Senior Backend Engineer — Lead ClickHouse Platform

Aiven; Helsinki; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity plan

Hybrid work policy

Equipment provided

PD budget

Wellbeing program

Time off policy

Global benefits

Job summary

Aiven is seeking a Senior or Staff Backend Engineer to anchor the ClickHouse team in Helsinki. You will own end-to-end platform problems, from database internals to data engineering tooling, influencing the roadmap for ClickHouse and its ecosystem.

You will mentor engineers, author RFCs, and drive multi-quarter initiatives, while balancing production reliability with innovative architectural work in a hybrid, Helsinki-based setup.

Qualifications

• Expert Python development skills: production-grade async Python, modular design.
• ClickHouse experience: operating at scale, optimization, upstream contributions.
• C++: ability to read and contribute to database engine code.
• Deep database internals knowledge: replication, storage engines, backup/restore semantics.
• Distributed systems depth: coordination services, race conditions, multi-AZ/region.
• Data engineering experience: streaming pipelines, schema management, reliable data movement.
• Strong Linux and cloud fundamentals: object storage, networking, TLS, debugging.
• Track record of technical leadership: RFCs/design docs, mentoring.
• Product sense: link engineering decisions to customer impact and roadmap.
• Experience with AI coding tools: leveraging AI in development.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead platform initiatives: migrations, backup/restore, topology, sharding.
• Build data engineering tooling around ClickHouse: streaming pipelines, schema evolution, integration frameworks.
• Own ClickHouse version lifecycle: qualify releases, diagnose issues, GA evolution.
• Debug deep into the stack: ClickHouse internals, distributed coordination, networking, TLS.
• Write RFCs and drive architectural decisions beyond the team.
• Influence roadmap: scope epics, plan deliverables, consider commercial aspects.
• Mentor engineers through reviews and pairing to multiply the team.
• Maintain production reliability: incident response, observability, CI performance.

Skills

Python development

ClickHouse experience

C++

Database internals

Distributed systems

Data engineering pipelines

Linux & cloud fundamentals

Technical leadership

Product sense

English fluency

AI coding tools

Tools

ZooKeeper / Keeper

Kafka

Git

Job description

Aiven is seeking a Senior or Staff Backend Engineer to anchor the ClickHouse team in Helsinki. You will own end-to-end platform problems, from database internals to data engineering tooling, influencing the roadmap for ClickHouse and its ecosystem.

You will mentor engineers, author RFCs, and drive multi-quarter initiatives, while balancing production reliability with innovative architectural work in a hybrid, Helsinki-based setup.