Principal Software Engineer, Full-Stack Development

Posted Yesterday
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2 Locations
Hybrid
118K-168K Annually
Senior level
Gaming
The Role
Designs, builds, and maintains AI-powered developer tools and applications across frontend, backend, APIs, cloud infrastructure, LLM features, agentic workflows, and MCP-based services. The role establishes technical vision, architects scalable systems, reviews code and technical plans, improves platform reliability and AI capabilities, supports production integrations, and collaborates with product, design, engineering, and game development teams.
Summary Generated by Built In

Level Up Your Career with Zynga!

At Zynga, we bring people together through the power of play. As a global leader in interactive entertainment and a proud label of Take-Two Interactive, our games have been downloaded over 6 billion times—connecting players in 175+ countries through fun, strategy, and a little friendly competition.

From thrilling casino spins to epic strategy battles, mind-bending puzzles, and social word challenges, our diverse game portfolio has something for everyone. Fan-favorites and latest hits include FarmVille™, Words With Friends™, Zynga Poker™, Game of Thrones Slots Casino™, Wizard of Oz Slots™, Hit it Rich! Slots™, Wonka Slots™, Top Eleven™, Toon Blast™, Empires & Puzzles™, Merge Dragons!™, CSR Racing™, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells™, Match Factory™, and Color Block Jam™—plus many more!

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in California, our teams span North America, Europe, and Asia, working together to craft unforgettable gaming experiences. Whether you're spinning, strategizing, matching, or competing, Zynga is where fun meets innovation—and where you can take your career to the next level.

Join us and be part of the play!

Position Overview

Come join the AI team at Zynga making an impact across all of the company's games - Central Technology! As a Principal Software Engineer, you will be responsible for the technical vision, design and implementation of AI-powered tools and systems that elevate developer productivity and player experiences at scale. We're looking for outstanding engineers with a passion for artificial intelligence and the desire to work in a team with dynamic strengths.

What You'll Do:

  • Build, improve & maintain Zynga's AI-powered developer tools and applications across the full stack, spanning frontend interfaces, APIs, and backend services.

  • Design and architect scalable AI systems and integrations running in cloud infrastructure, including LLM-powered features, agentic workflows, and MCP-based services.

  • Take a hands-on approach in architecting, writing, and reviewing code across frontend and backend layers of the AI tooling ecosystem.

  • Proactively identify & recommend improvements to address systemic problems, tech debt, and opportunities to enhance AI capabilities across the platform.

  • Follow engineering best practices to ensure code quality, performance, reliability, and responsible AI development standards.

  • Collaborate effectively with teammates, product, and stakeholders across Zynga, contributing to an innovative environment of technical excellence in AI tooling.

  • Review detailed tech plans from others, aligning with the AI tools team and Zynga-wide technical vision for AI-driven developer productivity.

  • Provide production & integration support for shared AI tools and services used across Zynga's game studios and development teams.


What You Bring:

  • B.S. in Computer Science, or equivalent

  • 6+ years of hands-on software development experience, with significant exposure to AI/ML systems or developer tooling

  • Strong full stack programming experience across frontend (React, TypeScript) and backend (Python, GoLang, and/or Node.js)

  • Experience designing and building LLM-powered applications, agentic workflows, or AI developer tools

  • Experience in programming RESTful and event-driven services, with familiarity with MCP or similar tool-integration protocols a plus

  • Experience with database systems (SQL, NoSQL) and cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP)

  • Experience in object-oriented and service-oriented design of scalable applications and systems

  • Familiarity with IDE extensions, CLI tooling, or browser-based developer tools a plus

  • Knowledge of the evolving AI/ML landscape, emerging foundation models, and responsible AI practices a plus

  • Experience working cross-functionally with product, design, and engineering teams on technical implementations and rollouts

What We Offer You:

Zynga offers a world-class benefits package that helps support and balance the needs of our teams. To find out more about our benefits, visit the Zynga Benefits site

The pay range for this position in Ontario at the start of employment is expected to be between $118,300 and $168,300 CAD per Year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program. Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefits at the Company, including: medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company’s discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefits; and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses.The use of Artificial Intelligence is not being used to screen candidates. The position is for an existing vacancy.

Please note that Zynga is unable to provide visa sponsorship or assistance for this position. All candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without requiring current or future employer sponsorship.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, which means we are committed to creating and celebrating diverse thoughts, cultures, and backgrounds throughout our organization.  Employment with us is based on substantive ability, objective qualifications, and work ethic – not an individual’s race, creed, color, religion, sex or gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, alienage or citizenship status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, status as a victim of domestic violence or sex offenses, reproductive health decision, or any other characteristics protected by applicable law.

As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to providing the necessary support and accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities, health conditions, or impairments (subject to any local qualifying requirements) to ensure their full participation in the job application or interview process. Please contact us at [email protected] to request any accommodations or for support related to your application for an open position.

Please be aware that Zynga does not conduct job interviews or make job offers over third-party messaging apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp, or others.  Zynga also does not engage in any financial exchanges during the recruitment or onboarding process, and will never ask a candidate for their personal or financial information over an app or other unofficial chat channel.  Any attempt to do so may be the result of a scamp or phishing attack, and you should not engage.  Zynga’s  in-house recruitment team will only contact individuals through their official Company email addresses (i.e., via a zynga.com, take2games.com, naturalmotion.com, smallgiantgames.com, themavens.com, gram.gs email domain).  

Skills Required

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience
  • 6+ years of hands-on software development experience
  • Significant exposure to AI/ML systems or developer tooling
  • Full-stack programming experience with React and TypeScript
  • Backend programming experience with Python, Go, and/or Node.js
  • Experience designing and building LLM-powered applications, agentic workflows, or AI developer tools
  • Experience programming RESTful and event-driven services
  • Experience with database systems, including SQL and NoSQL
  • Experience with cloud infrastructure, including AWS or GCP
  • Experience designing scalable applications using object-oriented and service-oriented principles
  • Experience working cross-functionally with product, design, and engineering teams
  • Familiarity with MCP or similar tool-integration protocols
  • Familiarity with IDE extensions, CLI tooling, or browser-based developer tools
  • Knowledge of emerging foundation models and responsible AI practices

What the Team is Saying

Fayez Iqbal
Jonathon Lee
Kelly Jia
Mauricio Bracuto Bertoni
Mariana D’Ornellas
Felipe Gusmao
Felipe Gusmao
Felipe Gusmao
Coraly Rosario
Jeff Naca
Stephanie Rattanachane

Zynga Compensation & Benefits Highlights

  • Healthcare Strength — Coverage is described as comprehensive across medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance, with indications that employee premiums are fully covered and dependent coverage is substantially subsidized. Wellness resources such as EAPs and gym benefits are also available.
  • Parental & Family Support — Generous parental leave, fertility support, and emergency childcare are highlighted, with recent details pointing to strong support for parents and families. Adoption assistance and family-planning programs are also called out.
  • Leave & Time Off Breadth — An open or flexible vacation policy is offered alongside paid holidays and sick time. Sentiment around PTO flexibility is consistently positive in the materials provided.

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The Company
HQ: San Mateo, California
2,449 Employees
Year Founded: 2007

What We Do

Zynga was founded in 2007 with the vision that play would become one of the core activities on the Internet. We pioneered social games with the belief that if we could make games simple, accessible and social the world would start playing. We are excited that games have grown to become the second most popular activity by time spent, even surpassing email. But we have a lot of hard work, innovation and growth ahead of us to create a future where social gaming is a daily habit for everyone.

Zynga Offices

Hybrid Workspace

Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.

Typical time on-site: Not Specified
HQSan Mateo, California
Austin, Texas
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Carlsbad, California
Chicago, Illinois
Dublin, County Dublin
Eugene, Oregon
London, England
Toronto, Ontario
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