Principal Engineer, Google Chat

Google Cloud accelerates every organization’s ability to digitally transform its business and industry. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google’s cutting-edge technology, and tools that help developers build more sustainably. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems.

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $294,000-$414,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits. Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities

• Set the long-term technical vision and roadmap for Chat's overall architecture with special attention on the backend stack.
• Provide deep domain expertise and thought leadership across search, indexing, storage and sync protocols to evolve Chat into a richer canvas for communication and collaboration.
• Deliver infrastructure, tooling, and processes that enable high-impact features (including AI) at fast time-to-market with high quality while honoring data governance requirements.
• Serve as the primary technical escalation point, providing technical oversight (through design reviews) for all architectural initiatives.
• Mentor and grow senior ICs and Tech Leads working on these projects, fostering a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience
• 15 years of professional experience in software development or related area
• Experience with large-scale distributed systems and backend infrastructure

Preferred qualifications:

• Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science or related technical field
• Experience with Generative AI or ML frameworks, particularly in the areas where they intersect with communication and collaboration tools
• Proven ability to collaborate across organizational boundaries and influence other teams' directions and roadmaps
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to influence technical leaders and simplify complex technical topics for senior leadership (VPs and Directors)
• Deep technical expertise in search, indexing, storage systems, and real-time sync protocols
• Demonstrated track record of technical innovation and driving engineering velocity improvements at scale