Demo

Sr. Staff Software Engineer, Core Retrieval Infrastructure

Pinterest
San Francisco, CA Full Time
POSTED ON 10/6/2025
AVAILABLE BEFORE 1/2/2026
About Pinterest

Millions of people around the world come to our platform to find creative ideas, dream about new possibilities and plan for memories that will last a lifetime. At Pinterest, we’re on a mission to bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love, and that starts with the people behind the product.

Discover a career where you ignite innovation for millions, transform passion into growth opportunities, celebrate each other’s unique experiences and embrace the flexibility to do your best work. Creating a career you love? It’s Possible.

Sr Staff Software Engineer, Core Retrieval Infrastructure

The Core Retrieval Infrastructure team is responsible for building and maintaining the large-scale, high-performance retrieval (search) platforms that power recommendations on Pinterest. These platforms offer several retrieval paradigms (token, embedding, hybrid (token embedding), graph), and support all product surfaces on Pinterest including Homefeed, Search, Closeup, and Shopping.

What You’ll Do

  • Shape the technical strategy for retrieval platforms at Pinterest and guide the team to implement industry-leading advancements and address emerging product needs within Pinterest
  • Design and build large-scale, high-performance, reliable retrieval platforms, which index and serve 1B documents to 100M Pinners
  • Drive cross-team collaborations to innovate on the frontier of search and recommendations
  • Mentor senior engineers on the team and support them in honing their technical and leadership skills


What We’re Looking For

  • 10 years of relevant industry experience (4 years in retrieval infrastructure)
  • 2 years of experience working as a technical lead, leading efforts across teams and organizations
  • Experience building large-scale, high-performance distributed systems supporting consumer applications, such as search, recommendations, or ads
  • Expertise in a compiled programming language, such as C (preferred), Java, or Rust
  • Bachelor’s degree in computer science, a related field or equivalent experience


In-office Requirement Statement

  • We let the type of work you do guide the collaboration style. That means we're not always working in an office, but we continue to gather for key moments of collaboration and connection.
  • This role will need to be in the office for in-person collaboration 1-2 times per half and therefore needs to be in a commutable distance from one of the following offices: San Francisco, Palo Alto or Seattle.


Relocation Statement:

  • This position is not eligible for relocation assistance. Visit our PinFlex page to learn more about our working model.


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.

Information regarding the culture at Pinterest and benefits available for this position can be found here.

US based applicants only

$235,964—$412,937 USD

Our Commitment To Inclusion

Pinterest is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit. We want to have the best qualified people in every job. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, status as a protected veteran, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information or characteristics (or those of a family member) or any other consideration made unlawful by applicable federal, state or local laws. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you require a medical or religious accommodation during the job application process, please complete this form for support.

Salary : $235,964 - $412,937

If your compensation planning software is too rigid to deploy winning incentive strategies, it’s time to find an adaptable solution. Compensation Planning
Enhance your organization's compensation strategy with salary data sets that HR and team managers can use to pay your staff right. Surveys & Data Sets

What is the career path for a Sr. Staff Software Engineer, Core Retrieval Infrastructure?

Sign up to receive alerts about other jobs on the Sr. Staff Software Engineer, Core Retrieval Infrastructure career path by checking the boxes next to the positions that interest you.
Income Estimation: 
$77,657 - $95,021
Income Estimation: 
$97,257 - $120,701
Income Estimation: 
$97,257 - $120,701
Income Estimation: 
$123,167 - $152,295
Income Estimation: 
$123,167 - $152,295
Income Estimation: 
$146,673 - $180,130
Income Estimation: 
$146,673 - $180,130
Income Estimation: 
$176,149 - $220,529
View Core, Job Family, and Industry Job Skills and Competency Data for more than 15,000 Job Titles Skills Library

Job openings at Pinterest

Pinterest
Hired Organization Address New York, NY Full Time
About Pinterest Millions of people around the world come to our platform to find creative ideas, dream about new possibi...
Pinterest
Hired Organization Address San Francisco, CA Full Time
About Pinterest Millions of people around the world come to our platform to find creative ideas, dream about new possibi...
Pinterest
Hired Organization Address San Francisco, CA Full Time
About Pinterest Millions of people around the world come to our platform to find creative ideas, dream about new possibi...
Pinterest
Hired Organization Address Seattle, WA Full Time
About Pinterest Millions of people around the world come to our platform to find creative ideas, dream about new possibi...

Not the job you're looking for? Here are some other Sr. Staff Software Engineer, Core Retrieval Infrastructure jobs in the San Francisco, CA area that may be a better fit.

Staff Software Engineer, Core Infrastructure

Jobright.ai, San Francisco, CA

AI Assistant is available now!

Feel free to start your new journey!