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# Principal Engineer, Cloud Data Infrastructure

- **Company:** PayPal
- **Location:** Austin, TX, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Database, Data Infrastructure, Data Systems, Large Language Models, Data Management, Machine Learning Operations, Software Coding, Data Pipelines
- **Published:** August 11, 2026
- **Apply:** https://us.experteer.com/career/view-jobs/principal-engineer-cloud-data-infrastructure-austin-tx-usa-58894632

## About the Role

role * Balance build vs. buy decisions using industry-standard vs. novel solutions * Collaborate across teams to ensure reliability and latency targets for real-time payments * Champion AI-first engineering practices and integrate AI/ML workflows into data infrastructure Tasks * 10+ years of relevant experience * Bachelor's degree or equivalent * Experience with transaction processing systems requiring millisecond-level responsiveness * Background in financial technology, payments processing, or regulated industries * Familiarity with resilience engineering and business continuity planning * Knowledge of modern data pipelines and real-time analytics architectures * Experience mentoring senior/staff engineers into leadership roles * Experience integrating AI/ML workflows into data platforms (vector databases, feature stores, LLM serving) Key requirements * generous paid time off * healthcare coverage for you and your family * flexible balanced hybrid work model * competitive aaaaaaaaaa

* with bonus/equity opportunities

## Description

Experteer Overview As Principal Engineer, you will serve as the technical authority for Venmo's data platform and performance engineering, shaping the architecture and leading mission-critical data systems at scale. You will mentor the engineering community, drive AI-first practices, and influence cross-functional and executive-level decisions. Your work supports real-time payment processing, high reliability, and scalable data pipelines. This role blends hands-on coding with strategic direction in a global, collaborative environment. Compensation / Benefits * Set the domain's technology roadmap and architectural direction * Lead and mentor engineers to raise performance and impact across the data platform * Work with senior executives to influence multi-year business strategies * Tackle ambiguous problems with inventive, data-driven solutions * Drive discovery and exploratory research beyond strict technical domains * Identify cross-cutting themes and opportunities to improve efficiency * Balance build vs. buy decisions using industry-standard vs. novel solutions * Collaborate across teams to ensure reliability and latency targets for real-time payments * Champion AI-first engineering practices and integrate AI/ML workflows into data infrastructure Tasks * 10+ years of relevant experience * Bachelor's degree or equivalent * Experience with transaction processing systems requiring millisecond-level responsiveness * Background in financial technology, payments processing, or regulated industries * Familiarity with resilience engineering and business continuity planning * Knowledge of modern data pipelines and real-time analytics architectures * Experience mentoring senior/staff engineers into leadership roles * Experience integrating AI/ML workflows into data platforms (vector databases, feature stores, LLM serving) Key requirements * generous paid time off * healthcare coverage for you and your family * flexible balanced hybrid work model * competitive compensation with bonus/equity opportunities


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