Engineering Manager/Tech Lead Manager - Runtime Engineering

Snowflake • Menlo Park, CA

2d • $236,000 - $339,200

About The Position

Snowflake is seeking a hands-on Engineering Manager to lead the Spark Runtime Engineering team, which builds compiler and runtime integration that translates Spark workloads into efficient execution on Snowflake’s cloud-native query engine. The team works on compiler infrastructure, query-plan lowering, Spark compatibility, execution integration, and end-to-end observability, helping customers scale data processing while preserving familiar Spark APIs and semantics.

The manager will lead approximately 5–8 engineers building production compiler and runtime capabilities for Spark workloads on Snowflake. They will shape technical direction, stay engaged in architecture and critical engineering decisions, review important designs and code, and help investigate complex correctness, performance, and reliability issues. Working with compiler, query engine, runtime, and product teams, they will turn customer needs into a focused roadmap and measurable engineering outcomes. The role also includes hiring, mentoring, and developing a high-performing team.

Requirements

• At least 2 years of direct engineering management experience, with demonstrated success developing engineers and delivering production systems.
• At least 5 years of hands-on software engineering experience, including substantial work on compilers, query-processing systems, or runtime infrastructure.
• Deep expertise in at least one relevant area, such as compiler architecture and IR transformations, relational query processing, language semantics and type systems, or runtime integration.
• Proficiency in Scala, Java, C++, or a comparable implementation language, with the ability to review production code and guide technical decisions.
• Strong systems fundamentals, including concurrency, memory behavior, and performance analysis, together with experience debugging complex production issues.
• Ability to translate technical and customer requirements into engineering priorities and collaborate effectively across teams and locations.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Apache Spark internals, Catalyst, Spark Connect, or DataFrame APIs.
• Experience with relational algebra, SQL generation, query optimization, or database execution systems.
• Experience with Scala/JVM performance, native runtime functions, metadata caching, or compilation-performance optimization.
• Experience building compatibility-test frameworks, differential testing, performance benchmarks, or production observability for data systems.
• Experience leading systems through customer adoption, production hardening, and staged releases.
• A degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Set technical direction for Spark query compilation and runtime integration, including intermediate representations, type resolution, semantic compatibility, query-plan transformations, and efficient SQL generation.
• Improve end-to-end workload performance and cost-efficiency through profiling, compilation-latency reduction, metadata-access improvements, and collaboration with query-engine teams.
• Establish correctness and compatibility practices, including differential testing against Apache Spark, regression coverage, and clear handling of unsupported behavior.
• Own the production quality of the team’s components, including observability, incident response, fault recovery, and safe rollout practices.
• Hire, coach, and develop engineers; provide actionable feedback, manage performance, and support career growth across experience levels.
• Partner with senior technical leaders and Product Management to prioritize investments, manage dependencies, and deliver a realistic roadmap.
• Validate changes against representative customer workloads and track measurable improvements in compatibility, latency, reliability, and cost-efficiency.
• Guide architectural decisions, review critical designs and code, and help investigate complex correctness, performance, and reliability issues.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed