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About This Role
At Snowflake, we are powering the era of the agentic enterprise. To usher in this new era, we seek AI\-native thinkers across every function who are energized by the opportunity to reinvent how they work. You don’t just use tools; you possess an innate curiosity, treating AI as a high\-trust collaborator that is core to how you solve problems and accelerate your impact. We look for low\-ego individuals who thrive in dynamic and fast\-moving environments and move with an experimental mindset — who rapidly test emerging capabilities to discover simpler, more powerful ways to deliver results. At Snowflake, your role isn't just to execute a function, but to help redefine the future of how work gets done.
How do you make the world's most powerful coding agent for data a delight to use? We are the fastest growing software company at this scale in history and looking to push that to new heights by building the best coding agent in the industry.
The Cortex Code (CoCo) team is building the future of coding agents for working with data. See our flagship product in action: CoCo Desktop in Action.
As a Frontend AI Principal Engineer, you are the cornerstone of delivering the ultimate user experience. You will be entrusted with the highest level of polish, creativity, and interaction design, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the most innovative areas of our product. This role offers the unique opportunity to have broad creative license, empowering you to lead and create groundbreaking systems and experiences that marry aesthetics with functionality, making data more accessible and actionable for our customers.
### AS THE FRONTEND AI PRINCIPAL ENGINEER YOU WILL:
- Design and build exceptional experiences, ensuring the highest level of polish, creativity, and interaction to solve complex customer problems.
- Define the architectural vision for the CoCo coding agent platform and ensure consistency of design abstractions across the entire product surface
- Develop innovative platform offerings, with a global mindset, and to operate across regional boundaries
- Promote strong collaboration within a cross functional team, including design, product management.
- Deliver features requiring close coordination with several sister teams such as data sharing, cloud infrastructure, and cross\-region replication.
- Be a strong contributor to the product vision and drive team planning.
- Motivate others to act, creating a compelling vision for the future, communicating clearly, and using a collaborative leadership approach.
- Build for scale and high performance.
### OUR IDEAL FRONTEND AI PRINCIPAL ENGINEER WILL HAVE:
- Significant software development experience, including 15\+ years of experience in product web UI application development and shipping world class experiences.
- Experience with agentic systems and/or coding agents.
- Experience with Agentic SDLC – Building and deploying rich experiences with agents.
- Experience contributing to interactive dashboards and visualization platforms and/or rich data visualization.
- Distributed system development experience is a big plus.
- Deep understanding of modern web applications design architecture, good API design patterns, performance and scale.
- Experience in the software development lifecycle process, including analysis and design, APIs, development tools and technologies, release and version control, contemporary testing methodologies, and deployment management
- Demonstrated technical leadership experience, such as being an architect or tech lead for high impact customer facing projects.
- Experience in modern technologies such as javascript, typescript, react, angular, node.
- Experience with Electron, VS code tools/libraries is a plus.
### WHY JOIN THE ENGINEERING TEAM AT SNOWFLAKE?
### BUILDING CUTTING EDGE CLOUD TECHNOLOGIES IS COMPLEX, AND OUR ENGINEERING TEAM SURMOUNTS THE OBSTACLES. AS A MEMBER OF OUR TEAM, YOU WILL:
- Build an industry\-leading data platform that customers love.
- Create intuitive, elegant, and accessible user interfaces that make a powerful and highly technical product simple to use.
- Learn about and contribute to:
+ Super\-robust and secure enterprise SaaS platform that services hundreds of customers and millions of complex queries daily.
+ Highly\-scalable and reliable data processing platform that runs on hundreds and thousands of machines.
+ User interfaces bridging the enterprise world with the consumer experience.
- Join a world\-class team of both industry veterans and rising stars.
Snowflake is growing fast, and we’re scaling our team to help enable and accelerate our growth. We are looking for people who share our values, challenge ordinary thinking, and push the pace of innovation while building a future for themselves and Snowflake.
How do you want to make your impact?
For jobs located in the United States, please visit the job posting on the Snowflake Careers Site for salary and benefits information: careers.snowflake.com
The following represents the expected range of compensation for this role:
- The estimated base salary range for this role is $264,000 \- $379,500\.
- Additionally, this role is eligible to participate in Snowflake’s bonus and equity plan.
The successful candidate’s starting salary will be determined based on permissible, non\-discriminatory factors such as skills, experience, and geographic location. This role is also eligible for a competitive benefits package that includes: medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance; 401(k) retirement plan; flexible spending \& health savings account; at least 12 paid holidays; paid time off; parental leave; employee assistance program; and other company benefits.
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Salary Context
This $264K-$379K range is above the 75th percentile for AI Architect roles in our dataset (median: $181K across 29 roles with salary data).
Role Details
About This Role
This role sits at the intersection of AI and engineering, building systems that bring machine learning capabilities into production environments. The scope varies by company, but the common thread is applying AI technology to solve real business problems at scale. Most AI roles today require a combination of software engineering fundamentals and domain-specific ML knowledge, with the exact mix depending on the team's maturity and the product they're building.
The AI job market is evolving fast. New role categories emerge as companies figure out what they need to ship AI-powered products. What matters most is the ability to learn quickly, build working systems, and iterate based on real-world performance data. The specific title matters less than the skills you bring and the problems you can solve. Companies are past the experimentation phase and want engineers who can deliver production-quality systems that work reliably at scale.
Across the 4,317 AI roles we're tracking, AI Architect positions make up 1% of the market. At Snowflake, this role fits into their broader AI and engineering organization.
AI hiring keeps growing across industries. Companies in tech, finance, healthcare, and retail are all building AI teams. The strongest demand is for people who can bridge the gap between AI research and production engineering. The shift toward generative AI has created new role types (LLM Engineer, Prompt Engineer, AI Agent Developer) that didn't exist three years ago, while traditional roles (Data Scientist, ML Engineer) have evolved to incorporate LLM capabilities.
What the Work Looks Like
Day-to-day work involves a mix of building, debugging, and collaborating. You'll write code, review pull requests, participate in design discussions, and work with cross-functional teams (product, design, data) to define what AI features should do and how they should behave. Expect to spend time on both technical implementation and communication. Most AI teams operate in two-week sprint cycles, with regular demos and retrospectives. The ratio of heads-down coding to meetings and reviews varies by seniority, with senior roles spending more time on architecture decisions and mentorship.
AI hiring keeps growing across industries. Companies in tech, finance, healthcare, and retail are all building AI teams. The strongest demand is for people who can bridge the gap between AI research and production engineering. The shift toward generative AI has created new role types (LLM Engineer, Prompt Engineer, AI Agent Developer) that didn't exist three years ago, while traditional roles (Data Scientist, ML Engineer) have evolved to incorporate LLM capabilities.
Skills Required
Python and cloud platform experience are common requirements. Specific skill needs vary by company and focus area, but familiarity with ML frameworks, data pipelines, and API design covers the basics for most roles. RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), vector databases, and LLM API integration are increasingly standard requirements across role types.
Beyond the core stack, communication skills matter more than many technical candidates realize. The ability to explain AI capabilities and limitations to non-technical stakeholders is a differentiator at every level. Technical writing, documentation, and clear thinking about tradeoffs are underrated skills in AI roles. Experience with evaluation methodology (how to measure whether an AI system is working well) is becoming a core requirement, especially for roles that involve LLM integration.
Look for job postings that specify the problems you'll work on, the tech stack, and the team structure. Vague postings that list every AI buzzword are often a sign the company hasn't figured out what they need. Strong postings describe the product context, the team you'd join, and the specific challenges you'd tackle.
Compensation Benchmarks
AI Architect roles pay a median of $237,300 based on 102 positions with disclosed compensation. Senior-level AI roles across all categories have a median of $227,400. This role's midpoint ($321K) sits 36% above the category median. Disclosed range: $264K to $379K.
Across all AI roles, the market median is $215,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $266,300. The 90th percentile reaches $320,790. For comparison, the highest-paying categories include AI Safety ($287,500) and Research Engineer ($272,100). By seniority level: Entry: $110,000; Mid: $194,400; Senior: $227,400; Director: $274,554; VP: $241,000.
Snowflake AI Hiring
Snowflake has 9 open AI roles right now. They're hiring across AI/ML Engineer, AI Architect, Data Scientist, AI Product Manager. Positions span CA, US, Menlo Park, CA, US, TN, US. Compensation range: $150K - $379K.
Location Context
Across all AI roles, 15% (635 positions) offer remote work, while 3,657 require on-site attendance. Top AI hiring metros: New York (1,650 roles, $220,000 median); San Francisco (1,335 roles, $265,000 median); Los Angeles (708 roles, $214,112 median).
Career Path
Common paths into AI Architect roles include Software Engineer, Data Scientist, Data Analyst.
From here, career progression typically leads toward Senior Engineer, AI Architect, Engineering Manager, Principal Engineer.
Focus on building things that work. A deployed project that solves a real problem is worth more than any certification. Contribute to open-source, build portfolio projects, and invest in fundamentals (software engineering, statistics, systems design) rather than chasing the latest framework. The AI field moves fast, but the engineers who succeed long-term are the ones with strong fundamentals who can adapt to new tools and paradigms as they emerge.
What to Expect in Interviews
AI interviews typically combine coding challenges (Python-focused), system design questions tailored to the role, and discussions about your experience with relevant tools and frameworks. Strong candidates demonstrate both technical depth and the ability to make pragmatic engineering tradeoffs. Prepare portfolio projects that demonstrate end-to-end capability rather than isolated skills.
When evaluating opportunities: Look for job postings that specify the problems you'll work on, the tech stack, and the team structure. Vague postings that list every AI buzzword are often a sign the company hasn't figured out what they need. Strong postings describe the product context, the team you'd join, and the specific challenges you'd tackle.
AI Hiring Overview
The AI job market has 4,317 open positions tracked in our dataset. By seniority: 138 entry-level, 2,071 mid-level, 1,655 senior, and 453 leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level). Remote roles make up 15% of the market (635 positions). The remaining 3,657 roles require on-site or hybrid attendance.
The market median for AI roles is $215,000. Top-quartile compensation starts at $266,300. The 90th percentile reaches $320,790. Highest-paying categories: AI Safety ($287,500 median, 34 roles); Research Engineer ($272,100 median, 227 roles); AI Engineering Manager ($244,000 median, 23 roles).
AI hiring keeps growing across industries. Companies in tech, finance, healthcare, and retail are all building AI teams. The strongest demand is for people who can bridge the gap between AI research and production engineering. The shift toward generative AI has created new role types (LLM Engineer, Prompt Engineer, AI Agent Developer) that didn't exist three years ago, while traditional roles (Data Scientist, ML Engineer) have evolved to incorporate LLM capabilities.
The AI Job Market Today
The AI job market spans 4,317 open positions across 15 role categories. The largest categories by volume: AI/ML Engineer (3,004), Data Scientist (345), AI Software Engineer (309). These three account for the majority of open positions, though smaller categories often have higher per-role compensation because of specialized skill requirements.
The seniority mix tells a story about where AI teams are in their maturity. Entry-level roles (138) are outnumbered by mid-level (2,071) and senior (1,655) positions, reflecting that most companies are past the 'build a team from scratch' phase and need experienced engineers who can ship production systems. Leadership roles (Director, VP, C-Level) total 453 positions, representing the bottleneck between technical execution and organizational strategy.
Remote work availability sits at 15% of all AI roles (635 positions), with 3,657 requiring on-site or hybrid attendance. The remote share has stabilized after the post-pandemic correction. Senior and specialized roles (Research Scientist, ML Architect) are more likely to be remote-eligible than entry-level positions, partly because experienced hires have more negotiating power and partly because these roles require less hands-on mentorship.
AI compensation is structured in clear tiers. The market median sits at $215,000. Top-quartile roles start at $266,300, and the 90th percentile reaches $320,790. These figures include base salary with disclosed compensation. Total compensation (including equity, bonuses, and sign-on) runs 20-40% higher at companies that offer those components.
Category matters for compensation. AI Safety roles lead at $287,500 median, while Prompt Engineer roles sit at $145,000. The spread between highest and lowest-paying categories reflects the premium on specialized technical skills versus broader analytical roles.
The most in-demand skills across all AI postings: Python (2,249 postings), Aws (1,224 postings), Azure (938 postings), Rag (915 postings), Gcp (660 postings), Pytorch (640 postings), Prompt Engineering (624 postings), Kubernetes (559 postings). Python dominates, appearing in the vast majority of role descriptions regardless of category. Cloud platform experience (AWS, GCP, Azure) is the second most common requirement. The newer entrants to the top skills list (RAG, vector databases, LLM APIs) reflect the shift from traditional ML toward generative AI applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
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