Principal Engineer, Cloud Data Infrastructure

PayPal

Principal Engineer leading Venmo’s cloud data infrastructure and performance engineering. Shaping distributed systems, AI-first practices, and scalability for PayPal’s real-time payments.

Posted 9/2/2026full-timeSan Jose • California, Texas • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $218,000 - $323,950 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates deep technical leadership in data platform infrastructure and performance engineering, with expertise in large-scale distributed systems, AI-first engineering practices, and mentoring senior engineers. Proven ability to influence technical strategy and drive performance improvements in high-stakes environments.

Highest-signal resume keywords

10+ Years Relevant ExperienceDeep Hands-On Expertise in Relational and NoSQL DatabasesStrong DevOps Engineering BackgroundExperience with AI-First Development PracticesTechnical Influence Across Large Engineering Organizations

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Software EngineeringData Platform EngineeringDistributed SystemsRelational DatabasesNoSQL DatabasesCI/CD for Data SystemsPerformance ImprovementsScalability EnhancementsResilience EngineeringAI/ML Workflows Integration

Soft Skills

Strong Written CommunicationStrong Verbal CommunicationMentoringDecisive Problem SolvingCross-Functional Collaboration

Tools & Technologies

Infrastructure as CodeAutomation-First Operational PracticesModern Data Pipeline FrameworksReal-Time Analytics ArchitecturesMessage Queue Architectures

Industry Keywords

Financial TechnologyPayments ProcessingRegulated IndustriesTransaction Processing SystemsBusiness Continuity Planning

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

CloudDistributed SystemsNoSQL

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Serve as technical authority for Venmo’s data platform infrastructure and performance engineering
Set the technology vision and define architectural direction for mission-critical databases, data pipelines, messaging systems, caching infrastructure, and performance engineering
Provide deep technical leadership for teams powering Venmo’s real-time payment processing at massive scale
Remain hands-on with code and systems while owning technical strategy
Pioneer AI-first engineering practices
Mentor the Venmo data platform engineering community
Serve as the primary technical voice in cross-functional and executive-level conversations
Increase the results and effectiveness of software engineers in a large domain
Set the technology roadmap for a domain
Adapt technical approaches to achieve goals
Advise senior PayPal executives and influence multi-year business strategies
Handle ambiguous and unfamiliar situations and deliver decisive resolutions
Conduct discovery and exploratory research
Identify cross-project and cross-team themes and broadly impactful improvement opportunities
Determine when to adopt industry-standard solutions versus build novel solutions
Mentor others to propagate technical influence and enhance organizational performance

Requirements

What you’ll need

10+ years relevant experience and a Bachelor’s degree OR any equivalent combination of education and experience
15+ years of professional experience in software engineering or data platform roles
Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or equivalent practical experience
5+ years building and operating large-scale distributed systems in production cloud environments
Deep hands-on expertise across relational and NoSQL databases, distributed caching, and message queue architectures
Strong DevOps engineering background, including infrastructure as code, CI/CD for data systems, and automation-first operational practices
Experience with AI-first development practices and applying AI tooling to accelerate engineering productivity
Track record delivering performance improvements and scalability enhancements for consumer-facing applications serving tens of millions of users
Technical influence across large engineering organizations without direct management authority
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including presenting complex technical trade-offs to executive stakeholders
Background in financial technology, payments processing, or regulated industries preferred
Experience supporting transaction processing systems requiring extreme reliability and millisecond-level response times preferred
Familiarity with resilience engineering, failure injection testing, and business continuity planning preferred
Knowledge of modern data pipeline frameworks and real-time analytics architectures preferred
Experience mentoring and growing senior/staff-level engineers into technical leadership roles preferred
Experience integrating AI/ML workflows into data platform infrastructure, including vector databases, feature stores, or LLM serving infrastructure preferred

Benefits

Comp & perks

Balanced hybrid work model: 3 days in the office and 2 days at either the PayPal office or home workspace
Generous paid time off
Healthcare coverage for you and your family
Resources to create financial security
Support for mental health
Annual performance bonus may apply
Equity or other incentive compensation may apply
Reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities