Principal Software Engineer - Data Platform
Location: San Francisco, CA (Remote OK - US only)
Comp: $230K-$280K base + equity
About the Role:
We're looking for a Principal Software Engineer to help lead the development of a modern, scalable data platform from the ground up at a fast-growing, product-driven tech company. This is a high-impact role where you'd be the most senior individual contributor on the Data Platform team, helping to define the technical vision and build infrastructure that supports real-time analytics, machine learning, and large-scale data processing.
You'll be working closely with Engineering, Product, Security, and Compliance leadership to design a cloud-native data architecture using tools like Kafka, Iceberg, ClickHouse, Tinybird, and Snowflake. If building at scale, tackling complex streaming + batch challenges, and driving long-term architecture sounds exciting to you-this might be the right fit.
What Makes This Opportunity Stand Out:
- Be a core part of a growing Data Platform team
- Own architecture and technical vision from end to end
- Work on real-time and petabyte-scale data problems
- Use a modern data stack (Kafka, Iceberg, ClickHouse, Snowflake, etc.)
- Help shape the platform that will power AI/ML and analytics across the company
What You'll Be Doing:
- Architect and build the company's next-gen data platform from scratch
- Design for scalability, low latency, streaming + batch, and fault tolerance
- Lead decisions around data modeling, governance, ingestion, and warehousing
- Set engineering best practices and mentor other senior engineers
- Ensure platform design aligns with long-term product and business strategy
- Optimize the stack for performance, cost, and reliability in the cloud
What You Bring:
- 8+ years in data engineering or platform infrastructure roles
- At least 5 years operating at a Principal-level or equivalent
- Deep experience with Kafka and real-time data pipelines
- Solid hands-on work with ClickHouse, Iceberg, Snowflake, or similar tools
- Strong understanding of cloud-native architectures (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
- Experience building systems with compliance, governance, and scale in mind
- Proven ability to support petabyte-scale data environments
- Great communication skills and a collaborative approach
- Bonus: Experience with AI/ML infrastructure or preparing for IPO-level growth