Joblaze summary

The Staff Software Engineer at Pinterest focuses on enhancing the serving platforms that support Ads and Core experiences, leading initiatives to improve performance and reliability. Key skills include expertise in distributed systems and proficiency in programming languages like Java or Python, along with a strong background in backend development. This role is suited for seasoned engineers with over eight years of experience who can navigate complex technical challenges and mentor others. The position involves collaboration across various teams to modernize frameworks and drive efficient product iteration.

Joblaze insights

Listed about a month ago — first seen on Joblaze September 11, 2026. Last confirmed on Pinterest's careers page November 2, 2026.
Salary band is above the typical range for Backend roles (median ~$180,000).
Starts above 41% of 85 comparable staff backend roles in United States that list Python we track (median $217,000 across 34 companies). See Python salary trends
Python appears in 34.8% of 310 comparable staff backend roles in United States; C++ appears in 8.7% of 310 comparable staff backend roles in United States.

Quick facts

Is the Staff Software Engineer, Ads & Core Serving Platform role remote?: It's hybrid — Pinterest expects some on-site time in Palo Alto, CA, US; San Francisco, CA, US.
What's the salary range?: Pinterest lists $208,454–$364,795 for this role.
How much experience is required?: At least 8 years of relevant experience for this Staff Software Engineer, Ads & Core Serving Platform role.
Where is the role based?: Pinterest is hiring for this position in Palo Alto, CA, US; San Francisco, CA, US.
What's the tech stack?: Joblaze extracted these technologies from the posting: C++, Go, Java, Python.
What seniority level is this role?: Pinterest targets staff-level candidates for this position.
Is this full-time or contract?: Full-time for this Staff Software Engineer, Ads & Core Serving Platform role at Pinterest.

From the original posting

About Pinterest:

Pinterest is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to help evolve the serving platforms that power Ads and Core experiences. You will lead large-scale, low-latency distributed-system initiatives that make our serving stack more performant, reliable, observable, and easier to extend.

You will work across Ads and Core engineering teams to define durable platform capabilities, modernize frameworks, and unlock faster product iteration with high confidence in production.

What you’ll do:

Set technical direction and lead architecture for major serving-platform initiatives across Ads and Core.
Build and operate scalable, highly available systems with clear performance, reliability, and efficiency goals.
Partner with product, ML, infrastructure, and Core/Ads engineering teams to translate complex requirements into reusable platform capabilities.
Improve the serving stack through framework modernization, API evolution, experimentation controls, observability, and debugging tools.
Lead complex projects end to end: technical strategy, design, implementation, rollout, adoption, and operational readiness.
Use AI to accelerate analysis, debugging, design exploration, and iteration while applying sound engineering judgment and validation.
Raise the quality bar through design reviews, code reviews, documentation, and operational excellence.
Mentor engineers and scale technical leadership across the organization.

What we’re looking for:

8+ years of software engineering experience building and operating production backend or distributed systems.
Experience leading complex technical initiatives across teams or organizations.
Strong expertise in distributed systems, online serving, low-latency services, or infrastructure platforms.
Demonstrated ability to make sound tradeoffs across latency, reliability, scalability, cost, and developer experience.
Strong communication and collaboration skills with technical and cross-functional partners.
Proficiency in one or more programming languages such as Java, C++, Go, or Python.
Experience mentoring engineers and elevating technical standards.
Demonstrated ability to use AI to improve the speed and quality of day-to-day engineering workflows, with a rigorous approach to testing, validation, and responsible use.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, a related technical field, or equivalent experience.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience with ads delivery, recommendation or search serving, retrieval, ranking, or experimentation systems.
- Experience with serving-framework migrations, platform consolidation, or developer tooling.
- Experience with observability, production debugging, traffic management, or incident response.

In-Office Requirement Statement:

We recognize that the ideal environment for work is situational and may differ across departments. What this looks like day-to-day can vary based on the needs of each organization or role.
This role will need to be in the office for in-person collaboration 1-2 times per week and therefore needs to be in a commutable distance from one of the following offices Palo Alto OR San Francisco

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At Pinterest we believe the workplace should be equitable, inclusive, and inspiring for every employee. In an effort to provide greater transparency, we are sharing the base salary range for this position. The position is also eligible for equity. Final salary is based on a number of factors including location, travel, relevant prior experience, or particular skills and expertise.

US based applicants only

$208,454—$364,795 USD

Our Commitment to Inclusion:

Standard company text repeated across Pinterest's postings is omitted here.

Staff Software Engineer, Ads & Core Serving Platform

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