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Software Engineer — Backend

Hybrid / San Francisco, CA or Redwood City, CA

We’re on a mission to democratize AI by building the definitive AI data development platform. The AI landscape has gone through incredible change between 2016, when Snorkel started as a research project in the Stanford AI Lab, to the generative AI breakthroughs of today. But one thing has remained constant: the data you use to build AI is the key to achieving differentiation, high performance, and production-ready systems. We work with some of the world’s largest organizations to empower scientists, engineers, financial experts, product creators, journalists, and more to build custom AI with their data faster than ever before. Excited to help us redefine how AI is built? Apply to be the newest Snorkeler!

You will be part of the backend team that is building a scalable and reliable distributed system that empowers users to solve their most pressing needs in a data-centric AI world. The team has a variety of technical backgrounds, from machine learning PhDs to full-stack engineers who are building large-scale production systems. You will become one of these pragmatic, high-output, product-focused engineers.

Main Responsibilities

  • Own the architecture, design, development, and operations of large-scale systems designed for AI/ML tasks including distributed compute systems, data management systems, data engineering workflow systems, and end user experiences
  • Help create "startup within a startup"
  • Prototype, optimize, and maintain scalable back-end services that will power new ML and foundation model powered development workflows
  • Design extensible and testable interfaces between internal services including the underlying storage and data models
  • Keep CI/CD pipelines healthy and support customers in production via engaged on-call support
  • Be an engaged team player in a customer-focused cross-functional environment where you will feel excited to take on whatever is most impactful for the company and product
  • Work a hybrid schedule with three days per week in our Redwood City HQ or the SF office and work remotely with "No Meeting" Tuesdays and Thursdays

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field
  • 2 years experience in delivering distributed and ML systems and services in a production setting for cloud-native applications
  • Experience with distributed compute frameworks and data processing pipelines
  • Ability to design and build efficient scalable data storage, compute, and retrieval systems for AI/ML tasks
  • Strong communication and coding skills with emphasis on designing for scale and robustness
  • Strong development and debugging skills in python

Preferred Qualifications

  • 6 years of professional software engineering experience
  • Experience with architecting and developing production web-scale systems (monitoring, telemetry, performance, reliability, triage and debug)
  • Experience working with ML systems and foundation models (e.g. large language models)
  • Experience owning delivery of large multi-person multi-quarter projects
  • Experience developing enterprise software products for machine learning and/or data science applications

The salary range for this position based in the San Francisco Bay Area is $200,000.00 - $240,000.00. All offers include equity compensation in the form of employee stock options.

Be Your Best At Snorkel
 
Snorkel AI is on a mission to make machine learning practical for everyone, and it starts with building a team that welcomes, represents and gives opportunity to all. We work at the frontier of AI and software engineering, and believe that underrepresented communities need to play a part in shaping the future of these fields. At Snorkel AI, we actively work to create an environment that values end-to-end ownership, diverse forms of impact, and opportunities for personal growth.
 
Snorkelers are supported by an amazing team and an amazing set of benefits. For Full-time employees, we offer comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans for Snorkelers and their families, plus a yearly wellness stipend. Our 401k program lets Snorkelers plan for their future and our parental leave program lets new parents take up to 20 weeks of paid time off. Learn more about these benefits and more — like our workstation setup allowance — on our Careers page.
 
Snorkel AI is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and is committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. Snorkel AI embraces diversity and provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment. Snorkel AI prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, performance, merit, and business need.
 
We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

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Personal Information Protection Notice for EU and UK Applicants

1.  Introduction

Snorkel AI and its subsidiaries and affiliates (“Company” or “We”) [operate/may operate] in many different countries. Some of these countries have laws related to the collection, use, transfer and disclosure of the personal information of individuals, including applicants.  We take these obligations very seriously and are committed to protecting the privacy of our current and former applicants.  

The purpose of this Personal Information Protection Notice for EU and UK Applicants (“Notice”) is to give applicants who are based in the EU and UK, (“EU and UK Applicants”) information about: what personal information we collect; how we collect, use and disclose that information and the legal grounds for us doing this; and their rights in respect of their personal information.

Snorkel AI is the data controller of your personal information and is responsible for how your personal information is processed. 

This Notice does not form part of your application or any future contract of employment and may be updated at any time.  We will provide you with a revised Notice if we make any substantial updates.  It is important you read this Notice, so that you are aware of how and why we are using your personal information.

2.  What Information We Collect About EU and UK Applicants

Before, during and after their application to the Company, including time spent on the Careers section of our website (located at https://snorkel.ai/company/ (“Snorkel Careers”) we may collect and process information about EU and UK Applicants.  We refer to such information in this Notice as “EU and UK Personal Information.”  We collect the following EU and UK Personal Information:

  • Personal Details: Name, home contact details (email, phone numbers, physical address) languages(s) spoken, gender, date of birth, national identification number, social security number, disability status, emergency contact information and photograph;
  • Documentation Required under Immigration Laws: Citizenship and passport data, details of residency or work permit;
  • Talent Management Information: Details contained in letters of application and resume/CV (previous employment background, education history, professional qualifications and memberships, language and other relevant skills, certification, certification expiration dates), information necessary to complete a background check, information relating to references such as referees’ names and contact details, details on performance management ratings, development programs planned and attended, e-learning programs, performance and development reviews, willingness to relocate, driver’s license information, and information used to populate employee biographies; 
  • Any other information you provide to us: such as current salary, desired salary, employment preferences; and
  • Sensitive Information:  EU and UK Personal Information revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data or biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a person’s sex life or sexual orientation, and criminal conviction data. Data concerning health may include your body temperature, health symptoms and other screening information in connection with the Company’s health and safety plans and protocols, including screening required to access Company offices/facilities and other measures designed to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 or other infectious diseases. 

We ask that you avoid submitting Sensitive Information, unless such information is legally required and/or the Company requests you to submit such information.

Any information you submit through the Careers Site must be true, complete and not misleading.  Submitting inaccurate, incomplete or misleading information may lead to a rejection of your application during the recruitment process or disciplinary action including immediate termination of your employment.  In addition, it is your responsibility to ensure that the information you submit does not violate any third party’s rights.

If you provide us with personal information of a referee or any other individual as part of your application, it is your responsibility to obtain consent from that individual prior to providing the information to us.

3.  Sources of EU and UK Personal Information

We collect EU and UK Personal Information from the following sources: 

  • EU and UK Applicants: in person, online, by telephone, or in written correspondence and forms;
  • Third-party websites: where you can apply for jobs at the Company;
  • Previous employers and other referees: in the form of employment references;
  • Background and credit check vendors: as part of the recruitment process;
  • Employment agencies and recruiters; and
  • Providers of sanctions and “politically exposed persons” screening lists.

4.  How we use and disclose EU and UK Personal Information

Legal Basis for Processing

We will only use EU and UK Personal Information when the law allows us to.  Most commonly, we will use your EU and UK Personal Information in the following circumstances: 

  • where it is necessary in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into an employment contract; 
  • where it is necessary to comply with a legal obligation (including, in respect of Sensitive Information,  obligations under employment law) on us; and
  • where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.  For example, the Company has a legitimate interest in conducting certain background checks on applicants to ensure that it is offering employment to those individuals whom it considers are most likely to be successful when working for the Company.

We may also use your EU and UK Personal Information in the following situations, which are likely to be rare:

  • where it is necessary to protect your (or someone else's) vital interests (and, in the case of Sensitive Information, where you are incapable of consenting);
  • where it is necessary for us to defend, prosecute or make a claim against you, us or a third party; and
  • in the case of Sensitive Information, where you have made the information public.

In particular, we may use your Sensitive Information, such as health/medical information, in order to accommodate a disability or illness during the recruitment process, and reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 or other infectious diseases should you be visiting the Company offices, your diversity-related EU and UK Personal Information (such as race or ethnicity) in order to comply with legal obligations relating to diversity and anti-discrimination, and your criminal conviction data only where it is appropriate (given the role for which you are applying) and we are legally able to do so.

Purposes of Processing

We process EU and UK Personal Information for the following purposes:

  • Managing Workforce: Managing recruitment and assessing your suitability, capabilities and qualifications for a job with us, processing your application and performing background checks if we offer you a job, such as credit checks, anti-fraud checks and checks to prevent fraud and money laundering;
  • Communications: Facilitating communication with you regarding your application; 
  • Taking legal action: Pursuing legal rights and remedies, defending litigation and managing any internal complaints or claims, conducting investigations and complying with internal policies and procedures; and
  • Compliance and safety: Complying with legal (including, in respect of Sensitive Information, obligations under employment law) and other requirements, such as record-keeping and reporting obligations, conducting audits, compliance with government inspections and other requests from government or other public authorities, responding to legal process such as subpoenas. This includes complying with applicable public health guidelines and requirements related to the prevention and control of COVID-19 or other infectious diseases, as well as ensuring the health and safety of employees by controlling access to and monitoring our physical premises (e.g. by requiring health screenings to access Company offices/facilities).

There may be more than one purpose that justifies our use of your EU and UK Personal Information in any particular circumstance.

We will only use your EU and UK Personal Information for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose.  If we need to use your EU and UK Personal Information for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

If you fail to provide certain EU and UK Personal Information when requested, we may not be able to review your application, or we may be prevented from complying with our legal obligations.

Disclosures to third parties

We share EU and UK Personal Information with the following unaffiliated third parties:

  • Service Providers: Companies that provide products and services to the Company such as human resources services, IT systems suppliers and support and background check providers, recruiters and headhunters, and hosting service providers; and
  • Public and Governmental Authorities: Entities that regulate or have jurisdiction over the Company such as regulatory authorities, public bodies, and judicial bodies, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements.

5.  Transfer of EU and UK Personal Information

The Company may disclose EU and UK Personal Information throughout the world to fulfill the purposes described above. This may include transferring EU and UK Personal Information to other countries (including countries other than where an EU or UK Applicant is based and located outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”) and UK) that have different data protection regimes and which are not deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for EU and UK Personal Information. To ensure that EU and UK Personal Information is sufficiently protected when transferred outside the EEA and UK the Company has put in place protective measures. Further information regarding the Company’s protective measures is available from our Data Protection Officer.

6. Data Security

The Company will take appropriate measures to protect EU and UK Personal Information that are consistent with applicable privacy and data security laws and regulations, including requiring service providers to use appropriate measures to protect the confidentiality and security of EU and UK Personal Information.

Access to EU and UK Personal Information within the Company will be limited to those who have a need to know the information for the purposes described above, and may include personnel in HR, IT, Compliance, Legal, Finance and Accounting.  Such personnel will generally have access to EU and UK Applicants’ business contact information such as name, desired position, telephone number, postal address and email address.

The Company has put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected breach of your EU and UK Personal Information where we are legally required to do so.

7.  Data Retention

The Company’s retention periods for EU and UK Personal Information are based on business needs and legal requirements.  We retain EU and UK Personal Information for as long as is necessary for the processing purpose(s) for which the information was collected, as set out in this Notice, and any other permissible, related purposes. For example, we may retain certain information to comply with regulatory requirements regarding the retention of such data, or in the event a litigation hold is imposed.  When EU and UK Personal Information is no longer needed, we [either irreversibly anonymise the data (and we may further retain and use the anonymized information) or] securely destroy the data. [For more information on specific retention periods, please refer to the Company’s Data Retention Policy].

8.  Data Accuracy 

The Company will take reasonable steps to ensure that the EU and UK Personal Information processed is reliable for its intended use and is accurate and complete for carrying out the purposes described in this Notice. 

9.  Automated Decisions

The Company does not envisage that you will be subject to decisions that will have a significant impact on you based solely on automated decision-making.  The Company will notify you in writing if this position changes.

10.  Your Rights

You have the right, in certain circumstances, to object to the processing of your EU and UK Personal Information.  You can exercise this right by contacting Liz Sweet, VP of People at liz.sweet@snorkel.ai.  

You also have the right, in certain circumstances, to access your EU and UK Personal Information, to correct inaccurate EU and UK Personal Information, to have your EU and UK Personal Information erased, to restrict the processing of your EU and UK Personal Information, to receive the EU and UK Personal Information you have provided to the Company in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format for onward transmission, and to object to automated decision-making.  If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact Liz Sweet, VP of People at liz.sweet@snorkel.ai.  Please note that certain EU and UK Personal Information may be exempt from such access, correction, erasure, restriction and portability requests in accordance with applicable data protection laws or other laws and regulations.

You also can file a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.  Please contact Liz Sweet, VP of People at liz.sweet@snorkel.ai for details of the relevant authority.

11.  Your Obligations

You should keep your EU and UK Personal Information up to date and inform us of any significant changes to your EU and UK Personal Information.     

12.  Questions or Complaints

Please contact the VP of People, Liz Sweet at liz.sweet@snorkel.ai with any questions or complaints regarding this Notice or the Company’s privacy practices.

Applicant’s Acknowledgment

I acknowledge that I have received a copy of the Company’s Personal Information Protection Notice for EU and UK Applicants and that I have read and understood it.

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This position is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and requires you to work out of our Redwood City office one day per week at minimum. 

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