Staff Software Engineer - Distributed Data Systems

Job title: Staff Software Engineer - Distributed Data Systems

About the Role As a Staff Software Engineer on the Runtime team, you will help build the next generation distributed data storage and processing systems that power large-scale data workloads. You will work on technologies that can outperform specialized SQL engines while providing expressive programming abstractions for ETL, data science, and analytics.

What You'll Do

• Design, implement, and maintain distributed data storage and processing components at Databricks' scale
• Collaborate with engineering and product teams to deliver high-performance, reliable systems across cloud backends (S3, Azure Blob, etc.)
• Improve query planning, execution, and reliability for big data workloads
• Contribute to performance engineering initiatives such as building next-generation optimizers and execution engines
• Mentor more junior engineers and drive architecture and design decisions across projects like Apache Spark, Delta Lake, and Delta Pipelines
• Engage with initiatives in Data Plane Storage and Delta Pipelines to orchestration of large numbers of data pipelines

What We're Looking For

• BS in Computer Science or related field; MS or PhD in databases, distributed systems is optional
• 8+ years of production-level experience in either Java, Scala or C++
• Strong foundation in algorithms and data structures and their real-world use cases
• Experience with distributed systems, databases, and big data systems (Apache Spark, Hadoop)
• Comfortable working towards a multi-year vision with incremental deliverables and a focus on delivering customer value and impact

Nice to Have

• MS or PhD in databases or distributed systems (optional)

Compensation & Benefits

• Local Pay Range: $192,000 — $260,000 USD
• The total compensation package may include annual performance bonus, equity, and the benefits listed above