Senior Staff Software Engineer - Query Execution

Kenyan Edu; Lisboa; Hybrid; EUR 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Dremio is seeking a Senior Staff Software Engineer to join the Query Execution team. You will design and implement runtime components that execute analytical queries at scale, working between planning and table scans.

You’ll optimize performance, memory management, and scheduling while collaborating with cross‑functional teams and using AI-assisted development tools to improve reliability and speed of delivery.

Qualifications

• 5+ years developing production software, preferably in database or distributed systems.
• Strong Java proficiency; C++ is a plus.
• Solid foundation in data structures, algorithms, concurrency, and async programming.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, test, and support query operators and runtime components.
• Optimize performance: vectorized processing, memory usage, and scheduling.
• Collaborate with cross‑team engineers and use AI-assisted development tools responsibly.

Skills

Java

C++

Data structures

Algorithms

Concurrency

Multithreading

Asynchronous programming

Problem solving

Communication

Ownership

Tools

JVM profiling

Memory management

Profiling tools

Job description

# Senior Staff Software Engineer - Query ExecutionDremioRemote Full Time Remote Posted 7 hours agoShare this job:WhatsApp LinkedIn X Facebook Email#### Job DescriptionHeadquarters: Portugal - Remote Be Part of Building the Future Dremio is the unified lakehouse platform for self-service analytics and AI, serving hundreds of global enterprises, including Maersk, Amazon, Regeneron, NetApp, and S&P Global. Customers rely on Dremio for cloud, hybrid, and on-prem lakehouses to power their data mesh, data warehouse migration, data virtualization, and unified data access use cases. Based on open source technologies, including Apache Iceberg and Apache Arrow, Dremio provides an open lakehouse architecture enabling the fastest time to insight and platform flexibility at a fraction of the cost. Learn more at www.dremio.com.About the role Dremio’s Query Execution team builds the runtime responsible for executing analytical queries at scale. The team sits between query planning and table scans, owning the systems that turn query plans into efficient, reliable execution. As a Senior Staff Software Engineer, you’ll work on query operators, expression evaluation, memory management, execution scheduling, runtime planning, and performance optimization. Your work will directly affect query performance, scalability, and reliability across Dremio’s cloud data platform. What you’ll be doing Build the execution engine: Design, implement, test, and support query operators, expression evaluation, execution scheduling, runtime planning, and resource management. Improve runtime performance: Optimize vectorized processing, concurrency, parallelism, memory usage, data exchange, and disk spilling. Diagnose difficult problems: Investigate query correctness and performance issues using query profiles, profiling tools, telemetry, benchmarks, logs, and production data. Optimize Java and the JVM: Improve CPU utilization, allocation behavior, garbage collection, thread behavior, and other runtime characteristics. Collaborate across the query engine: Work with Query Planner, Datalake, Product, Support, and field engineering teams on end-to-end query improvements. Use AI-assisted development tools: Apply AI tools to code comprehension, debugging, test generation, documentation, and incident analysis. Apply engineering judgment: Validate AI-generated code and recommendations through review, testing, benchmarking, and engineering judgment. Raise the engineering bar: Participate in design and code reviews, contribute to technical direction, and mentor other engineers. What we’re looking for Software engineering experience: 5+ years developing production software, preferably in database systems, query execution, distributed systems, or related areas. Programming skills: Strong Java skills; experience with C++ is a plus. Computer science fundamentals: Strong foundation in data structures, algorithms, concurrency, multithreaded programming, and asynchronous programming. Database and distributed systems knowledge: Understanding of database internals, query processing, distributed execution, and performance optimization. Performance engineering experience: Experience profiling and optimizing CPU, memory, garbage collection, thread behavior, or other runtime characteristics. Problem-solving ability: Ability to solve ambiguous technical problems and work effectively across team boundaries. Engineering judgment: Ability to evaluate tradeoffs, validate solutions rigorously, and make sound decisions when working with unfamiliar or AI-assisted implementations. Communication and ownership: Strong communication skills, a sense of ownership, and a commitment to delivering high-quality software. Bonus points if you have Query engines: Distributed query engines, database engines, or large-scale data processing systems. Execution techniques: Vectorized execution, query operators, expression evaluation, code generation, or runtime optimization. Runtime systems: JVM profiling, memory management, caching, networking, data exchange, execution scheduling, or disk spilling. Data platforms: Apache Arrow, Apache Iceberg, Parquet, Avro, Spark, Hadoop, or cloud object stores. Open source: Contributing to open-source projects. What we value At Dremio, we hold ourselves to high standards when it comes to People, Thinking, and Action. Our Gnarlies (that's what we call our employees) communicate with clarity, drive accountability, and are respectful towards each other. We confront brutal facts and focus on results while operating with a sense of urgency and building a \"flywheel\". People who like to jump in and drive momentum will thrive in our #GnarlyLife. Dremio is an equal opportunity employer supporting workforce diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other unlawful factor. Dremio is committed to providing any necessary accommodations for individuals with disabilities within our application and interview process. To request accommodation due to a disability, please inform your recruiter. Dremio has policies in place to protect the personal information that employees and applicants disclose to us. Please click here to review the privacy notice. Important Security Notice for Candidates At Dremio, we uphold trust and transparency as paramount values in all our interactions with customers, partners, employees, and the general public. We have been targeted by individuals creating fake domains similar to ours to scam prospects and candidates. Please note that all official communications from us will be from an @dremio.com domain. If you suspect you've been targeted by a scam, it's imperative to report the incident to your local law enforcement agencies. For more information about this type of scam, please refer to Dremio's official statement here. Dremio is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes and will not pay fees to any third-party agency or company that does not have a signed agreement with the Company. To apply: https://weworkremotely.com/remote-jobs/dremio-senior-staff-software-engineer-query-execution