Senior SWE, AI Backend: Observe by Snowflake

Backend Engineer · Senior · Full Time

US-CA-Menlo ParkUSD 200k – 288k4mo ago
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Role

What you'll do.

Snowflake's Observe team is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to build cutting-edge AI-powered observability backend systems. The role focuses on designing scalable infrastructure for real-time AI workflows, working at the intersection of backend engineering, distributed systems, and AI technology.

Responsibilities

  • Backend System Design: Design and build backend systems that power Observe's AI product layer, including context resolution APIs and real-time alert-to-agent pipelines
  • End-to-End Service Ownership: Own services comprehensively across design, implementation, and production reliability
  • Product-Driven Engineering: Apply strong product intuition to technical decisions, understanding how backend work connects to user and agent outcomes
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with product managers and AI/ML engineers to ship high-quality, well-designed systems in a fast-moving environment

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • Programming Languages

    Fluency in Go, with proficiency in TypeScript and Python

  • Distributed Systems

    Deep understanding of backend engineering principles, APIs, and data infrastructure

  • AI Engineering

    Experience with LLM quality measurement and evaluation techniques

Education

  • Computer Science

    Strong computer science fundamentals with emphasis on backend systems and infrastructure

Experience

  • Backend Engineering

    7+ years of production system development at scale

  • System Design

    Proven track record of designing and implementing complex backend systems

Skills

Required

  • Go Programming

    Advanced proficiency in Go programming language

  • Distributed Systems

    Expert-level understanding of scalable backend architectures

  • AI Infrastructure

    Ability to build and optimize AI-powered backend systems

Preferred

  • LLM Technologies

    Nice to have

    Experience with large language model evaluation and integration

  • Open Source Formats

    Nice to have

    Familiarity with open data formats like Apache Iceberg

Tech stack

Languages

GoTypeScriptPython

Frameworks

AI Frameworks

Databases

Snowflake

Tools

Apache Iceberg

Other

Observability Platforms

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·USD 200,000 – 287,500

Equity·Stock options

Benefits

  • Innovative Work Environment

    Opportunity to work at the forefront of AI-powered observability with Snowflake's resources

  • Fast-Paced Team

    Small, dynamic team with high ownership and impact potential

Process

Interview steps.

  1. 01

    Initial Screening

    Review of resume and background

  2. 02

    Technical Interview

    In-depth assessment of backend engineering and AI infrastructure skills

  3. 03

    Systems Design Challenge

    Evaluate candidate's approach to designing scalable backend systems

  4. 04

    Team Fit Interview

    Assess alignment with Snowflake's innovative and experimental culture

Full posting

Original listing.

At Snowflake, we are powering the era of the agentic enterprise. To usher in this new era, we seek AI-native thinkers across every function who are energized by the opportunity to reinvent how they work. You don’t just use tools; you possess an innate curiosity, treating AI as a high-trust collaborator that is core to how you solve problems and accelerate your impact. We look for low-ego individuals who thrive in dynamic and fast-moving environments and move with an experimental mindset — who rapidly test emerging capabilities to discover simpler, more powerful ways to deliver results. At Snowflake, your role isn't just to execute a function, but to help redefine the future of how work gets done.

Observe by Snowflake is an AI-powered observability platform built on the Snowflake AI Data Cloud and engineered for scale. We ingest and store logs, metrics, traces, and events on an open, scalable data lakehouse, using open formats like Apache Iceberg, at dramatically lower cost. A dynamic Context Graph and chat-based AI SRE provide rich context and automated workflows so teams can move from detection to root cause of production issue and resolution 10x faster.

Leading engineering teams at companies like Capital One, Topgolf, and Dialpad rely on Observe to troubleshoot hundreds of terabytes of telemetry daily while maintaining reliability at enterprise scale. As part of Snowflake, Observe combines startup-style ownership and velocity with the global reach, operational excellence, and ecosystem of one of the world’s leading data platforms.

The Team

On the AI Backend team at Observe by Snowflake you'll be at the forefront of how AI is reshaping the way engineering teams operate; building the platform that powers intelligent, automated workflows across observability and beyond. Our team is small, and moves fast, with real ownership over hard problems that span agentic APIs, real-time pipelines, and AI quality. You'll work alongside talented engineers across ML, product, and backend, with the reach and resources of Snowflake behind you. If you want to make a direct impact on a product that engineering teams rely on every day, we'd love to hear from you.

In this role you will

  • Design and build backend systems that power Observe's AI product layer from context resolution APIs to real-time alert-to-agent pipelines

  • Own services end-to-end across design, implementation, and production reliability

  • Bring strong product intuition to technical decisions; understanding how your work connects to user and agent outcomes, and contribute to shaping what gets built

  • Collaborate closely with product managers and AI/ML engineers to ship high-quality, well-designed systems in a fast-moving environment

Qualifications

  • 7+ years of backend engineering experience with a track record of shipping production systems at scale

  • Strong computer science fundamentals and backend engineering depth across APIs, data infrastructure, and distributed systems

  • Fluency in Go, with the ability to work across TypeScript and Python

  • Familiarity with evals or LLM quality measurement and the ability to apply them as part of your day-to-day engineering workflow

  • Strong product sense; you understand how backend decisions connect to user outcomes and can engage meaningfully on product direction

Snowflake is growing fast, and we’re scaling our team to help enable and accelerate our growth. We are looking for people who share our values, challenge ordinary thinking, and push the pace of innovation while building a future for themselves and Snowflake.

How do you want to make your impact?

For jobs located in the United States, please visit the job posting on the Snowflake Careers Site for salary and benefits information: careers.snowflake.com

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