Principal Software Engineer, Zynga
Full-Stack Development
CA$118.3-168.3k
More information about location
Social game developer
Be an early applicant
Social game developer
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
CA$118.3-168.3k
More information about location
1001+ employees
Company mission
To connect the world through games.
Role
Who you are
- B.S. in Computer Science, or equivalent
- 6+ years of hands-on software development experience, with significant exposure to AI/ML systems or developer tooling
- Strong full stack programming experience across frontend (React, TypeScript) and backend (Python, GoLang, and/or Node.js)
- Experience designing and building LLM-powered applications, agentic workflows, or AI developer tools
- Experience in programming RESTful and event-driven services, with familiarity with MCP or similar tool-integration protocols a plus
- Experience with database systems (SQL, NoSQL) and cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP)
- Experience in object-oriented and service-oriented design of scalable applications and systems
- Familiarity with IDE extensions, CLI tooling, or browser-based developer tools a plus
- Knowledge of the evolving AI/ML landscape, emerging foundation models, and responsible AI practices a plus
- Experience working cross-functionally with product, design, and engineering teams on technical implementations and rollouts
What the job involves
- Come join the AI team at Zynga making an impact across all of the company's games - Central Technology! As a Principal Software Engineer, you will be responsible for the technical vision, design and implementation of AI-powered tools and systems that elevate developer productivity and player experiences at scale
- We're looking for outstanding engineers with a passion for artificial intelligence and the desire to work in a team with dynamic strengths
- Build, improve & maintain Zynga's AI-powered developer tools and applications across the full stack, spanning frontend interfaces, APIs, and backend services
- Design and architect scalable AI systems and integrations running in cloud infrastructure, including LLM-powered features, agentic workflows, and MCP-based services
- Take a hands-on approach in architecting, writing, and reviewing code across frontend and backend layers of the AI tooling ecosystem
- Proactively identify & recommend improvements to address systemic problems, tech debt, and opportunities to enhance AI capabilities across the platform
- Follow engineering best practices to ensure code quality, performance, reliability, and responsible AI development standards
- Collaborate effectively with teammates, product, and stakeholders across Zynga, contributing to an innovative environment of technical excellence in AI tooling
- Review detailed tech plans from others, aligning with the AI tools team and Zynga-wide technical vision for AI-driven developer productivity
- Provide production & integration support for shared AI tools and services used across Zynga's game studios and development teams
Our take
Zynga is a games developer that rode Facebook's platform to success back in the late noughties and early 2010's. It is now one of the biggest casual game producers globally, with a presence across over 170 countries and regions and millions of monthly active users.
Though the company hit a number of roadblocks after its initial success - such as falling stock prices, and numerous calls it was copying other games - its subsequent resurgence is proof of its staying power. It continues to use social media as a distribution channel, and boasts titles such as FarmVille, Merge Dragons! and Words With Friends.
Future success will lie in the company's continued investment in building viral games that people love. It will also need to attune to the social media waves and keep track of where users can be found, as the landscape has become more mobile. In 2024 the company announced it was developing push notifications that enable gameplay without entering the application, which will be an interesting addition to its outputs.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
7% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)
Mar 2011
$490m
SERIES C
Oct 2010
$6.3m
EARLY VC
Total funding: $865.5m
Company benefits
- COMPENSATION - Performance bonuses, opportunities for equity participation & retirement/pension savings support
- HEALTH - Medical, dental & vision covered for employees, with participation for employees eligible dependents, plus disability and life insurance program
- FAMILY - Generous parental leave for birth parents, partners and adoptive families, plus Infertility support, emergency child care and flexible time-off policies
- WELLNESS - Gym benefits, wellness programs, employee assistance programs and generous time-off policies
- FOOD - Food and snacks made in-house or delivered, healthy snack kitchens with drinks and treats, coffee bars, regular social gatherings and happy hours
- WORK & LIFE - Flexible time-off policies (DTO), office rest areas, gaming spaces, employee discounts and more
- TRANSIT BENEFITS - Shuttle service in select locations, commuter/parking benefits, secure bicycle storage, business travel assistance
- RESOURCE GROUPS - Women at Zynga (WAZ), zCares charitable giving, zParents, zEndurance adventure club, BZU, zPride LGBTQ+ inclusion and belonging
Company HQ
SoMa, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Mark Pincus
(Chairman & Co-founder)Previously founder and CEO of Freeloader, Supportsoft and Tribe.net, an early social network
Michael Luxton
(Co-founder)Previously an engineer at NetApp
Salary benchmarks
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