Principal Software Engineer, Snap Inc.
Augmented Reality
$276-414k
+ RSUs
4+ days a week in office (Palo Alto, CA)
Social media & camera company
Be an early applicant
Social media & camera company
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$276-414k
+ RSUs
4+ days a week in office (Palo Alto, CA)
1001+ employees
Company mission
To empower people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together.
Role
Who you are
- Strong computer science fundamentals
- Advanced C++ Knowledge and experience with modern C++
- Systems Architecture and Design
- Great communication skills and Technical Leadership; ability to work in a team and lead by example
- Bachelor's Degree in a relevant technical field such as computer science or equivalent years of practical work experience
- 10+ years of post-Bachelor’s software development experience; or a Master’s degree in a technical field + 9+ year of post-grad software development experience; or a PhD in a related technical field + 6+ years of post-grad software development experience
- 2+ years of experience with technical leadership or acting as the domain-expert to a technical organization
- Experience with technical leadership or people management
- C++ development experience
Desirable
- Experience creating developer-facing APIs and libraries
- Knowledge of Qt framework
- Experience with rendering APIs such as DirectX, Metal, Vulkan or OpenGL
- Experience with a 3D rendering engine like Unity or Unreal
- Experience with computer vision, sensors, or machine learning
What the job involves
- Snap’s Augmented Reality team invents the immersive (and fun!) camera experiences that are at the core of our products
- From developing creative new Lens features for Snapchat, to supporting the continuous growth and evolution of Lens Studio (our platform for an ever-increasing community of AR creators), to designing the cutting-edge computer vision and machine learning technology that makes face transformation Lenses possible — our Augmented Reality team is working hard on their mission to bring AR to more people, places, and moments, every day
- We’re looking for a Principal C++ Software Engineer to join our Augmented Reality team!
- Design and develop the foundational systems for Snapchat’s AR engine and authoring tools (including Lens Studio)
- Write exemplary code with exemplary practices, and drive initiatives that improve developer productivity
- Elevate your teammates through direct communication and mentorship, influencing engineering culture across the entire org
- Deeply understand organizational goals, and transfer this understanding into processes and initiatives that will help the team deliver greater impact
- Get to know Lens developers and use that knowledge to help shape our product roadmap
- Work across Product, Design and Engineering leadership on strategic planning
Our take
Snap Inc. is the social-media company behind Snapchat, a mobile app launched in 2011 that prioritises visual and emotive communication over traditional texting. Born from a desire to share real-time moments with authenticity, the app now boasts a massive global reach with daily active users surpassing 460M and monthly active users well beyond 900M.
After rejecting a billion-dollar acquisition offer from MEta Platforms (then Facebook) in 2023, Snapchat entered into a long-term rivalry with Meta's apps (most notably Instagram). Despite the competition, Snap has carved out a distinct place in the social-media landscape by innovating features such as the "Discover" tab, augmented-reality (AR) lenses, in-app gaming, paid subscriptions via Snapchat+, and robust ad-monetisation options.
Snap has yet to post a full-year profit since going public in 2017, but the company is clearly making progress. In Q1 2025 the net loss was narrowed to roughly $140M, down from $305M the year before, and revenue rose 14% to $1.36B. Advertising revenue remains periodic and macro-factors still pose headwinds, yet Snaps enduring popularity and its expanding product mix suggest that further success appears likely.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
-9% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)
May 2016
$1.8bn
SERIES F
Mar 2015
$200m
SERIES E
Total funding: $2.6bn
Company benefits
- Up to 28 weeks of parental leave and return-to-work program
- Adoption, surrogacy, infertility, and fertility preservation benefits
- Backup child care coverage, center-based care support, & caregiver assistance
- Dependent Daycare Flexible Spending Account
- Short-term disability, long-term disability, basic life insurance, and AD&D insurance
- Services to support your path to parenthood & beyond - fertility support & family planning via Carrot, SNOO, Hinge Health
- Lactation rooms (based on office location) and breastmilk shipping coverage
- For Snap, employees taking care of loved ones with complex, chronic, or ongoing care needs (i.e. parent with Dementia, spouse with Cancer, child with Autism), your family can save time, money, & stress with Wellthy
- Comprehensive medical coverage, including PPO, HDHP with HSA, and HMO options
- Dental coverage, including orthodontia benefits
- Vision coverage, including frame and contact allowance and LASIK benefits
- Free membership to One Medical for primary and urgent healthcare services
- Business Travel Insurance
- Gym perks and discounts
- Team fitness classes and races
- Sports leagues
- Cooking and nutritional workshops
- Well-being reimbursement
- Unlimited access to virtual physical therapy with Anthem
- 15 sessions per year of mental health for you + dependents through Lyra
- Generous time off and leave programs. In the US, this includes the following:
- Up to 3 weeks (120 hours) of vacation time and 1 floating holiday for non-exempt team members
- 12 paid holidays per year
- 15 sick and safe days per year
- Meditation and yoga classes
- Speaker series, classes, and subscriptions to educational programs
- Social gatherings, team outings, and volunteering programs
- Snap Inc. provides a 401(k) plan that allows you to save on a pre-tax, Roth, and after-tax basis for your retirement (yes, we even have the Mega backdoor option!) Snap will also match 100% up to 3% of your contribution and then 50% on your 4th and 5th%
- Flexible Spending Accounts for healthcare, daycare and commuter
- Health Savings Account with employer contributions
- Rocket Lawyer memberships
- Financial education programs
- Snap exclusive discounts and perks
- Compensation packages that let you share in Snap’s long-term success!
Company HQ
Sunset Park, Santa Monica, CA
Leadership
Evan Spiegel
(Co-Founder & CEO)Graduated from Stanford with a BS in Product Design.
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