Senior Software Engineer, Database

Ditto; United States; Remote; USD 186,000 - 331,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Equity and meaningful stock options

Remote-friendly with regional offices

Job summary

Ditto, a remote-first edge database company, is hiring a Senior Software Engineer — Embedded Database to design storage backends and CRDT-aware transactions for resource-constrained devices. You will work on storage engines (SQLite, RocksDB) and ensure ACID guarantees while supporting edge sync across platforms.

The role involves collaboration with multiple teams, RFCs, and architecture documentation. We seek 5+ years in software engineering, strong Rust or C/C++, and experience with embedded DB

Qualifications

• 5+ years of software engineering experience, 2+ in a senior role
• Proficiency in Rust or strong C/C++ with willingness to learn Rust
• Experience with embedded database systems or storage engine internals
• Understanding of transaction isolation, concurrency control, and ACID guarantees
• Familiarity with indexing strategies and query engine concepts
• Willingness to travel internationally quarterly and communicate async in a distributed team
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in CS/Engineering
• Familiarity with CRDTs or distributed data structures (nice to have)
• Experience with SQLite VFS or extensions (nice to have)
• Experience with RocksDB, LMDB in-depth (nice to have)
• Background in embedded/mobile cross-platform development (nice to have)
• Experience with monitoring tools (Prometheus/Grafana) (nice to have)

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain storage backend abstraction and transaction management
• Implement and optimize storage backends (SQLite, RocksDB, in-memory)
• Ensure CRDT document operations are correct and performant
• Own reliability and performance of the storage layer
• Design and maintain blob storage for large values
• Collaborate with product managers and engineers on future tech
• Coordinate with Query Engine and Data Sync teams to optimize edge storage
• Author RFCs and architecture documents
• Estimate delivery timelines and communicate status
• Model and promote Ditto’s culture of Trust and Continual Improvement

Skills

Rust/C++ proficiency

Embedded DB systems

CRDTs understanding

Concurrency control

ACID guarantees

Transaction isolation

Technical communication

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor’s degree or higher in CS/Engineering

Tools

SQLite

RocksDB

LMDB

LevelDB

Job description

About Ditto:

Ditto is redefining how data moves at the edge. Our mission is to make it seamless for developers to build resilient, real-time applications, regardless of network conditions. Whether you’re in a stadium, airplane, or remote military base, Ditto’s peer-to-peer sync engine ensures devices stay connected and data stays consistent, even without internet. With more than $145 million in funding and trusted by organizations like Chick-fil-A, Delta Airlines, and the U.S. military, Ditto powers mission-critical experiences across aviation, retail, travel, hospitality, defense, and more. As a globally distributed, fast-growing startup, we’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive team that reflects the wide range of perspectives needed to solve the world’s hardest connectivity problems.

About the position:

The Query Engine and Store team owns the storage and transaction layer at the heart of Ditto’s edge database. This role works with the Ditto Query Language (DQL) and the raw storage engines that underpin our embedded database. You’ll be responsible for backend abstraction, transaction management, concurrency control, CRDT-aware document storage, and blob storage — all designed to run reliably on constrained edge devices like phones, IoT hardware, and ruggedized military systems.

This is a uniquely challenging domain: unlike a traditional cloud database, every design decision must account for memory, unreliable storage media, and the need to natively handle Conflict-Free Replicated Data Types (CRDTs) as part of the transaction layer. The storage layer is the foundation that the query engine, sync system, and SDKs all build upon.

As a Senior Software Engineer — Embedded Database, you will:

• Design and maintain the storage backend abstraction layer and transaction management system that underpins Ditto’s embedded database.

• Implement and optimize storage backends (e.g. SQLite, in-memory, RocksDB and other engines), including connection pooling, write serialization, and concurrency control for resource-constrained devices.

• Ensure CRDT document operations — merging, tombstone management, version tracking — are correct and performant at the storage layer.

• Own the reliability and performance of the storage layer, identifying and resolving performance bottlenecks.

• Design and maintain blob storage systems for large value handling across platforms.

• Work with product managers and other engineers to help design the future of the technology.

• Collaborate closely with our Query Engine team and the Data Sync team to optimize our embedded database for edge sync operations

• Author RFCs, design and document system architecture, and collaborate with other teams within Ditto.

• Estimate the delivery timeline for projects and communicate with management and the broader team regarding project execution.

• Set team culture by example, expanding Ditto’s culture of Trust, Communication, and Continual Improvement.

What you’ll need:

• 5+ years of experience in software engineering, 2 or more in a Senior role or above, with a focus on database internals, storage engines, or low-level systems programming.

• Strong proficiency in Rust or excellent C/C++ skills with a willingness to learn Rust.

• Experience with embedded database systems (SQLite, RocksDB, LevelDB, LMDB, or similar) or storage engine internals.

• Understanding of transaction isolation, concurrency control, and ACID guarantees.

• Experience with indexing strategies (B-tree, LSM tree, etc.) and general familiarity with query engine concepts.

• A willingness to travel (including internationally) once a quarter for team get-togethers and design sessions.

• Strong communication skills, with an emphasis on written communication skills in particular. As a fully distributed team, async communication is the default and the development process often includes written architecture and design documents.

Nice to Haves:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science or Engineering.

• Familiarity with Conflict-Free Replicated Data Types (CRDTs) or other distributed/replicated data structures.

• Experience writing custom SQLite VFS or extensions.

• Experience with RocksDB, LMDB, or similar key-value storage engines at a deep level.

• Background in embedded systems or mobile/cross-platform development for resource-constrained environments.

• Experience with property-based testing, fault injection, or other state-space exploration techniques.

• Experience with monitoring tools such as Prometheus or Grafana.

The Benefits of Building with Us

We offer competitive salaries and meaningful equity. We believe everyone on the team should have a stake in what we’re building. Benefits vary by region to make sure you’re covered in the ways that matter most. In the US, that includes health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance, plus a 401(k) and flexible spending accounts.

Regardless of where you live, everyone at Ditto can utilize flexible time off. And while we work remotely, our Atlanta and San Francisco offices are open if you ever want a place to work or meet up with teammates.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Ditto is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or any employment decision based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. Ditto is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please let us know.

Compensation

$186K – $331K

Pay Transparency at Ditto

Ditto uses a location-based compensation model. This means pay ranges for the same role may vary depending on where you live, based on cost of living and market data.The ranges you see on our job postings represent the full span of target compensation across all markets where we hire. Within that range, actual offers are determined by a candidate’s skills and experience. This ensures we remain competitive with local markets while also maintaining internal consistency and fairness in real spending power across locations.