# Principal Software Engineer

**Company:** [Snowflake](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/snowflake)
**Location:** Menlo Park, CA
**Role:** Fullstack Engineering
**Salary:** $264k – $380k/yr
**Experience:** 15+ years
**Skills:** Java, SQL, query optimization, database internals, semantic layers, metrics layers, bi infrastructure, relational modeling, Data Structures, Algorithms
**Posted:** 2026-07-29

> Principal Software Engineer building Snowflake's semantic layer that translates business metrics and models into optimized SQL for BI tools, SQL, and AI agents. Requires 15+ years experience in large-scale data systems, query engines, or semantic layers, with strong CS fundamentals and SQL expertise.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Solve real business needs at large scale by applying software engineering and analytical problem-solving skills.
- Design, develop, and support the semantic modeling layer that translates semantic queries into correct, high-performance SQL.
- Create architecture and design, influence the semantic layer roadmap, and take ownership over new capabilities spanning metrics, dimensions, relationships, and governance.
- Ensure semantic queries produce correct results while meeting the performance and scale demands of interactive analytics over petabyte-scale data.
- Partner with the Cortex and AI teams to make the semantic layer the reliable grounding source for natural-language and agent-driven analytics.
- Understand the trade-offs between expressiveness, correctness, performance, and cost, and build solutions that hold up as usage grows.
- Mentor and grow engineers, and raise the technical bar across the team.
- Ensure operational readiness of the features we ship and meet commitments to customers on correctness, availability, and performance.

## Requirements
- 15+ years of industry experience designing, building, and supporting large-scale data or systems software.
- Strong computer science fundamentals including data structures, algorithms, and complexity analysis.
- Deep experience with at least one of: query compilation and optimization, database or query engine internals, semantic/metrics layers, or BI and analytics infrastructure.
- Strong grasp of SQL semantics and relational modeling.
- Fluency in Java or another similar object-oriented language is preferred.
- Track record of identifying and implementing creative solutions to complex, ambiguous problems.
- Ability to work effectively across engineering teams in multiple locations.
- BS in Computer Science; Masters or PhD preferred.

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