Senior Principal Software Engineer, Ads Quality

Snap Inc.

. Set the multi-year technical strategy and architecture for Ads Marketplace .

Posted 10/7/2026full-timeUnited StatesSenior💰 $334,000 - $500,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates expertise in setting technical direction and leading complex engineering initiatives, particularly in ads marketplace optimization, algorithms, and distributed systems. Proven ability to mentor technical leaders and deliver measurable improvements in marketplace efficiency and advertiser performance.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Technical LeadershipAds Marketplace OptimizationDistributed Systems ArchitectureAlgorithms and OptimizationMachine Learning Application

ATS Keywords

Tailor your resume

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills

Software DevelopmentAlgorithmsOptimizationStatisticsDebuggingPerformance AnalysisTestingReal-Time Marketplace DecisionsAuction TheoryCausal Evaluation Methods

Soft Skills

Influencing Across Organizational BoundariesCommunication of Complex Trade-OffsMentoring Technical Leaders

Certifications & Qualifications

Bachelor’s Degree in Technical FieldMaster’s Degree in Technical FieldPhD in Related Technical Field

Industry Keywords

Ads MarketplaceBidding AlgorithmsBudget AllocationTraffic OptimizationAd RerankingSlate OptimizationMarketplace ExperimentsProduction Advertising Systems

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Distributed Systems

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Set the multi-year technical strategy and architecture for Ads Marketplace
Design and scale bidding, budget allocation, and pacing algorithms
Advance auction mechanisms, pricing, and allocation algorithms
Lead inventory and traffic optimization across Snapchat surfaces
Develop ad reranking and slate optimization approaches
Establish objectives, evaluation methods, and experimentation standards
Lead complex initiatives across teams and resolve architectural trade-offs and dependencies
Stay hands-on through prototyping, critical implementation, and production problem solving
Raise the engineering bar for reliability, latency, scalability, and cost efficiency
Mentor senior engineers and technical leaders
Build shared technical foundations that enable teams to deliver independently

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor’s degree in a technical field such as computer science, mathematics, or statistics, or equivalent practical experience
10+ years of post-Bachelor’s software development experience; or a Master’s degree in a technical field and 10+ years of post-graduate software development experience; or a PhD in a related technical field and 7+ years of post-graduate software development experience
3+ years of experience providing technical leadership or serving as a domain expert for a technical organization
Experience setting technical direction and leading complex engineering initiatives across multiple teams, from architecture through production delivery and measurable impact
Experience architecting, building, and operating large-scale distributed systems
Deep expertise in one or more areas of ads marketplace optimization
Strong foundations in algorithms, optimization, statistics, and distributed systems
Excellent programming and software design skills, including debugging, performance analysis, testing, and operating highly available systems at scale
Ability to turn ambiguous business and technical problems into a coherent strategy, measurable objectives, and an executable roadmap across multiple teams
Strong technical judgment in balancing advertiser outcomes, revenue, user engagement, system complexity, and operational risk
Ability to influence across organizational boundaries, communicate complex trade-offs clearly, and develop senior engineers and technical leaders
Proven track record of delivering improvements in advertiser performance, marketplace efficiency, or revenue through ads optimization
Experience applying machine learning, constrained optimization, control theory, or online learning to budget allocation and real-time marketplace decisions
Experience with auction theory, mechanism design, pricing, or market dynamics in production advertising systems
Experience with ad reranking, slate optimization, ad load, placement, or frequency optimization
Experience designing marketplace experiments and causal evaluation methods

Benefits

Comp & perks

Paid parental leave
Comprehensive medical coverage
Emotional and mental health support programs
Compensation packages including equity in the form of RSUs
Default Together approach with in-office work 4+ days per week