Core Software Engineer (C++) - Remote United States (remote)

ClickHouse; United States; Remote; USD 141,000 - 208,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work environment

Employer contributions toward healthcare

Stock options

Flexible time off

$500 Home office setup

Global gatherings

Job summary

A leading cloud technology company is looking for exceptional C++ engineers to join their remote-first team. The role focuses on optimizing the performance of the core ClickHouse database and requires solid C++ development experience and knowledge of database internals. Candidates should have strong problem-solving skills and experience with performance engineering. The position offers a flexible work environment, competitive salary, and opportunities for stock options and healthcare benefits.

Qualifications

• Solid professional software development experience in C++, including Unix/Linux systems.
• Strong knowledge of database internals and design.
• Experience in performance engineering, ideally in a database.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work well within and across engineering teams.
• Strong problem-solving abilities and solid production debugging skills.
• Experience with ClickHouse and developing cloud infrastructure services.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to, analyze, and optimize the performance of the core ClickHouse database.
• Ensure that database performance does not deteriorate over time.
• Serve as a resource for the Support Engineering team.
• Collaborate with other teams to assess new features' impact on performance.
• Engage with the open-source community by resolving issues and reviewing pull requests.

Skills

C++

Unix/Linux systems

Database design

Performance engineering

Problem-solving abilities

Collaboration

Tools

Kubernetes

Job description

Recognized on the 2025 Forbes Cloud 100 list, ClickHouse is one of the most innovative and fast‑growing private cloud companies. With over 2,000 customers and ARR that has more than quadrupled over the past year, ClickHouse leads the market in real‑time analytics, data warehousing, observability, and AI workloads. ClickHouse’s momentum was confirmed in its recent $350 M Series C financing that included new tier‑one investors, Khosla Ventures, BOND, IVP, Battery Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners. We’re on a mission to transform how companies use data. Come be a part of our journey!

NOTE: this role can be anywhere in the United States as the position is not office‑based.

With over 42,000 stars on GitHub, ClickHouse is the fastest and most resource‑efficient open‑source database for real‑time apps and analytics. Our Core Engineering teams own the heart of the ClickHouse Open Source project. We are looking for exceptional C++ engineers to join our remote‑first, global team and continue to scale and grow both our open‑source and ClickHouse Cloud offerings. We seek engineers who love scaling and optimizing the performance of highly distributed systems.

What will you do?

• Contribute to, analyze, and optimize the performance of the core ClickHouse database, focusing on query optimization, distributed query optimization, relational operators (aggregation and joins), caching, and low‑level optimizations such as SIMD instructions.
• Ensure that database performance does not deteriorate over time by extending existing and adding new performance tests, based on real‑world or synthetic datasets.
• Serve as a resource for the Support Engineering team, helping to debug the most advanced performance issues encountered by our customers, including an on‑call rotation and participation in external community support channels.
• Collaborate with other teams to assess the impact of new features on performance and reliability as the core database evolves.
• Engage with our open‑source community by resolving issues, reviewing and finishing pull requests, and answering questions from mail, chats, Google Groups, and external Slack channels.

About you

• Solid professional software development experience in C++, including Unix/Linux systems.
• Strong knowledge of database internals and design.
• Experience in performance engineering, ideally in a database but also in high‑frequency trading, simulation, or real‑time data processing.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work well within and across engineering teams.
• Ready to collaborate closely with the open‑source community, conducting code reviews with patience and attention to detail.
• Strong problem‑solving abilities and solid production debugging skills.
• Passion for efficiency, availability, scalability, and data governance.
• Thrives in a fast‑paced start‑up environment, acting as a partner with the business to move forward and build together.
• High level of responsibility, ownership, and accountability.
• Experience with ClickHouse.
• Experience in security, privacy, and compliance.
• Experience with TCP/IP and network programming.
• Experience developing cloud infrastructure services, preferably with Kubernetes.
• Experience giving public talks at technical conferences and meetups.
• Previous contributions to open‑source projects.

Compensation

The typical starting salary for this role in the United States is $141,000 – $208,000 USD. In premium US markets such as Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco Bay Area, CA; Seattle, WA; and New York City Metro Area, the range is $157,000 – $230,000 USD. These ranges reflect our minimum and maximum pay for the position at the time of posting. Actual compensation may be higher or lower and may be subject to future adjustments.

Benefits

• Flexible work environment – ClickHouse is a globally distributed, remote‑friendly company operating in 20 countries.
• Healthcare – Employer contributions toward employee healthcare.
• Equity – New team members receive stock options.
• Time off – Flexible time off in the US; generous entitlement in other countries.
• $500 Home office setup if you’re a remote employee.
• Global gatherings – Opportunities to connect in person at company‑wide offsites.

Culture – We All Shape It

As part of our first 500 employees, you will shape our culture. Learn more about our values here. Follow us on LinkedIn or read our blog posts to stay up to date.

Equal Opportunity & Privacy

ClickHouse provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type based on race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Please see here for our Privacy Statement.