Principal Engineer, AI Platform
About this role
The AI Platform team at Pinterest builds the end-to-end infrastructure engines for petabyte-scale data orchestration, model training, fine-tuning, and high-performance inference. These systems scale seamlessly to hundreds of millions of inferences per second, supporting over 600 million monthly active users across Generative AI and Recommender Systems.
As a Principal Engineer, the person in this role sets the technical vision and roadmap while driving cross-functional strategic initiatives that advance platform capabilities. Day-to-day work involves shaping architecture for multimodal data management, feature stores, and automated developer tools while maintaining a high engineering bar.
Ideal candidates bring deep expertise in distributed systems and AI infrastructure, combined with a history of leading cross-organizational initiatives and aligning executives around a shared technical direction.
What you will do
- Set the technical vision and roadmap for the Pinterest AI Platform to align with business priorities and long-term company strategy.
- Drive cross-functional strategic initiatives that advance platform capabilities across Generative AI and Recommender Systems.
- Architect infrastructure for multimodal data management, post-training, evaluation, and batch or online inference.
- Develop feature stores, training infrastructure, and large-scale high performance inference systems for recommendation engines.
- Build AI-powered tools that automate the user experience and connect every stage of the AI/ML lifecycle to accelerate development.
- Cultivate an inclusive culture and provide candid, constructive feedback that accelerates individual and team growth.
What you need
- Possess deep expertise in AI/ML infrastructure and distributed systems with hands-on experience operating production-grade systems at large scale.
- Demonstrate strong technical judgment and proficiency in at least one programming language such as C++, Java, or Rust.
- Show a proven track record of company-wide impact through leading cross-organizational initiatives and navigating ambiguity.
- Define technical strategy, influence architecture decisions, and align cross-functional partners and executives around a shared direction.
- Maintain strong ownership and uphold high standards for engineering quality, integrity, and accountability.
- Hold a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field.
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the remote work and office policy for this role?
This role will need to be in the office for in-person collaboration 1-2 times per quarter and therefore needs to be in a commutable distance from either the Palo Alto, CA or San Francisco, CA offices.
What is the base salary range for this position?
The base salary range for this position is $242,634 to $499,541 USD for US based applicants only. Final salary is based on a number of factors including location, travel, relevant prior experience, or particular skills and expertise.
Is relocation assistance available?
This position is not eligible for relocation assistance.