Principal Engineer - Vector Database

huaweicanada; Ottawa; On-site; CAD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Huawei Canada in Ottawa is seeking a Principal Engineer to architect and build high-performance vector storage systems, lead vector database initiatives, and define a roadmap for next-generation storage technologies within a large Data + AI platform. You will influence across teams, engage with open-source ecosystems, and translate workloads into scalable, production-ready solutions. The role requires leadership at senior levels and deep expertise in distributed systems and databases.

Qualifications

• Proven ability to explore, design, and plan innovative systems technologies with strong architectural judgment.
• Deep understanding of database systems, storage engines, and vector search technologies with hands-on production experience.
• Leads development of mission-critical products or subsystems with successful delivery and deployment.
• Stories of high-quality system design, modular architectures, and long-term maintainability.

Responsibilities

• Architect and develop frameworks and engines for serverless computing for AI workloads (LLM training/inference, agent execution, RL).
• Lead design and innovation of vector database storage engines in a large-scale Data + AI platform.
• Drive breakthroughs in vector indexing, retrieval algorithms, and storage architectures for low-latency vector search at scale.
• Define and evolve the technical roadmap for next-gen vector database storage technologies.
• Engage with industry trends, open-source ecosystems, and translate customer workloads into differentiated solutions.
• Architect and build high-performance, scalable, reliable vector storage systems used in production environments.

Skills

Architectural thinking

Distributed systems

Vector databases

Production systems

Open-source contributions

Tools

FAISS

Milvus

HNSW

Job description

Huawei Canada has an immediate permanent opening for a Principal Engineer.

About the team:

The Distributed Data Storage and Management Lab leads research in distributed data systems, aiming to develop next-generation cloud serverless products that encompass core infrastructure and databases. This lab addresses various data challenges, including cloud-native disaggregated databases, pay-by-query user models, and optimizing low-level data transfers via RDMA. Teams within this lab create advanced cloud serverless data infrastructure and implement cutting-edge networking technologies for Huawei's global AI infrastructure.

About the job:

• Architecting and develop frameworks and engines for next-generation serverless computing tailored to AI workloads (LLM training/inference, agent execution, RL training, etc.).

• Lead the design and innovation of vector database storage engines within a large-scale Data + AI infrastructure platform.

• Drive breakthroughs in vector indexing, retrieval algorithms, and storage architectures, enabling low-latency, high-throughput vector search at scale.

• Define and evolve the technical roadmap for next-generation vector database storage technologies.

• Stay deeply engaged with industry trends, open-source ecosystems, and competitive landscapes; translate customer requirements and real-world workloads into differentiated technical solutions.

• Architect and build high-performance, scalable, and reliable vector storage systems used in production environments.

About the ideal candidate:

• Proven ability to explore, design, and plan innovative systems technologies, with strong technical judgment and architectural thinking.

• Deep understanding of database systems, storage engines, and vector search technologies, with hands-on experience designing and shipping production systems.

• Lead the development of mission-critical products or subsystems, with successful delivery and commercial deployment.

• Strong record of high-quality system design and execution, including component abstraction, modular architecture, and long-term maintainability.

• Experience operating at Staff / Principal / Architect level, influencing technical direction across teams or organizations.

• Experience with vector databases (e.g., FAISS, Milvus, HNSW-based systems, or custom implementations).

• Background in distributed systems, storage systems, or AI infrastructure.

• Contributions to open-source projects or published systems research.

Additional Information:

Huawei Canada is committed to a fair, inclusive, and accessible recruitment process. If you require accommodation during any stage of the hiring process, please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.

All applications for this position are reviewed directly by our hiring team, we do not use artificial intelligence tools to screen or select candidates.