--- title: 'Principal Software Engineer at Fivetran' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/principal-software-engineer-fivetran-oakland-4pmmd24d1ksw' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-06' --- # Principal Software Engineer at Fivetran - **Company:** Fivetran - **Location:** Oakland, CA - **Compensation:** $226k–$282k - **Posted:** 2026-04-24 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-06 - **Apply:** https://www.fivetran.com/careers/job?gh_jid=7711200003 ## Job description From Fivetran’s founding until now, our mission has remained the same: to make access to data as simple and reliable as electricity. With Fivetran, customer data arrives in their warehouses, canonical and ready to query, with no engineering or maintenance required. We’re proud that more organizations continue to leverage our technology every day to become truly data-driven. ## About Us Fivetran and dbt Labs are bringing together two industry-leading companies with a shared mission: helping organizations unlock the full value of their data. Together, we’re delivering the data infrastructure layer that helps organizations move, transform, and trust their data — from the moment data moves, through every transformation, to the context teams and AI systems rely on. Fivetran helps organizations automate data movement across the systems, clouds, engines, and tools they rely on. dbt Labs pioneered analytics engineering, helping teams transform data into reliable, governed insights. Together, we support thousands of organizations as they build a trusted foundation for analytics, AI, and better business decisions. As we bring our teams and technology together, we’re building on the strengths of both companies while continuing to deliver the products and experiences our customers know and trust. It’s an exciting time to join us: we’re creating a company with the scale, talent, and technology to help more organizations put their data to work with greater speed, confidence, and impact. During this transition period, you may see references to both Fivetran and dbt Labs throughout our recruiting process as we integrate our teams, systems, and career sites. ## About the Role Fivetran is building data pipelines to power the modern data stack for thousands of companies. Fivetran is looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join our Platform Engineering Group, focused on building and evolving the core systems that power our data movement platform. In this role, you will define and drive the long-term technical vision for critical platform components that enable Fivetran to scale from thousands to tens of thousands of customers. You will operate at the intersection of architecture, execution, and organizational influence — solving deeply complex distributed systems challenges while shaping engineering direction across multiple teams. If you are passionate about building highly reliable, scalable systems and influencing engineering excellence at scale, this role is a strong fit. This is a full-time position based out of our Oakland office. Our hybrid work model offers a blend of remote flexibility and in-person collaboration, including two days in the office each week to connect and build as a team. Technologies You’ll Use - Java (JVM, JIT, GC tuning, thread management), JUnit - Claude Code - Docker and Kubernetes - ## AWS, GCP - Bazel, BuildKite - Observability tools (Datadog, Grafana) ## What You’ll Do - Define Technical Strategy: Set the long-term architectural vision for core platform systems, ensuring scalability, reliability, and efficiency. - Lead Complex System Design: Drive the design and evolution of large-scale distributed systems that power Fivetran’s data movement platform. - Drive Cross-Team Initiatives: Lead high-impact projects spanning multiple teams, align stakeholders, and ensure successful execution. - Raise the Engineering Bar: Establish best practices for system design, code quality, and operational excellence across the organization. - Mentor and Influence: Guide and mentor senior and staff engineers, shaping technical decision-making beyond your immediate team. - Improve Platform Performance: Identify and lead efforts to optimize system performance, reliability, and cost at scale. - Champion Innovation: Evaluate and introduce new technologies and approaches to improve developer experience and platform capabilities ## Skills We’re Looking For - Extensive Experience: 12+ years of software engineering experience, with deep expertise in building and operating large-scale distributed systems. - System Design Mastery: Proven ability to design and evolve complex, scalable, and reliable platform architectures. - Technical Leadership: Demonstrated experience leading cross-team technical initiatives and influencing engineering direction. - Strong Programming Skills: Expertise in backend development (Java preferred) with a solid foundation in data structures and system fundamentals. - Performance & Reliability: Experience optimizing system performance, scalability, and cost in high-throughput systems. - Communication & Influence: Strong ability to communicate complex technical ideas and influence senior stakeholders. - Ownership & Ambiguity: Track record of driving ambiguous, high-impact problems from definition to execution. Bonus Skills​ - Experience in data processing (ETL, ELT) and/or cloud-based platforms - Experience working in startup environments. ## #LI-HYBRID #LI-EM1 The compensation range displayed on this job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire compensation for the target position and level, and may include sales incentives or target bonuses depending on the role.  Our compensation ranges are determined by role, level, and location. Our job titles may span more than one career level. Within the range, individual compensation is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, relevant education or training, business need, market demands. The compensation range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. Your recruiter can share more about the specific compensation range for your location during the hiring process. Oakland Pay Range $225,813—$282,266 USD ## Perks and Benefits - 100% employer-paid medical insurance* - Generous paid time-off policy (PTO), plus paid sick time, inclusive parental leave policy, holidays (including a year end Global Week of Rest), and volunteer days off - RSU stock grants* - Professional development and training opportunities - Company virtual happy hours, free food, and fun team-building activities - Monthly cell phone stipend - Access to an innovative mental health support platform that offers personalized care and resources in areas such as: therapy, coaching, and self-guided mindfulness exercises for all covered employees and their covered dependents. *May vary by country and worker type - please reach out to your recruiter for more information Click [here](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CdawUwjo1Q1B7ghZJ_owdmmHB8VtqhBu?usp=sharing) to learn more about Fivetran's Benefits by Region. We’re honored to be [valued at over $5.6 billion](https://fivetran.com/blog/hvr-acquisition-series-d), but more importantly, we’re proud of our [core values of Get Stuck In, Do the Right Thing, and One Team, One Dream](https://fivetran.com/culture). Read about us in [Forbes](https://fivetran-com.s3.amazonaws.com/news/forbes-aug-sept-2022-digital-reprint-10-21-22.pdf). Fivetran brings together high-quality talent across the globe to make data access as easy and reliable as electricity for our customers. We value and recognize that our customers benefit from having innovative teams made of people from many backgrounds, experiences, and identities. Fivetran promotes diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging through attracting, recruiting, developing, and retaining a diverse workforce, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it helps us build a world-class company to better serve our customers, our people and our communities. To learn more about Fivetran’s culture and what it’s like to be part of the team, [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlhtp4dGh8o) and enjoy our video. To learn more about our candidate privacy policy, you can [read our statement here](https://fivetran.com/candidate-privacy). We are committed to ensuring that all candidates have an equal opportunity to participate in our interview process. If you require accommodations at any stage of the process due to a disability, medical condition, or any other circumstance, please don't hesitate to submit your request by filling out this [form](https://forms.gle/V7k3t4u9j523XkEt6). We will work with you to provide reasonable accommodations to facilitate your participation and ensure a fair and accessible interview experience. Your request and any information provided will be kept confidential and will not impact your candidacy. We look forward to hearing from you and accommodating your needs to the best of our ability. ## About Fivetran ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Fivetran provides an automated data movement platform that centralizes and transforms data from hundreds of sources into cloud destinations for analytics, operations, and AI. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series D, valued at $5.6B as of 2021) - **Headquarters**: Oakland, California, USA - **Founded**: 2012 (out of Y Combinator in 2013) - **Founders**: George Fraser (CEO) and Taylor Brown ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Data Integration / Automated Data Movement / Modern Data Stack - **Target customers**: B2B, serving both fast-moving startups and Fortune 500 enterprises (5,000+ customers) - **Mission statement**: "Making access to data as simple and reliable as electricity." ## Products & Services - **Fivetran Platform**: Fully managed, high-performance data pipelines that move data from 700+ sources (SaaS apps, databases, ERPs, files) to data warehouses, lakes, and applications. Features include automated schema migration, built-in transformations, and support for open table formats (Iceberg, Delta Lake) via the Managed Data Lake Service. - **Fivetran Transformations**: SQL-based transformation models run directly in the destination, turning raw data into analytics-ready datasets without manual orchestration. - **Teleport Data & HVR (Acquired)**: Strategic acquisitions that expanded the platform’s capabilities to serve enterprises of any size. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: $5.6 billion (Series D, 2021) - **Key Metric**: Revenue grew by more than 50% year-over-year; over 5,000 customers. - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Y Combinator (seed); Partners include Google Cloud (Global Technology Partner of the Year), Snowflake (Data Integration Partner of the Year), and Databricks (Data Ingestion Partner of the Year). - **Growth Signals**: - Named to the 2022 Forbes Cloud 100 - Financial Times' The Americas Fastest Growing Companies 2024 - Acquired Teleport Data and HVR in the same year - 2 trillion+ schema changes handled per month; 9.1+ petabytes of data synced per month; 33.5 million+ rows synced per month - Global presence with ten international offices ## Competitive Advantages - **Platform Depth**: 700+ pre-built connectors, fully managed pipelines, and automated schema change handling reduce manual data engineering work. - **Enterprise Trust**: SOC 1 & SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA BAA, PCI DSS Level 1, HITRUST, GDPR compliant — built to meet the standards security teams demand. - **Ecosystem Lock-In**: Deep partnerships with major cloud and data platforms (Google Cloud, Snowflake, Databricks) create a strong network effect. - **Scale**: Processes 156.5 million+ pipeline syncs per month, demonstrating massive operational maturity. ## Strategic Focus - **AI-Ready Data**: Moving from analytics to powering autonomous agents and AI with trusted, real-time data. - **Open Formats**: Investing in Managed Data Lake Service with Iceberg and Delta Lake to standardize lake architecture and reduce costs. - **Enterprise Expansion**: Continuing to serve Fortune 500 companies and large enterprises through acquisitions and platform capabilities. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Named a Great Place to Work over 10 times. 98% of employees say they feel welcomed when they join; 96% say management is honest and ethical. - **Hybrid Model**: 2 days per week in the office for collaboration and connection. - **Compensation**: Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) for all new hires with annual refresh grants. - **Parental Leave**: Generous paid parental leave starting on day one, plus a baby cash incentive. - **Time Off**: 25 days paid time off per year, plus paid holidays and sick time; 2 days of volunteer time off annually. - **Perks**: Free lunches, team events, home office reimbursements, monthly cell phone stipend. - **Locations**: Global HQ in Oakland, CA, with offices in Denver, Dublin, Amsterdam, Novi Sad (Serbia), and more. - **Diversity & Inclusion**: Employee resource groups like Fivetran Women; a stated commitment to building teams with diverse perspectives. ## Sources 1. [Fivetran Website](https://www.fivetran.com/) 2. [Fivetran About Page](https://www.fivetran.com/about) 3. [Fivetran Careers Page](https://www.fivetran.com/careers) 4. [Greenhouse Job Board](https://boards.greenhouse.io/fivetran/jobs/6278611003) 5. [Great Place to Work - Fivetran](https://www.greatplacetowork.com/certified-company/7020314) ## Other roles at Fivetran - [Lead Company Operations Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-company-operations-manager-fivetran-oakland-jbyy3fggw6nk) — Oakland, CA - [Lead Company Operations Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-company-operations-manager-fivetran-united-states-new-york-ny-5sks2vww4gwp) — United States / New York, NY - [Lead Company Operations Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-company-operations-manager-fivetran-united-states-philadelphia-pa-1fa3yenh1x70) — United States / Philadelphia, PA - [Lead Company Operations Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-company-operations-manager-fivetran-united-states-austin-tx-xdxedmc5hgdw) — United States / Austin, TX - [Lead Company Operations Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-company-operations-manager-fivetran-denver-kxsb0bv8qdh5) — Denver, CO - [Resident Solutions Architect](https://feeny.ai/job/resident-solutions-architect-fivetran-colorado-rvtxkvy76vjw) — Colorado, United States - [Global Technology Alliance Manager, Databricks](https://feeny.ai/job/global-technology-alliance-manager-databricks-fivetran-colorado-msggnxra155h) — Colorado, United States - [Senior Software Engineer - SaaS Connectors](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-saas-connectors-fivetran-novi-sad-rs9dfrwxezxd) — Novi Sad, Serbia - [Lead Sales Engineering Specialist - Security](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-sales-engineering-specialist-security-fivetran-california-20394pcj8ttd) — California, United States - [Staff Product Manager - Monetization Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-product-manager-monetization-platform-fivetran-novi-sad-south-backa-2kntagpfkj0k) — Novi Sad South Bačka, Serbia