Principal Engineer - Web Performance
We’ve been hard at work rewriting our website from scratch over the last couple of years. The new web experience is more than twice as fast as our previous web platforms - which means Redditors can get directly to the content they came for – instead of waiting… and waiting for the page to load. Performance has driven growth in our userbase and we are deepening our investments into web performance.
We are looking for a highly experienced Principal Engineer to lead technical efforts in web performance. In this role, you will define our new performance strategy, organize and lead engineering changes and fully own improving the performance of our website. You’ll serve as the primary domain expert and technical leader, driving architecture, design, and implementation while collaborating with engineers, Directors & PMs across multiple teams.
In your day-to-day, you can expect to:
Build and own the strategy for dramatically improving the performance of Reddit’s website
Set and support a metrics-driven culture, with efficient processes and strong transparency.
Develop scalable infrastructure for serving reddit web traffic
Drive alignment on product and technical strategy with cross-functional teams, including engineering and product.
Maintain high standards of technical excellence while balancing business priorities.
Partner with other technical leads and managers across engineering and infra teams to ensure seamless integration and execution.
Who you might be:
BS degree in Computer Science, a similar technical field of study or equivalent practical experience
10+ years of technical leadership experience that includes both setting and delivering on long-term vision
15+ years of hands-on, professional web development experience in web programming languages and libraries (Typescript, Node.js, Lit Element)
Proven ability to lead performance initiatives
Strong ability to lead and mentor teams while driving alignment on strategic goals.
What Sets You Apart:
You’ve worked at a top 100 website, designing and scaling frontend systems at massive scale.
You’re equally comfortable diving into codebases as you are making high-level architectural decisions.
You’re a thought leader and collaborative partner who thrives on tackling complex technical challenges.
Benefits:
Comprehensive Healthcare Benefits and Income Replacement Programs
401k Match
Family Planning Support
Gender-Affirming Care
Mental Health & Coaching Benefits
Flexible Vacation & Reddit Global Days off
Generous paid Parental Leave
Paid Volunteer time off
Pay Transparency:
This job posting may span more than one career level.
In addition to base salary, this job is eligible to receive equity in the form of restricted stock units, and depending on the position offered, it may also be eligible to receive a commission. Additionally, Reddit offers a wide range of benefits to U.S.-based employees, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) program with employer match, generous time off for vacation, and parental leave. To learn more, please visit https://www.redditinc.com/careers/.
To provide greater transparency to candidates, we share base pay ranges for all US-based job postings regardless of state. We set standard base pay ranges for all roles based on function, level, and country location, benchmarked against similar stage growth companies. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including, skills, depth of work experience and relevant licenses/credentials, and may vary from the amounts listed below.
The base pay range for this position is:
$206,800—$365,100 USD
About the job
Apply for this position
Principal Engineer - Web Performance
We’ve been hard at work rewriting our website from scratch over the last couple of years. The new web experience is more than twice as fast as our previous web platforms - which means Redditors can get directly to the content they came for – instead of waiting… and waiting for the page to load. Performance has driven growth in our userbase and we are deepening our investments into web performance.
We are looking for a highly experienced Principal Engineer to lead technical efforts in web performance. In this role, you will define our new performance strategy, organize and lead engineering changes and fully own improving the performance of our website. You’ll serve as the primary domain expert and technical leader, driving architecture, design, and implementation while collaborating with engineers, Directors & PMs across multiple teams.
In your day-to-day, you can expect to:
Build and own the strategy for dramatically improving the performance of Reddit’s website
Set and support a metrics-driven culture, with efficient processes and strong transparency.
Develop scalable infrastructure for serving reddit web traffic
Drive alignment on product and technical strategy with cross-functional teams, including engineering and product.
Maintain high standards of technical excellence while balancing business priorities.
Partner with other technical leads and managers across engineering and infra teams to ensure seamless integration and execution.
Who you might be:
BS degree in Computer Science, a similar technical field of study or equivalent practical experience
10+ years of technical leadership experience that includes both setting and delivering on long-term vision
15+ years of hands-on, professional web development experience in web programming languages and libraries (Typescript, Node.js, Lit Element)
Proven ability to lead performance initiatives
Strong ability to lead and mentor teams while driving alignment on strategic goals.
What Sets You Apart:
You’ve worked at a top 100 website, designing and scaling frontend systems at massive scale.
You’re equally comfortable diving into codebases as you are making high-level architectural decisions.
You’re a thought leader and collaborative partner who thrives on tackling complex technical challenges.
Benefits:
Comprehensive Healthcare Benefits and Income Replacement Programs
401k Match
Family Planning Support
Gender-Affirming Care
Mental Health & Coaching Benefits
Flexible Vacation & Reddit Global Days off
Generous paid Parental Leave
Paid Volunteer time off
Pay Transparency:
This job posting may span more than one career level.
In addition to base salary, this job is eligible to receive equity in the form of restricted stock units, and depending on the position offered, it may also be eligible to receive a commission. Additionally, Reddit offers a wide range of benefits to U.S.-based employees, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) program with employer match, generous time off for vacation, and parental leave. To learn more, please visit https://www.redditinc.com/careers/.
To provide greater transparency to candidates, we share base pay ranges for all US-based job postings regardless of state. We set standard base pay ranges for all roles based on function, level, and country location, benchmarked against similar stage growth companies. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including, skills, depth of work experience and relevant licenses/credentials, and may vary from the amounts listed below.
The base pay range for this position is:
$206,800—$365,100 USD