Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
Work on a core query engine sits at the center of modern data SaaS, where product decisions translate directly into workload performance, reliability, and cost efficiency for customers running analytics at scale. This role is notable because it focuses on foundational platform capabilities rather than surface features, operating where database internals, cloud infrastructure constraints, and customer outcomes intersect.
From a SaaS career perspective, the position builds durable product judgment around trade-offs that recur across data platforms: latency versus throughput, predictability versus flexibility, and operational simplicity versus control. It also offers experience shaping roadmaps in a technically deep area, collaborating closely with senior engineering, and grounding priorities in real production workload patterns. Exposure to how GenAI techniques may support performance analysis and optimization adds a relevant angle for product leaders working in infrastructure-adjacent SaaS.
This role tends to fit product managers who prefer high-technical-context problem framing, clear ownership over a scoped domain, and stakeholder communication that translates complex systems into measurable customer value. It is especially aligned for professionals who want to stay close to engineering while building credibility in platform product management within a mature cloud data environment.
The section above is editorial commentary from The SaaS Jobs, provided to help SaaS professionals understand the role in a broader industry context.
Job Description
Snowflake is about empowering enterprises to achieve their full potential — and people too. With a culture that’s all in on impact, innovation, and collaboration, Snowflake is the sweet spot for building big, moving fast, and taking technology — and careers — to the next level.
There is only one Data Cloud. Snowflake’s founders started from scratch and designed a data platform built for the cloud that is effective, affordable, and accessible to all data users. They engineered Snowflake to power the Data Cloud, where thousands of organizations unlock the value of their data with near-unlimited scale, concurrency, and performance.
We are looking for a Senior Product Manager (IC3) to join Snowflake’s Core Analytics Platform team, focusing on the query compiler, optimizer, and execution engine. This role operates at the technical core of Snowflake, where database theory meets real-world production workloads.
This is a high-impact role for a deeply technical PM who wants to work on some of the hardest problems in data systems—performance, efficiency, predictability, and scale—while partnering closely with senior product and engineering leaders who own the end-to-end query engine strategy.
As a Senior Product Manager on the Core Query Engine team, you will own and drive major problem areas within Snowflake’s query compiler, optimizer, and execution engine. You will work in close partnership with product and senior engineering leaders, taking clear ownership of scoped areas while contributing meaningfully to broader strategy and direction.
This role requires strong technical judgment, high agency, and the ability to independently drive execution in a complex, cross-functional environment. You will be trusted to lead initiatives end-to-end within your scope, from problem framing through delivery and iteration.
What You Will Do
As a Senior Product Manager at Snowflake, you will:
Own and drive key product areas within core query planning, optimization, and execution, from problem definition through launch and iteration.
Partner closely with senior product and engineering leaders to shape roadmap priorities,cross-functional initiatives, sequencing, and trade-offs for the broader query engine.
Work hand-in-hand with engineering to make principled decisions across performance, cost, complexity, and operability in a large-scale distributed system.
Translate deep engine capabilities into clear, compelling customer value—especially around workload performance, predictability, and ease of optimization.
Engage directly with customers, the field, and internal stakeholders to understand real-world workload patterns and performance pain points.
Contribute to Snowflake’s application of GenAI techniques for areas such as performance analysis, query understanding, and automated optimization.
Communicate plans, progress, and outcomes clearly to stakeholders and leadership.
Who You Are
Our ideal Senior Product Manager brings strong technical foundations, sound judgment, and a bias toward execution:
3-5 years of product management experience, or equivalent experience as a senior engineer working on databases, compilers, or distributed systems.
Solid understanding of database internals, including query planning, optimization techniques, execution models, and performance trade-offs.
Experience working on large-scale data platforms, cloud infrastructure, or developer-facing systems.
A product mindset grounded in customer outcomes, with the technical depth to engage credibly with senior engineers.
A strong sense of ownership and urgency; comfortable operating autonomously within a larger strategy.
Resilient, low-ego, and comfortable with constructive conflict and “disagree and commit.”
Actively uses GenAI tools and has experience applying them to product development or delivery workflows.
A bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field is required.
Bonus Points
Hands-on experience with query optimizers, execution engines, compilers, or runtimes.
Familiarity with workload management, cost-based optimization, or adaptive execution techniques.
Experience with cloud data platforms across AWS, Azure, or GCP.
Background as a heavy SQL user, data engineer, or database architect.
This role directly shapes one of Snowflake’s most important customer promises: “it just works.” As customer workloads grow more complex and cost-sensitive, Snowflake’s ability to deliver fast, predictable performance—without requiring deep manual tuning—becomes a defining competitive advantage.
You will work at the center of this challenge, contributing to foundational engine capabilities while having clear ownership, strong mentorship, and high visibility across the organization.
Every Snowflake employee is expected to follow the company’s confidentiality and security standards for handling sensitive data. Snowflake employees must abide by the company’s data security plan as an essential part of their duties. It is every employee's duty to keep customer information secure and confidential.
Snowflake is growing fast, and we’re scaling our team to help enable and accelerate our growth. We are looking for people who share our values, challenge ordinary thinking, and push the pace of innovation while building a future for themselves and Snowflake.
How do you want to make your impact?
For jobs located in the United States, please visit the job posting on the Snowflake Careers Site for salary and benefits information: careers.snowflake.com
