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Pika is building next-generation AI creative tools to empower human creativity, with a focus on making video creation seamless and accessible. The company is well-funded, based in Palo Alto, and operates with a hybrid in-office culture.
As Principal Engineer, Product, you will lead the technical vision, architecture, and roadmap for user-facing systems serving millions of creative users. You'll own the design and execution of features spanning intuitive UIs, collaboration tools, real-time interactions, and advanced generative AI experiences.
Key responsibilities include:
- Defining architecture and technical strategy for Pika's web and multi-platform products
- Spearheading development of real-time collaboration capabilities, messaging, and live multi-user interactions
- Driving product features from ideation through scoping, development, launch, and continuous improvement
- Integrating complex generative AI workflows (LLMs, models, agentic tools) into creative tooling
- Partnering deeply with product and design leadership to deliver groundbreaking, accessible creative workflows
- Championing technical excellence through high standards, architecture reviews, mentorship, and technical proposals
- Overseeing and improving cross-service metrics, tracing, and observability for critical product features
You'll work closely with product, design, and engineering leadership, influencing both immediate user experience and long-term product vision.
Tech stack: React, TypeScript, Python, Go, Postgres, Redis, Docker, Kubernetes, AWS/GCP.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, with substantial time in senior/principal engineering and product-focused roles
- Distinguished track record leading the design, execution, and scaling of high-impact web or mobile products (React, TypeScript, Node.js, Go, or similar)
- Demonstrated strategy and execution in building robust, user-centric features for creative applications
- Comprehensive expertise in systems design: distributed systems, scalable APIs, and cloud infrastructure (AWS/GCP)
- Experience working across the stack, including ML/AI infrastructure (Python, GPU-backed workflows) as required
- Exceptional product intuition and strategic mindset driven by deep understanding of user and business needs
- Excellent communication and leadership skills; ability to influence across disciplines and build consensus
- Strong sense of ownership and passion for delivering delightful creative experiences at scale
NICE TO HAVE:
- Experience building or integrating generative AI, agentic workflows, or ML inference platforms (Python/PyTorch)
- Creative background (design, art, architecture, or similar)
- Expertise in media-rich and real-time collaboration applications
- Startup experience and proven ability to thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments
