Prior exposure to challenges in managing data access, lineage tracking, or audit logging preferred.

Enterprise Data Platform ExperienceExperience working with data platforms, data warehouses, or analytics systems at scale. Familiarity with challenges specific to managing large volumes of data, supporting diverse workloads, and providing governance at enterprise scope.

Complex Backend Systems DevelopmentProven experience building complex, high-performance backend systems that handle concurrent requests from many users. Demonstrated ability to manage technical debt, optimize for both performance and maintainability, and scale systems as requirements grow.

Skills

Required skills

JavaAdvanced proficiency in Java programming with expertise in building production-grade applications. Strong understanding of Java concurrency frameworks, memory management, and performance tuning.

SQL and Relational DatabasesExpert-level SQL knowledge including query optimization, execution plan analysis, and complex joins. Deep understanding of relational database concepts including normalization, indexing, and query performance.

Multi-threading and ConcurrencyDeep expertise in designing and implementing thread-safe systems. Proficiency with locks, semaphores, atomic operations, and concurrent collections to build reliable multi-threaded applications.

Systems Architecture and DesignAbility to architect scalable systems with careful attention to performance, reliability, and maintainability. Experience with design patterns appropriate for distributed systems and large-scale applications.

Software Development LifecycleMastery of modern software development practices including version control, code review, testing strategies, and continuous integration/deployment. Comfortable with agile methodologies and rapid iteration cycles.

Problem-Solving and Analytical SkillsExceptional ability to break down complex problems, evaluate trade-offs, and develop elegant solutions. Strong analytical mindset with ability to optimize for multiple competing objectives (performance, security, usability).

Nice to have

Data Privacy and Compliance FrameworksFamiliarity with GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and other data privacy regulations. Understanding of how to implement technical controls that support regulatory compliance and data protection requirements.

Machine Learning ApplicationsExperience applying machine learning techniques to solve real-world problems in data systems. Familiarity with ML concepts such as classification, anomaly detection, or pattern recognition applicable to data governance scenarios.

Metadata Management and Data LineagePrior experience building or working with metadata management systems or data lineage tools. Understanding of metadata schemas, provenance tracking, and data cataloging concepts.

Cloud Data WarehousesExperience with modern cloud data platforms such as Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, or Azure Synapse. Understanding of cloud-native architecture patterns and distributed query processing.

Apache Spark or Distributed ComputingHands-on experience with Apache Spark, Hadoop, or other distributed computing frameworks. Understanding of distributed data processing patterns and parallel computation optimization.

Kubernetes and Container OrchestrationExperience deploying and managing applications in Kubernetes environments. Knowledge of containerization, microservices architectures, and cloud-native deployment patterns.