Principal Software Engineer
ZoomInfo Technologies LLC
Waltham, MARemote$163,800 - $257,400 a year
Job Description
ZoomInfo is where careers accelerate. We move fast, think boldly, and empower you to do the best work of your life. You'll be surrounded by teammates who care deeply, challenge each other, and celebrate wins. With tools that amplify your impact and a culture that backs your ambition, you won't just contribute. You'll make things happen–fast.
We're looking for an exceptional Principal Software Engineer to serve as the de facto Technical Lead for our Web Data Acquisition (WDA) team - designing and leading the next generation of ZoomInfo's web crawling and data extraction infrastructure. This is a highly visible, hands-on technical leadership role where you'll own the architectural direction for crawling systems, evolve and unify crawling platforms into a best-in-class stack, and elevate a high-performing engineering team. You'll solve complex distributed systems challenges, build modular tooling that accelerates delivery, and set the standard for observability and operational excellence.
This is not a people management role. You'll have a dedicated manager handling all HR and administrative responsibilities. A product manager connects business needs with technical work. Your focus is 100% technical leadership, mentorship, and hands-on execution.
What You'll Do
Technical Leadership & System Design
Proven experience building web crawling or large-scale data systems from scratch
Strong architectural skills designing scalable, fault-tolerant distributed systems
Track record leading complex technical initiatives and driving architecture direction for teams
Demonstrated ability to evolve production systems incrementally while maintaining reliability
Data Engineering Expertise
Deep background in large-scale data engineering (terabytes daily)
Hands-on experience with cloud data warehouses (BigQuery, Snowflake)
Experience with Apache Kafka, Kubernetes (GKE/EKS), and orchestration tools (Airflow)
Familiarity with multi-cloud environments (GCP + AWS)
Expertise designing and operating ETL/ELT pipelines
Web Crawling & Data Extraction
Deep expertise in web crawling technologies and advanced scraping (Scrapy or similar)
Experience extracting structured/unstructured web data and SERP extraction
Knowledge of proxy infrastructure management, anti-bot detection, and ethical crawling
Familiarity with crawling vendors and AI/LLM-based extraction approaches
Leadership & Team Development
Experience mentoring engineers at all levels and fostering collaborative culture
Strong ability to influence technical direction and establish best practices
Track record hiring, coaching, and developing senior engineers
Background & Mindset
Startup or small company experience wearing multiple hats
Comfortable operating in ambiguity and pioneering new capabilities
Entrepreneurial mindset with bias toward action and iteration
Excellent communicator who explains complex technical concepts to diverse audiences
Ideal Candidate Profile
10+ years software engineering experience
5+ years focused on data engineering
3+ years in senior/principal-level technical leadership
Strong CS fundamentals (algorithms, data structures, distributed systems)
Self-starter who thrives in fast-paced environments
B2B data company or data-as-a-product experience a plus
Core Technical Stack
Python & Java
Apache Kafka
GCP (BigQuery, GKE, Vertex AI)
Snowflake & Starburst/Trino
Terraform
Scrapy / Web Scraping Frameworks
Proxy Management Systems
Distributed Systems & Kubernetes
Apache Airflow
Large-Scale ETL Pipelines
Nice to have: Expert-level experience with Apache Spark
Why This Role Matters
This role sits at the heart of ZoomInfo's data platform. You'll shape the infrastructure that powers our business intelligence products, define long-term technical direction, and leave a lasting impact across the company - while working at massive scale with cutting-edge technologies. You'll be joining at a pivotal moment: the team is growing, the ambition is high, and the opportunity to define how web data acquisition is done at ZoomInfo is yours to shape.
#LI-AR2
#LI-remote
About us:
ZoomInfo (NASDAQ: GTM) is the Go-To-Market Intelligence Platform that empowers businesses to grow faster with AI-ready insights, trusted data, and advanced automation. Its solutions provide more than 35,000 companies worldwide with a complete view of their customers, making every seller their best seller.
ZoomInfo is committed to protecting your privacy when you apply for jobs with us. Please review our Job Applicant Privacy Notice for more details on how we handle your personal information.
ZoomInfo may use a software-based assessment as part of the recruitment process. More information about this tool, including the results of the most recent bias audit, is available here.
ZoomInfo is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, hiring based on qualifications, merit, and business needs, and does not discriminate based on protected status. We welcome all applicants and are committed to providing equal employment opportunities regardless of sex, race, age, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability status, religion, protected military or veteran status, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We also consider qualified candidates with criminal histories in accordance with legal requirements.
For Massachusetts Applicants: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. ZoomInfo does not administer lie detector tests to applicants in any location.
We're looking for an exceptional Principal Software Engineer to serve as the de facto Technical Lead for our Web Data Acquisition (WDA) team - designing and leading the next generation of ZoomInfo's web crawling and data extraction infrastructure. This is a highly visible, hands-on technical leadership role where you'll own the architectural direction for crawling systems, evolve and unify crawling platforms into a best-in-class stack, and elevate a high-performing engineering team. You'll solve complex distributed systems challenges, build modular tooling that accelerates delivery, and set the standard for observability and operational excellence.
This is not a people management role. You'll have a dedicated manager handling all HR and administrative responsibilities. A product manager connects business needs with technical work. Your focus is 100% technical leadership, mentorship, and hands-on execution.
What You'll Do
Technical Leadership & System Design
Proven experience building web crawling or large-scale data systems from scratch
Strong architectural skills designing scalable, fault-tolerant distributed systems
Track record leading complex technical initiatives and driving architecture direction for teams
Demonstrated ability to evolve production systems incrementally while maintaining reliability
Data Engineering Expertise
Deep background in large-scale data engineering (terabytes daily)
Hands-on experience with cloud data warehouses (BigQuery, Snowflake)
Experience with Apache Kafka, Kubernetes (GKE/EKS), and orchestration tools (Airflow)
Familiarity with multi-cloud environments (GCP + AWS)
Expertise designing and operating ETL/ELT pipelines
Web Crawling & Data Extraction
Deep expertise in web crawling technologies and advanced scraping (Scrapy or similar)
Experience extracting structured/unstructured web data and SERP extraction
Knowledge of proxy infrastructure management, anti-bot detection, and ethical crawling
Familiarity with crawling vendors and AI/LLM-based extraction approaches
Leadership & Team Development
Experience mentoring engineers at all levels and fostering collaborative culture
Strong ability to influence technical direction and establish best practices
Track record hiring, coaching, and developing senior engineers
Background & Mindset
Startup or small company experience wearing multiple hats
Comfortable operating in ambiguity and pioneering new capabilities
Entrepreneurial mindset with bias toward action and iteration
Excellent communicator who explains complex technical concepts to diverse audiences
Ideal Candidate Profile
10+ years software engineering experience
5+ years focused on data engineering
3+ years in senior/principal-level technical leadership
Strong CS fundamentals (algorithms, data structures, distributed systems)
Self-starter who thrives in fast-paced environments
B2B data company or data-as-a-product experience a plus
Core Technical Stack
Python & Java
Apache Kafka
GCP (BigQuery, GKE, Vertex AI)
Snowflake & Starburst/Trino
Terraform
Scrapy / Web Scraping Frameworks
Proxy Management Systems
Distributed Systems & Kubernetes
Apache Airflow
Large-Scale ETL Pipelines
Nice to have: Expert-level experience with Apache Spark
Why This Role Matters
This role sits at the heart of ZoomInfo's data platform. You'll shape the infrastructure that powers our business intelligence products, define long-term technical direction, and leave a lasting impact across the company - while working at massive scale with cutting-edge technologies. You'll be joining at a pivotal moment: the team is growing, the ambition is high, and the opportunity to define how web data acquisition is done at ZoomInfo is yours to shape.
#LI-AR2
#LI-remote
About us:
ZoomInfo (NASDAQ: GTM) is the Go-To-Market Intelligence Platform that empowers businesses to grow faster with AI-ready insights, trusted data, and advanced automation. Its solutions provide more than 35,000 companies worldwide with a complete view of their customers, making every seller their best seller.
ZoomInfo is committed to protecting your privacy when you apply for jobs with us. Please review our Job Applicant Privacy Notice for more details on how we handle your personal information.
ZoomInfo may use a software-based assessment as part of the recruitment process. More information about this tool, including the results of the most recent bias audit, is available here.
ZoomInfo is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, hiring based on qualifications, merit, and business needs, and does not discriminate based on protected status. We welcome all applicants and are committed to providing equal employment opportunities regardless of sex, race, age, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability status, religion, protected military or veteran status, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We also consider qualified candidates with criminal histories in accordance with legal requirements.
For Massachusetts Applicants: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. ZoomInfo does not administer lie detector tests to applicants in any location.