Senior Backend Engineer - Databases - Analytics | Canada | Remote

grafanalabs; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Restricted Stock Units

Fully remote role

In-person onboarding

Job summary

Grafana Labs is hiring for a senior role to build the storage layer of a new general-purpose database powering an AI-native data intelligence system. The team operates a high-autonomy skunkworks project across multiple cloud providers, with a focus on scalable ingestion, query planning, and storage formats.

You will own parts of the database, shape a multi-tenant architecture, and develop APIs for AI agents and internal tools.

Qualifications

• Senior-level experience designing and building database internals such as query planning, distributed execution, ingestion pipelines, or storage formats.
• Experience building cloud-native systems that span multiple providers and separate compute from storage.
• Ability to write production-quality code in languages common to database or systems engineering work.
• Strong collaboration across product, infrastructure, and research teams and open-source values.

Responsibilities

• Own one or more parts of the database and design/operate ingestion, query planning, distributed execution, data formats, and storage formats.
• Define and ship architecture for a multi-tenant database service including isolation, quotas, audit logs, and background jobs.
• Build APIs and interfaces for AI agents, developer tools, and internal applications to retrieve context quickly.
• Collaborate with product and infra teams to balance rapid experimentation with reliability as the system moves to production.
• Operate the system with observability tooling and on-call readiness.
• Make pragmatic architectural decisions as the platform evolves from prototype to managed service.

Skills

Database internals

Cloud-native

Cross-team collaboration

Production-grade code

Job description

Role overview

Build the storage layer for a new general-purpose database powering an AI-native data intelligence system that gives agents and applications reliable, governed access to enterprise context. The role sits on an early-stage, high-autonomy skunkworks team shaping a platform with both analytical query and freshly-ingested data capabilities across multiple cloud providers.

Responsibilities

• Own one or more parts of the database, designing and operating ingestion, query planning, distributed query execution, data formats, and storage formats
• Help define and ship the architecture for a multi-tenant database service, including tenant isolation, usage tracking, quotas, audit logs, background jobs, and reliable service boundaries
• Build APIs and database interfaces that let AI agents, developer tools, and internal applications retrieve context quickly
• Partner with product and infrastructure teammates to balance rapid experimentation against long-term reliability as the system moves from prototype to production
• Operate what is built, instrumenting systems for observability and on-call readiness
• Make pragmatic architectural decisions in a setting that evolves from internal use to production-grade managed service

Requirements

• Senior-level background designing and building database internals, such as query planning, distributed execution, ingestion pipelines, or storage formats
• Comfort working through ambiguity and making pragmatic tradeoffs in an early-stage, high-autonomy environment
• Experience building cloud-native systems that embrace separation of compute and storage and run across multiple providers
• Ability to write production-quality code in languages common to database or systems engineering work
• Strong collaboration skills for partnering across product, infrastructure, and research functions
• Open-source values and a learning mindset around how AI agents and humans consume data

Benefits and work setup

• Fully remote role open to applicants in Canada
• Global remote culture with in-person onboarding to learn the work and the team
• 30 days of annual leave, with three reserved for organization-wide shutdown days to encourage real disconnection
• Restricted Stock Units tying employees to long-term outcomes
• Transparent communication, high-autonomy team structure, and defined career growth pathways
• Equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity and inclusion