Principal Software Engineer - Data Platform

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