Principal Software Engineer - Data Privacy & Governance Infrastructure

Position: Principal Staff Software Engineer - Data Privacy & Governance Infrastructure
Company Description

Linked In is the world’s largest professional network, built to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. Our products help people make powerful connections, discover exciting opportunities, build necessary skills, and gain valuable insights every day. We’re also committed to providing transformational opportunities for our own employees by investing in their growth. We aspire to create a culture that’s built on trust, care, inclusion, and fun where everyone can succeed.

Job Description

Searching for your next big opportunity? At Linked In, we strive to help our employees find passion and purpose. Join us in changing the way the world works.

We believe that leadership is about fostering growth, maintaining balance, and achieving results. Our leaders value their craft, inspire their teams, and set the standard for high-quality work. They drive the strategy and implementation of critical initiatives, motivating and developing their teams to make a lasting impact on our business and community.

At Linked In, our approach to flexible work is centered on trust and optimized for culture, connection, clarity, and the evolving needs of our business. The work location of this role is hybrid, meaning it will be performed both from home and from a Linked In office on select days, as determined by the business needs of the team.

Linked In is seeking a Principal Staff Software Engineer to lead its Data Privacy and Data Governance Engineering team. This critical role involves ensuring Linked In meets privacy and data governance commitments made to regulators and end‑users. You will be at the forefront of designing and implementing privacy-related systems and initiatives, including data minimization, data taxonomy, data retention, and purpose limitation.

As a key leader in Privacy Engineering, you will be responsible for creating scalable solutions for Linked In’s universal policy catalog and integrating it with a high-performance native policy enforcement system. This system will enforce data policies across all execution environments. The role requires a deep understanding of data privacy principles, and technical expertise to collaborate with cross‑functional teams in developing innovative solutions that balance business requirements with privacy compliance.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement scalable, reliable, and high-performance backend systems focused on member privacy and data protection.

• Lead key privacy initiatives such as data minimization, data taxonomy, data retention, and purpose limitation.

• Collaborate with product management, legal, engineering, compliance, and security teams to ensure privacy considerations are integrated into Linked In’s architecture and development processes.

• Develop technology roadmaps prioritizing members’ data privacy.

• Identify and evaluate new technologies to enhance Linked In’s privacy posture.

• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to engineers within the team.

• Ensure systems comply with relevant privacy laws and regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).

What we are looking for

• Extensive software engineering experience with a proven track record of building large-scale systems.

• Deep understanding of privacy principles and regulatory frameworks (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).

• Strong technical leadership skills with the ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders.

• Experience designing and implementing policy enforcement systems or privacy-centric architectures.

• Expertise in data governance, security, and encryption technologies.

• Excellent communication skills to translate complex privacy requirements into technical solutions.

• Demonstrated ability to build and lead high-performing engineering teams.

Basic Qualifications

• BS/BA in Computer Science or related technical field or equivalent technical experience.

• 10+ years of experience in software design, building solutions.

• 5+ years in a technical leadership position.

Preferred Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in software design.

• 5+ years of those years in a technical leadership position.

• Experience Data Privacy & Governance Infrastructure.

• Experience leading and…