Principal Engineer, Developer Experience, Google Distributed Cloud

Company: Google
Location: Cupertino
Posted on: March 20, 2026

Job Description:

Minimum qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field. 15 years of experience developing and architecting technical infrastructure, with a focus on modernizing large-scale Software Development Lifecycles (SDLC). 5 years of experience in software infrastructure for large-scale, global distributed systems. Experience building automated testing pipelines for high-traffic or enterprise-level software. Preferred qualifications: Master’s degree in Computer Science or related field. Experience building analysis and insights platforms that provide leadership with visibility into where engineering effort is being invested and the efficiency of the validation cycle. Demonstrated ability to use AI/ML for software validation, automated debugging, and troubleshooting within the developer toolchain. Strong technical and organizational leadership with the ability to resolve systemic technical problems and drive alignment across large, cross-functional teams. Expertise in infrastructure technologies and trends, including public and private cloud, GPU, virtualization, and containerization. About the job As the Principal Engineer for Developer Experience, you will be a technical leader responsible for setting the technical direction, architecture, and standards for the software development lifecycle toolchain across Google Distributed Cloud (GDC). In this role, you will design and implement the next generation of SDLC utilities that enable GDC engineers to build, test, deploy, and operate high-assurance, regulated cloud services with maximum velocity and compliance. This state of the art SDLC will enable GDC to achieve feature velocity and upgrade experience that customers expect, operating within the unique constraints of private, on-premise, and air-gapped environments. You will be responsible for GDC’s performance health infrastructure, as well as advancing our release and engineering productivity infrastructure. You will own driving the requirements for the systems underlying your teams infrastructure. In addition, you will partner closely with Directors and VPs across the team and within Google Cloud, to drive engineering satisfaction, and uphold GDC’s high quality bar. You will report to the Senior Director, SDLC and act as the primary technical authority, driving strategy and architecture to impact the organization. Google Cloud accelerates every organization’s ability to digitally transform its business and industry. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google’s cutting-edge technology, and tools that help developers build more sustainably. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems. The US base salary range for this full-time position is $307,000-$427,000 bonus equity benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include bonus, equity, or benefits. Learn more about benefits at Google . Responsibilities Serve as the technical authority and chief architect for the areas encompassing GDC’s SDLC, defining and driving the technical roadmap in alignment with the strategic vision across CI/CD pipelines, build systems, deployment strategies (e.g., progressive delivery, canary releases), and compliance-as-code within GDC. Establish GDC-wide engineering standards for CI/CD, testing, code quality, and security scanning, ensuring alignment with required external regulations. Lead initiatives to consolidate, modernize, and automate existing disparate tooling to create a unified developer experience. Convert and drive the adoption of new SDLC technologies and best practices across GDC engineering organizations. Partner closely with engineering, effectively bridging the SRE function with the developer velocity needs, moving beyond just owning the production gate to ensuring reliability validation is baked into the entire development process.

Keywords: Google, Union City , Principal Engineer, Developer Experience, Google Distributed Cloud, IT / Software / Systems , Cupertino, California