Snap Scoops Google’s Eric Young to Lead Engineering

Snap's new senior vice president of engineering spent 22 years between Google and Amazon.

Snap (SNAP), the company that owns Snapchat, has scooped a Google executive to serve as its new senior vice president of engineering, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Its hire, Eric Young, spent 22 years between Google (GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN) and most recently worked as Google Cloud’s vice president of engineering. He began at Snap yesterday (June 5), according to the filing.

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A collage of Rob Wilk and Evan Spiegel
Rob Wilk (left) joined Snap as president of Americas from Microsoft in April. CEO Evan Spiegel (right) has hired many Big Tech execs recently. Getty

In addition to overseeing Snap’s infrastructure, Young, 46, will work to improve the ad targeting and measurement capabilities on the photo messaging app, according to Reuters.

Snap’s advertising business has faced hurdles in recent years, which hurts the overall profitability of the company. An Apple iOS update made available in 2021 limited the ability for advertisers to track audiences, which has affected many apps that rely on advertising to earn money. Snap also felt the effects of last year’s downturned advertising market, when media buyers slowed spending in anticipation of a recession. Last year, Snap lost $1.4 billion, double its losses from the year prior. The company has never turned a profit in its 12-year history.

Despite these challenges, Snap’s executive team—led by founder and CEO Evan Spiegel—has built tools to increase its revenue and connect with users. In March, Snap launched the ability to restore streaks, which track the number of days two users consecutively send photos to each other, for 99 cents each. The company jumped on the artificial intelligence wave by releasing a chatbot, first to subscribers willing to pay $3.99 per month and then to all users. It is also working to improve the format and relevance of ads, according to its earnings statement.

Young isn’t the first Big Tech advertising executive to join Snap in recent months. In April, Snap hired Rob Wilk, formerly Microsoft’s global head of advertising, as its president of Americas. That same month, Google’s Darshan Kantak joined Snap as senior vice president of revenue products. At Google, Kantak was the vice president of product management, where he managed search ads.

Snap is currently hiring for 150 open positions, more than 50 of which are engineering roles, according to Snap’s jobs page. Young will earn an annual salary of $1 million, along with $40 million worth of stock and a signing bonus of $500,000, according to the filing.

“I am thrilled to join the Snap team and my new colleagues to continue scaling and enhancing the company’s infrastructure, platforms, and systems,” Young said in an emailed statement. “Hundreds of millions of people around the world rely on Snapchat to stay in touch with friends and family, and I’m excited about the major opportunities ahead to support our community and customers.”

Eric Young smiles wearing a blue shirt.
Eric Young Snap

Who is Eric Young?

Young spent seven years at Google beginning in 2016, according to his LinkedIn. He worked on the technology for search, advertisements and YouTube, Reuters reported.

Prior to working at Google, Young held various positions at Amazon over 15 years, beginning in 2000. He worked in three vice president roles in supply chain, pricing and retail, according to his LinkedIn. While at Amazon, he earned a master of business administration degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Update: This story has been updated with a photo and statement from Eric Young.

Snap Scoops Google’s Eric Young to Lead Engineering