Senior Software Engineer — Backend (Files Team)

Xapply; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 166,000 - 225,000; Full time

Job summary

Databricks is seeking a Senior Software Engineer for the Files team to innovate at the intersection of storage, performance, and distributed systems. You will shape our filesystem strategy to support next-generation agentic workloads across thousands of data, AI, and agentic tasks.

You will design, build, and operate scalable filesystem platforms, optimize performance from API to kernel, and collaborate with platform teams to define future compute/storage architectures.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree (or higher) in Computer Science or a related field.
• 5+ years of production-level experience in Java, Scala, C++, Go, Rust, or a similar language.
• 3+ years of experience developing large-scale distributed systems.
• Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, or MicroVM technologies and cloud provider internals (AWS/Azure/GCP).
• Experience with filesystems and FUSE.
• Experience building object/blob storage (S3, Azure Blob Storage, GCS).
• Systems performance engineering across microservices, down to the Linux level.
• Background in high-scale content, storage, or file-sync products.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate the filesystem platform powering tens of thousands of data, AI and agentic workloads daily.
• Push filesystem performance for the most demanding workloads — profiling and optimizing across the stack, from the API layer down to the Linux kernel.
• Partner with teams across the platform to design and evolve next-generation compute and storage architectures.
• Set the technical direction for how content is organized across Databricks, standardizing around filesystem primitives that apply to every product surface.

Skills

Java

Scala

C++

Go

Rust

Distributed systems

Filesystems

Performance engineering

Storage

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Kubernetes

Docker

Firecracker

Job description

Description:

P-78

At Databricks, we are passionate about enabling data teams to solve the world's toughest problems — from making the next mode of transportation a reality to accelerating the development of medical breakthroughs. We do this by building and running the world's best Data Intelligence Platform so our customers can use deep data insights to improve their business. Founded by engineers — and customer obsessed — we leap at every opportunity to tackle technical challenges, from designing next-gen UI/UX for interfacing with data to scaling our services and infrastructure across millions of virtual machines. And we're only getting started.

The filesystem has emerged as the preferred runtime interface for agentic AI. AI agents use the filesystem for context, memory management, artifact (dashboard, code etc) authoring, version control, sandboxing, and interacting between systems and agents. It is the foundational layer to accelerate AI adoption

As a Senior Software Engineer on the Files team, you will innovate at the intersection of storage, performance, and distributed systems, directly shaping our filesystem strategy to power next-generation agentic workloads.

The Impact You’ll Have

• Design, build, and operate the the filesystem platform powering tens of thousands of data, AI and agentic workloads daily
• Push filesystem performance for the most demanding workloads — profiling and optimizing across the stack, from the API layer down to the Linux kernel
• Partner with teams across the platform to design and evolve next-generation compute and storage architectures
• Set the technical direction for how content is organized across Databricks, standardizing around filesystem primitives that apply to every product surface

What We’re Looking For

• Bachelor's degree (or higher) in Computer Science or a related field
• 5+ years of production-level experience in Java, Scala, C++, Go, Rust, or a similar language
• 3+ years of experience developing large-scale distributed systems
• Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, or MicroVM technologies (e.g., Firecracker) and a strong grasp of cloud provider internals (AWS/Azure/GCP).
• You aren't just a user of tools; you understand how to build them from the ground up when existing solutions fail at our scale.
• Experience with filesystems and FUSE
• Experience building object/blob storage (S3, Azure Blob Storage, GCS etc)
• Systems performance engineering across microservices, down to the Linux level
• Background in high-scale content, storage, or file-sync products

Pay Range Transparency

Databricks is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The pay range(s) for this role is listed below and represents the expected salary range for non-commissionable roles or on-target earnings for commissionable roles. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to job-related skills, depth of experience, relevant certifications and training, and specific work location. Based on the factors above, Databricks anticipates utilizing the full width of the range. The total compensation package for this position may also include eligibility for annual performance bonus, equity, and the benefits listed above. For more information regarding which range your location is in visit our page here.

Local Pay Range

$166,000 — $225,000 USD

About Databricks

Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 20,000 organizations worldwide — including adidas, AT&T, Bayer, Block, Mastercard, Rivian, Unilever, and 70% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data + AI Platform to build and scale data and AI apps, analytics and agents. Headquartered in San Francisco with 30+ offices around the globe, Databricks offers a unified platform that includes Genie, Lakebase, Agent Bricks, Lakeflow, Lakehouse, and Unity Catalog. To learn more, follow Databricks on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and Instagram. Benefits At Databricks, we strive to provide comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all of our employees. For specific details on the benefits offered in your region click here.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Databricks, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can excel. We take great care to ensure that our hiring practices are inclusive and meet equal employment opportunity standards. Individuals looking for employment at Databricks are considered without regard to age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other protected characteristics.

Compliance

If access to export-controlled technology or source code is required for performance of job duties, it is within Employer's discretion whether to apply for a U.S. government license for such positions, and Employer may decline to proceed with an applicant on this basis alone.