Fast Facts

Quizlet is looking for a Principal Engineer to lead the development of identity management, messaging, and trust systems to enhance user experience and security on their learning platform.

Responsibilities: Key responsibilities include defining authentication architectures, managing account services, building messaging platforms, developing trust systems, and ensuring compliance with data protection regulations.

Skills: Candidates should have extensive experience in backend engineering, modernizing legacy systems, security and compliance, and proficiency in technologies like Node.js, Go, Python, or TypeScript.

Qualifications: Preferred qualifications include at least 10 years of engineering experience, with a focus on identity, messaging, or trust systems, and strong cross-functional collaboration skills.

Location: This position is based in San Francisco, CA, requiring at least three days in the office per week.

Compensation: $276700 - $323000 / Annually

About Quizlet:

At Quizlet, our mission is to help every learner achieve their outcomes in the most effective and delightful way. Our $1B+ learning platform serves tens of millions of students every month, including two-thirds of U.S. high schoolers and half of U.S. college students, powering over 2 billion learning interactions monthly.

We blend cognitive science with machine learning to personalize and enhance the learning experience for students, professionals, and lifelong learners alike. We’re energized by the potential to power more learners through multiple approaches and various tools.

Let’s Build the Future of Learning

Join us to design and deliver AI-powered learning tools that scale across the world and unlock human potential.

About the Role:

We’re seeking a Principal Engineer to architect the future of identity, account management, user communication infrastructure, and trust & safety systems at Quizlet. This high-impact role will help shape Quizlet into the most secure, intelligent, and trusted learning platform on the internet.

You’ll be the hands-on technical leader driving the evolution of our core user platform, guiding strategic investments in authentication, consent frameworks, martech, and safety tooling — all while partnering closely with product, marketing, legal, and data/ML teams.

We’re happy to share that this is an onsite position in our San Francisco office. To help foster team collaboration, we require that employees be in the office a minimum of three days per week: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday and as needed by your manager or the company. We believe that this working environment facilitates increased work efficiency, team partnership, and supports growth as an employee and organization.

In this role, you will:

Identity & Access Architecture: Define and evolve our authentication and authorization architecture (e.g., OAuth 2.0, SSO, MFA)
Account Lifecycle Management: Own core services powering sign-up, login, recovery, and settings
Messaging Platform: Architect a scalable, consent-aware system for in-app, push, email and external comms; partner with Braze and marketing teams to drive intelligent engagement
Trust & Safety Systems: Build infrastructure to support abuse detection, content moderation, and policy enforcement
Privacy and Consent Frameworks: Ensure platform-wide compliance with data protection regulations (e.g., COPPA, GDPR, FERPA)
Cross-Org Collaboration: Influence engineering and legal peers on data minimization, secure defaults, and safety practices

What you bring to the table:

10+ years of backend/platform engineering experience, with 5+ years in identity, messaging, or trust systems
Experience in modernizing legacy account systems and building privacy-centric user platforms.
Significant hands-on experience in security, compliance, and messaging infrastructure (e.g., rate limiting, consent management, opt-in flows)
Hands-on experience with Node.js, Go, Python, or TypeScript
Familiarity with tools like Braze, Segment, or equivalent martech stacks
Passion for building platforms that enable scale, intelligence, and trust
Fluency with platform security, privacy, and system design
Proven ability to lead architectural transformation while shipping continuously
Strength in cross-functional collaboration, especially with legal, marketing, and product

Compensation, Benefits & Perks:

Quizlet is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Salary transparency helps to mitigate unfair hiring practices when it comes to discrimination and pay gaps. Total compensation for this role is market competitive, including a starting base salary of $276,700 - $323,000, depending on location and experience, as well as company stock options
Collaborate with your manager and team to create a healthy work-life balance
20 vacation days that we expect you to take!
Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance (100% employee and 75% dependent PPO, Dental, VSP Choice)
Employer-sponsored 401k plan with company match
Access to LinkedIn Learning and other resources to support professional growth
Paid Family Leave, FSA, HSA, Commuter benefits, and Wellness benefits
40 hours of annual paid time off to participate in volunteer programs of choice

Why Join Quizlet?

🌎 Massive reach: 60M+ users, 1B+ interactions per week

🧠 Cutting-edge tech: Generative AI, adaptive learning, cognitive science

📈 Strong momentum: Top-tier investors, sustainable business, real traction

🎯 Mission-first: Work that makes a difference in people’s lives

🤝 Inclusive culture: Committed to equity, diversity, and belonging

We strive to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome!

We work to create a holistic interview process, where both Quizlet and candidates have an opportunity to view what it would be like to work together, in exploring a mutually beneficial partnership.

We provide a transparent setting that gives a comprehensive view of who we are!

In Closing:

At Quizlet, we’re excited about passionate people joining our team—even if you don’t check every box on the requirements list. We value unique perspectives and believe everyone has something meaningful to contribute. Our culture is all about taking initiative, learning through challenges, and striving for high-quality work while staying curious and open to new ideas. We believe in honest, respectful communication, thoughtful collaboration, and creating a supportive space where everyone can grow and succeed together.”

Quizlet’s success as an online learning community depends on a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

As an equal opportunity employer and a tech company committed to societal change, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. Come join us!

To All Recruiters and Placement Agencies:

At this time, Quizlet does not accept unsolicited agency resumes and/or profiles.

Please do not forward unsolicited agency resumes to our website or to any Quizlet employee. Quizlet will not pay fees to any third-party agency or firm nor will it be responsible for any agency fees associated with unsolicited resumes. All unsolicited resumes received will be considered the property of Quizlet.

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Principal Engineer – User Identity, Messaging & Trust Infrastructure