Staff Collaboration Systems Engineer, Google Workspace

Pinterest Pinterest · Consumer · Chicago, IL · IT

Staff Collaboration Systems Engineer for Google Workspace at Pinterest. This role focuses on owning and evolving the Google Workspace platform, including Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Chat, and Meet. Responsibilities include tenant configuration, policy governance, architecture design, incident response, automation using scripting and APIs, and integration with identity and security systems. The role also involves using AI tools to enhance engineering and operational tasks, leading cross-functional projects, and mentoring other engineers. The ideal candidate has extensive experience with Google Workspace, strong systems design and troubleshooting skills, automation expertise, and a proven track record of using AI tools to improve efficiency while maintaining ownership and validation.

What you'd actually do

  1. Own the Google Workspace platform end‑to‑end – act as the primary technical authority for Gmail, Calendar, Drive/Shared Drives, Docs/Sheets/Slides, Groups, Chat/Spaces, Meet, and related services, including tenant configuration, routing, directory/OU design, and policy governance.
  2. Design and evolve the collaboration architecture – define standards, guardrails, and best practices for domains, org structure, resource hierarchy, external sharing, retention, and data protection to support a global, hybrid workforce.
  3. Lead incident response and complex troubleshooting for high‑impact Workspace issues, driving root‑cause analysis, long‑term fixes, and learning‑oriented postmortems in partnership with IT Operations, Security, and vendors.
  4. Build automation and integrations using scripting (e.g., Apps Script, Python, or similar) and Google Workspace APIs/SDKs to streamline user and group lifecycle, license management, configuration as code, and health/usage monitoring.
  5. Integrate Google Workspace with identity, security, and IT workflows (e.g., SSO/IdP, MDM, DLP, e‑discovery/archival, logging, ITSM) in close collaboration with Security and other infrastructure teams.

Skills

Required

  • 8+ years of experience in IT systems or collaboration/platform engineering
  • significant hands-on ownership of Google Workspace in a medium-to-large environment
  • Deep Google Workspace experience running large or complex environments (ideally multi-domain or multi-org), across Gmail, Calendar, Drive/Shared Drives, Groups, Chat/Spaces, and Meet.
  • Strong systems design and troubleshooting skills, including debugging issues that span clients, network, identity, and backend services.
  • Solid scripting and automation skills (e.g., Google Apps Script, GAM, Python), and experience using Google Workspace APIs/SDKs to automate lifecycle, configuration, and reporting.
  • Experience implementing and operating security, privacy, and compliance controls such as DLP, retention/legal hold, e-discovery, external sharing policies, SPF/DKIM/DMARC, and access reviews.
  • Experience integrating Google Workspace with identity (SSO/SCIM), MDM/endpoint tools, logging/observability, and ticketing/ITSM systems.
  • Proven use of AI tools to speed up engineering or operations work (e.g., generating code, runbooks, or summaries), with a clear approach to validating outputs, reducing bias, and protecting reliability and security.
  • Track record of operating at a staff-level scope: leading large, complex initiatives, shaping cross-team roadmaps, and owning impactful outcomes.
  • Ability to lead and mentor other engineers, give clear technical direction, and partner effectively with managers, product owners

What the JD emphasized

  • Google Workspace
  • AI tools
  • scripting
  • automation
  • identity, security, and IT workflows
  • collaboration architecture
  • incident response
  • troubleshooting
  • Google Workspace APIs/SDKs
  • AI assistants
  • validating outputs
  • peer review
  • full ownership
  • cross-functional projects
  • staff-level scope
  • leading large, complex initiatives
  • shaping cross-team roadmaps
  • owning impactful outcomes