Senior Software Engineer, Backend, Google Photos

Google's software engineers develop the next-generation technologies that change how billions of users connect, explore, and interact with information and one another. Our products need to handle information at massive scale, and extend well beyond web search. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from all areas, including information retrieval, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, UI design and mobile; the list goes on and is growing every day. As a software engineer, you will work on a specific project critical to Google’s needs with opportunities to switch teams and projects as you and our fast-paced business grow and evolve. We need our engineers to be versatile, display leadership qualities and be enthusiastic to take on new problems across the full-stack as we continue to push technology forward.

The Photos business generation team focuses on optimizing business growth strategies for the Photos App. We manage vital user storage journeys that are central to our business growth.

Our mission is to create and enhance experiences that drive the expansion of Google Photos and its integration with Google One. We assist users throughout their storage lifecycle, helping them monitor usage and find the best solutions to keep their digital memories secure and accessible.

Google Photos is a beloved product that reaches 1.4B monthly active users. In this role, you will be a part of a growing business while building systems that match Google scale. The team is passionate about building a beautiful and sustainable consumer product and you will work cross-functionally while learning quickly through experimentation, and prototyping.

Google Photos is a photo sharing and storage service developed by Google. Photos is one of the most sought after products at Google and is looking for both client-side (web and mobile), with server-side (search, storage, serving) and machine intelligence (learning, computer vision) Software Engineers. We are dedicated to making Google experiences centered around the user.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $174000 - $252000 (USD) + 15% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical direction and lead the development of backend business generation projects, such as server-driven promotions.
  
• Scope complex technical problems, ensure the overall health of backend systems, and guide the backend engineering team.
  
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners and engineering leads on other platforms (Android, iOS) to define requirements and design scalable solutions.
  
• Build features that advance the Storage business generation mission while maintaining a delightful and consistent user experience across platforms.
  
• Advocate engineering excellence and the adoption of developer AI tools within the broader team.

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
  
• 5 years of experience with software development in one or more programming languages.
• 3 years of experience testing, maintaining, or launching software products, and 1 year of experience with software design and architecture.
  
• 3 years of experience with developing large-scale infrastructure, distributed systems or networks, or experience with compute technologies, storage or hardware architecture.

Preferred qualifications:

• Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science or related technical field.
  
• 5 years of experience with data structures and algorithms.
• 3 years of experience programming in the Java or Kotlin programming language.
• 1 year of experience in a technical leadership role.
  
• Proficiency in code and system health, diagnosis and resolution, and software test engineering.

In most instances, this position requires in-person interviews as part of the hiring process.