[Remote] Principal Software Engineer, Performance

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Airbnb is a global hospitality company that connects hosts and guests for unique stays and experiences. They are seeking a Principal Software Engineer in Performance to define and drive the long-term performance strategy, lead the development of performance profiling tools, and ensure optimal infrastructure efficiency while connecting performance outcomes to business objectives.ResponsibilitiesDefine and drive Airbnb's long-term performance strategy, spanning product performance, infrastructure efficiency, and business objectives for scale and growthLead the architecture and development of performance profiling and instrumentation infrastructure, covering CPU, GPU, memory, request hot paths, utilization, and deployment events, making these capabilities available to all backend teamsPartner with infrastructure teams across compute, reliability, backend frameworks, and AI Infra to ensure the fleet operates at optimal utilizationConnect performance outcomes to business objectives and company-wide SLOs, and guide engineering teams in keeping the stack scalable and efficientEvaluate emerging hardware and software technologies, engage with the external solutions ecosystem, and advise on build vs. buy decisions in areas of strategic importanceMentor and technically uplevel engineers across the organization through design reviews, architectural guidance, and performance best practicesSkills12+ years of performance engineering experience in high-scale, high-growth production environmentsDeep understanding of how software and hardware systems interact at scale, including architectural patterns for performance-critical stacks. You know the difference between a bad algorithm and a bad cache eviction policy, and you're comfortable in the kernel, in the JVM, and in a post-mortemStrong familiarity with public cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and container orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)Experience with profiling and instrumentation tooling across CPU, GPU, memory, and distributed request tracingDemonstrated ability to define performance objectives and drive delivery against company-wide SLOs across multiple organizationsYou know how to move organizations, not just codebases: you've influenced teams that don't report to you, made the case for long-term investments over short-term fixes, and mentored engineers who went on to do exceptional workStrong communication and influence skills; comfortable driving technical direction with senior engineering and product leadershipBenefitsBonusEquityBenefitsEmployee Travel CreditsCompany OverviewAirbnb is an online community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book accommodations through mobile phones or the Internet. It was founded in 2008, and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA, with a workforce of 5001-10000 employees. Its website is https://www.airbnb.com.Company H1B SponsorshipAirbnb has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships, with 27 in 2026, 234 in 2025, 176 in 2024, 160 in 2023, 270 in 2022, 250 in 2021, 274 in 2020. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role.