# Principal Software Engineer II - Metadata

**Company:** [Snowflake](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/snowflake)
**Location:** Bellevue, WA, Menlo Park, CA
**Role:** Fullstack Engineering
**Salary:** $304K-$437K
**Experience:** 15+ years
**Skills:** Java, Distributed Systems, Data Structures, Algorithms, Multi-Threading, Memory Management, Networking, Storage Systems, Metadata Management, Database Internals
**Posted:** 2025-11-05

> Designs, develops, and supports fault-tolerant scalable distributed metadata systems at petabyte scale. Requires 15+ years experience in large-scale services, deep database internals expertise, strong CS fundamentals, and Java fluency.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Solve real business needs at large scale by applying software engineering and analytical problem solving skills.
- Design, develop and support fault-tolerant scalable distributed systems for Metadata.
- Create and own architecture and design, influence our product roadmap, and identify new projects.
- Analyze fault-tolerance and high availability issues, performance and scale challenges, and solve them.
- Mentor and grow junior engineers.
- Understand trade-offs between consistency, performance and costs to build solutions which can meet the demands of rapidly growing services.
- Ensure operational readiness of the services and meet the commitments to our customers regarding durability, availability and performance.

## Requirements
- 15+ years of industry experience designing, building and supporting large scale distributed services.
- Deep and broad expertise in a variety of database systems internals including metadata management, clustering, compaction, catalogs, storage and replication.
- Strong computer science fundamentals including data structures, algorithms, and distributed systems.
- Excellent understanding of systems infrastructure product development and concepts including multi-threading, memory management, networking and storage, performance, reliability and scalability.
- Fluency in **Java** or other similar procedural object-oriented language is preferred.
- Track record of identifying and implementing creative solutions to complex problems at the cloud scale.
- Ability to work effectively across engineering teams in multiple locations.
- **BS in Computer Science**; Advanced degree preferred.

## Similar roles

- [Principal Software Engineer II](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/principal-software-engineer-ii-at-snowflake-3dcb6d18-f4dc-4915-99b8-15391c02c777) - Snowflake - Bellevue, WA - $304K-$437K
- [Principal Software Engineer](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/principal-software-engineer-at-crusoe-9b5f4a66-e7f4-4354-ab5b-fd047f8d40b4) - Crusoe - San Francisco, CA - $256K-$320K
- [Principal Engineer, Collaboration Platforms](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/principal-engineer-collaboration-platforms-at-clickup-84f7b82c-2d9a-4c1d-8fe1-01f8e4e72721) - ClickUp - Remote - $250K-$300K
- [Principal Software Engineer](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/principal-software-engineer-at-typeface-b90ea697-b2c2-42ca-b7a1-1831d028aa79) - Typeface - Palo Alto, CA - $248K-$267K
- [Principal Software Engineer](https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/principal-software-engineer-at-okta-a2656e88-3866-4e8f-b199-a0523638388e) - Okta - Bellevue, WA - $244K-$376K

**Apply:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/principal-software-engineer-ii-metadata-at-snowflake-497d77b2-260d-42eb-832a-f18158c5345e
**Canonical:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/principal-software-engineer-ii-metadata-at-snowflake-497d77b2-260d-42eb-832a-f18158c5345e