# Software Engineer Observe Team
**Company:** [Snowflake](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/snowflake)
Join Snowflake's Observe team as a Software Engineer to build and scale core features and APIs for an AI-powered observability platform processing massive volumes of telemetry. You'll own end-to-end backend systems that power enterprise-grade observability at scale, working with modern data infrastructure technologies and AI-assisted workflows to enable fast root-cause analysis for the world's largest organizations.
**Role:** Backend Engineer
**Seniority:** Mid
**Locations:** CH-Zurich-Observe
**Salary:** 170000–240000 USD
[Apply](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/snowflake/a3a54f6d-2fb6-4962-8001-0732b890a859)
Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/jobs/snowflake/software-engineer-observe-team
---
## Responsibilities

- Design and architect core features and APIs: Design, build, and own core features, APIs, and business logic powering the high-performance observability platform. Take end-to-end ownership from technical scoping and architecture through deployment, ensuring systems meet enterprise reliability, performance standards, and handle massive volumes of telemetry data efficiently.
- Build scalable production systems: Develop reliable, production-grade backend systems designed to handle high throughput, low-latency requirements, and enterprise-scale reliability. Implement distributed platform components that ingest and process logs, metrics, traces, and events across the Snowflake AI Data Cloud using open formats like Apache Iceberg.
- Cross-functional collaboration: Collaborate with product, infrastructure, data teams, and SREs to deliver observability solutions that enable fast, actionable insights for engineering teams worldwide. Partner with customer-facing teams to diagnose and resolve production issues while applying AI-assisted workflows for accelerated root-cause analysis.
- Production operations and support: Manage production systems from deployment through ongoing optimization. Work alongside SREs to troubleshoot production issues, implement incident response automation, and establish observability patterns that support enterprise customers processing hundreds of terabytes of telemetry daily.
- Technical leadership and mentorship: Contribute to high engineering standards through thoughtful code review, architectural influence, and mentorship of team members. Help establish best practices for building scalable backend systems, promote knowledge sharing across the engineering organization, and foster a culture of technical excellence and operational rigor.
- Autonomous problem-solving: Work independently and take ownership of complex technical problems from initial scoping through delivery without waiting to be directed. Demonstrate startup-style velocity and ownership while leveraging enterprise-grade infrastructure and operational excellence of a world-leading data platform.

## Requirements

### education

- {"name":"Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Engineering","description":"BS or MS in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field required to demonstrate foundational knowledge of algorithms, system design, and software engineering principles."}
- {"name":"Equivalent professional experience","description":"If formal degree is not available, equivalent hands-on professional software engineering experience demonstrating mastery of backend systems, distributed architecture, and large-scale production systems can substitute for degree requirement."}

### technical

- {"name":"Server-side programming languages","description":"Strong proficiency in one or more backend languages such as Go, Java, Scala, Python, or similar languages used for building distributed systems and data pipelines. Experience should demonstrate deep understanding of language-specific performance characteristics and design patterns for scalable applications."}
- {"name":"Distributed systems and backend architecture","description":"Demonstrated experience designing and shipping production systems at scale with emphasis on high throughput, low latency, and enterprise reliability requirements. Knowledge of microservices, API design patterns, data pipelines, and handling massively parallel workloads across distributed infrastructure."}
- {"name":"Telemetry and observability infrastructure","description":"Experience with observability platforms, telemetry pipelines, or distributed tracing and logging systems such as OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Jaeger, or similar tools. Understanding of how to ingest, process, and query observability signals efficiently at scale."}
- {"name":"Cloud and data infrastructure","description":"Strong understanding of cloud computing platforms and data infrastructure patterns. Experience working with data lakes, columnar storage formats, or modern data warehousing concepts is valuable for understanding how Observe integrates with the Snowflake AI Data Cloud."}
- {"name":"Production systems engineering","description":"Proven ability to build, test, and deploy production-grade systems with focus on reliability, performance monitoring, and incident response. Experience with infrastructure-as-code, containerization, and continuous deployment practices in enterprise environments."}

### experience

- {"name":"2-5 years of professional backend engineering","description":"2 to 5 years of professional software engineering experience with primary focus on backend application systems, distributed platforms, or infrastructure development. Should demonstrate progression in building increasingly complex systems and taking on greater technical ownership."}
- {"name":"Production systems at scale","description":"Track record of designing and shipping production systems capable of handling enterprise-grade reliability requirements and significant data volumes. Experience supporting systems processing terabytes of data or millions of requests per second is highly relevant."}
- {"name":"Autonomous ownership and collaboration","description":"Demonstrated ability to work independently and take ownership of complex technical problems from scoping through delivery without requiring direction. Strong collaborative experience across engineering, product, and infrastructure teams in fast-moving, high-ownership environments."}
- {"name":"Problem-solving and analytical thinking","description":"Strong analytical thinking and structured problem-solving skills with a track record of shipping impactful, customer-facing work that directly impacts user outcomes and business metrics."}

## Skills

### required

- {"name":"Backend programming","description":"Expert-level proficiency in Go, Java, Scala, Python, or equivalent server-side languages with ability to write efficient, maintainable code at scale."}
- {"name":"System design and architecture","description":"Strong capability to design scalable, maintainable backend systems with consideration for distributed computing patterns, CAP theorem, eventual consistency, and enterprise reliability requirements."}
- {"name":"API design and development","description":"Experience designing and building RESTful or RPC APIs that serve as the foundation for platform features. Understanding of API versioning, backward compatibility, and performance optimization."}
- {"name":"Database and data infrastructure","description":"Solid understanding of relational and non-relational databases, query optimization, data modeling for analytics workloads, and integration with data pipeline systems."}
- {"name":"Production operations","description":"Familiarity with monitoring, alerting, logging, and debugging production systems. Ability to perform root-cause analysis and implement lasting solutions to operational issues."}
- {"name":"Collaborative development","description":"Strong code review skills, ability to write clear technical documentation, and experience mentoring junior engineers or peers in fast-paced environments."}

### preferred

- {"name":"Observability platform experience","description":"Hands-on experience building or contributing to observability platforms, monitoring solutions, or telemetry infrastructure that processes high volumes of signals."}
- {"name":"AI and LLM integration","description":"Experience building or contributing to AI-assisted developer tools, incorporating language models into workflows, or implementing chat-based interfaces for operational tasks."}
- {"name":"SRE and incident response","description":"Background in site reliability engineering practices, incident response automation, runbook development, or building tools for root-cause analysis and troubleshooting."}
- {"name":"Open-source contributions","description":"Track record of contributing to observability projects (OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Jaeger), data infrastructure initiatives, or developer productivity tools."}
- {"name":"Apache Iceberg experience","description":"Familiarity with Apache Iceberg or similar open table formats used in modern data lakes and analytics platforms."}
- {"name":"Cloud platform expertise","description":"Deep experience with AWS, Azure, or GCP, particularly with serverless architectures, managed databases, and cloud-native application design patterns."}

## Tech stack

### tools

- {"name":"OpenTelemetry","description":"Standardized instrumentation framework for collecting telemetry signals (traces, metrics, logs) across distributed systems."}
- {"name":"Prometheus","description":"Time-series monitoring system and alerting toolkit for collecting and storing metrics from applications and infrastructure."}
- {"name":"Jaeger","description":"Open-source distributed tracing platform for monitoring and troubleshooting microservices-based architectures."}
- {"name":"Git and version control","description":"Source code management and collaboration using Git-based workflows, pull requests, and code review practices."}
- {"name":"Container orchestration (Kubernetes)","description":"Containerization and orchestration for deploying, scaling, and managing backend services in production environments."}
- {"name":"CI/CD pipelines","description":"Continuous integration and deployment systems for automated testing, building, and releasing backend components."}

### others

- {"name":"AI-assisted workflows","description":"Integration of large language models and AI for automating root-cause analysis, troubleshooting recommendations, and intelligent automation within observability platforms."}
- {"name":"Telemetry standards and protocols","description":"Understanding of industry standards for observability signal collection, transmission, and storage including OpenTelemetry Protocol (OTLP) and common telemetry formats."}
- {"name":"Cost optimization for data platforms","description":"Experience optimizing data storage, query performance, and computational costs for large-scale data processing systems handling terabytes of data."}
- {"name":"Enterprise reliability patterns","description":"Knowledge of implementing high availability, disaster recovery, multi-tenancy, and security patterns required for enterprise-grade observability platforms."}

### databases

- {"name":"Apache Iceberg","description":"Open table format used by Snowflake for building scalable data lakehouses with ACID transactions and schema evolution capabilities."}
- {"name":"Snowflake Data Cloud","description":"The underlying data platform providing scalable compute and storage for storing and querying observability data at massive scale."}
- {"name":"PostgreSQL or MySQL","description":"Relational databases commonly used for transactional workloads and operational data within observability platforms."}
- {"name":"Apache Druid","description":"Time-series OLAP database optimized for storing and analyzing observability metrics and events."}
- {"name":"Elasticsearch","description":"Search and analytics engine frequently used for storing and querying logs and trace data in observability solutions."}

### languages

- {"name":"Go","description":"Preferred for high-performance backend services and infrastructure components due to concurrency model and efficiency."}
- {"name":"Java","description":"Widely used for enterprise backend systems with strong ecosystem for distributed systems and observability integration."}
- {"name":"Scala","description":"Functional programming language frequently used in data processing pipelines and observability platforms."}
- {"name":"Python","description":"Used for data processing, scripting, and backend service development with rich libraries for data handling and analysis."}

### frameworks

- {"name":"gRPC","description":"High-performance RPC framework for building efficient, scalable microservices and inter-service communication."}
- {"name":"Apache Kafka","description":"Distributed event streaming platform for ingesting and processing high-volume telemetry data and observability signals."}
- {"name":"Spring Boot","description":"Java framework for building scalable backend services with enterprise-grade reliability and operational features."}
- {"name":"FastAPI","description":"Modern Python framework for building high-performance REST APIs with built-in support for async operations."}

## Benefits

### benefits

- {"name":"Professional development and growth","description":"Opportunity to work at the intersection of data, infrastructure, and user experience at a world-leading data platform. Access to cutting-edge technologies, architectural influence, and mentorship from experienced engineers building planet-scale systems."}
- {"name":"Startup-style ownership with enterprise scale","description":"Combine startup velocity and autonomy with the global reach, operational excellence, and established customer base of Snowflake. Own impactful systems directly supporting some of the world's largest organizations."}
- {"name":"Work on meaningful observability impact","description":"Build solutions enabling engineering teams worldwide to troubleshoot production issues 10x faster and maintain reliability at enterprise scale. Your work directly impacts operations of Capital One, Topgolf, Dialpad, and other leading enterprises."}
- {"name":"Innovative AI integration","description":"Work on AI-native technologies including AI-assisted SRE workflows, chat-based interfaces, and intelligent context graphs. Contribute to defining the future of how engineering teams troubleshoot and operate production systems."}
- {"name":"Access to enterprise customer context","description":"Gain deep understanding of enterprise observability needs and reliability patterns through direct engagement with Fortune 500 companies and leading technology organizations processing hundreds of terabytes of telemetry daily."}
- {"name":"Comprehensive benefits package","description":"Access to competitive compensation, health insurance, retirement benefits, vacation, and other standard benefits. Consult the Snowflake Careers Site for complete details on total compensation and benefits offerings."}

## Compensation

- **max:** 240000
- **min:** 170000
- **currency:** USD
- **stockOptions:** true

## Interview process

### steps

- {"name":"Initial screening call","description":"Preliminary conversation with a recruiter to discuss your background, experience with backend systems, and alignment with the Software Engineer role at Observe. Typical duration is 30 minutes and covers career trajectory and technical interests."}
- {"name":"Technical screening interview","description":"Technical conversation with an engineer focused on assessing your proficiency with server-side languages, system design thinking, and experience building production systems at scale. May include live coding or architectural discussion depending on interview style."}
- {"name":"System design deep dive","description":"In-depth technical interview assessing your ability to design scalable backend systems and APIs. You'll be expected to discuss tradeoffs in distributed system design, consider enterprise reliability requirements, and demonstrate problem-solving approaches."}
- {"name":"Behavioral and collaboration interview","description":"Discussion with team leads or senior engineers on your collaborative style, experience taking autonomous ownership, and ability to work across product, infrastructure, and data teams. Snowflake values low-ego individuals who thrive in dynamic environments."}
- {"name":"Leadership and culture fit","description":"Final interview may include conversation with management to assess alignment with Snowflake's values around challenging ordinary thinking, driving innovation, and operating with an experimental, AI-native mindset in fast-moving environments."}
- {"name":"Offer and negotiation","description":"Upon successful completion of interview loop, Snowflake will extend an offer including base salary, stock options, bonus structure, and benefits package. Compensation is competitive and may be negotiable based on experience level and market conditions."}

## Full description
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:**

We are hiring a Software Engineer, Enterprise for our Engineering team at Observe by Snowflake. As part of the Enterprise Engineering team at Observe by Snowflake, you’ll build and scale core features, APIs, and business logic powering a high-performance observability platform. You’ll develop reliable, production-grade systems designed to handle massive volumes of telemetry for enterprise customers. Working at the intersection of data, infrastructure, and user experience, you’ll help deliver solutions that enable fast, actionable insights at scale. This is an opportunity to own impactful systems that directly support the reliability and performance of some of the world’s largest organizations.

## **In this role your will:**

* Design, build, and own core features, APIs, and business logic powering a high-performance observability platform for enterprise customers
* Take end-to-end ownership from technical scoping and architecture through deployment, ensuring systems meet enterprise reliability and performance standards
* Collaborate with product, infrastructure, and data teams to deliver solutions that enable fast, actionable insights for engineering teams worldwide
* Partner with SREs and customer-facing teams to diagnose and resolve production issues, applying AI-assisted workflows to accelerate root-cause analysis
* Contribute to high engineering standards through thoughtful code review, mentorship, and architectural influence

## **Qualifications:**

* 2 - 5 years of professional software engineering experience with a focus on backend application systems or distributed platforms
* Demonstrated experience designing and shipping production systems at scale, handling high throughput, low latency, and enterprise reliability requirements
* Strong proficiency in one or more server-side languages such as Go, Java, Scala, Python, or similar
* Ability to work independently and take ownership of complex technical problems from scoping through delivery, without waiting to be directed
* Experience collaborating across engineering, product, and infrastructure teams in a fast-moving, high-ownership environment
* Strong analytical thinking and structured problem-solving skills with a track record of shipping impactful, customer-facing work
* A BS/MS in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience

## **Bonus Points:**

* Experience with observability platforms, telemetry pipelines, or distributed tracing and logging systems (e.g., OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Jaeger)
* Experience building or contributing to AI-assisted developer tools or LLM-integrated workflows
* Background in SRE practices, incident response automation, or root-cause analysis tooling
* Open-source contributions to observability, data infrastructure, or developer productivity projects

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](http://careers.snowflake.com)