Sr. Principal Engineer - FoundationDB

Apple; Cupertino (CA); Vor Ort; USD 260.000 - 360.000; Vollzeit

Zusammenfassung

Apple is seeking a Principal Engineer to define architectural direction for FoundationDB, guiding the hardest distributed database problems and shaping the team's growth. You will mentor engineers, lead strategic initiatives, and collaborate with leadership to align technical work with business priorities.

This is a high-impact role at Apple in Cupertino, focused on scale and reliability across core services.

Qualifikationen

• 15+ years of experience in scalable distributed systems.
• Hands-on experience with planet-scale databases (Spanner, DynamoDB, CockroachDB).
• Ability to define and communicate long-term technical strategy.
• Strong cross-functional partnership with platform, infra, and product teams.
• Bachelor’s degree in CS/Engineering or equivalent.

Aufgaben

• Define and drive long-term technical vision and architecture for FoundationDB at scale.
• Provide deep technical guidance on the most complex, high-impact challenges.
• Partner with engineering leadership to align direction with business priorities.
• Mentor engineers and shape the technical hiring bar.
• Lead redesign of the transaction layer and scalability architecture.
• Guide new initiatives like CDC pipeline and tiered storage.

Kenntnisse

Architectural vision

Cross-functional collaboration

Technical leadership

Strategic planning

Effective communication

Ausbildung

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering or equivalent

Tools

Spanner

DynamoDB

CockroachDB

Jobbeschreibung

Summary

Apple is home to some of the most complex and consequential infrastructure in the world. At the center of iCloud's platform is FoundationDB, a planet-scale database system powering tens of billions of databases and some of Apple's most critical services.We are looking for a Principal Engineer to join this team and serve as its technical north star: defining architectural direction, shaping the hardest problems in distributed databases, and helping grow the team that brings that vision to life.

Description

FoundationDB is the metadata layer behind iCloud Storage, operating at a scale that puts it in rare company globally. And because this technology is open source, the architectural decisions made here don't stay inside Apple, they ripple across the broader technology ecosystem, powering some of the most technically demanding systems in the world.This is a pivotal moment for the team. We are in an active growth phase and looking for a Principal Engineer who will serve as the technical north star through that expansion. The hardest and most interesting problems in distributed databases are ahead of us, and you will define how we approach them.You won't just be close to these problems. You will shape the technical vision and approach for solving them, influence the engineers tackling them day to day, and help grow the team that turns that vision into reality.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and drive the long-term technical vision and architectural direction for FoundationDB, setting the bar for engineering excellence across trade-offs, problem-solving approaches, and architectural integrity at scale.
• Provide deep technical guidance on the most complex, highest-impact challenges the team faces, proactively surfacing risks, gaps, and scalability constraints before they become critical.
• Partner closely with engineering leadership and cross-functional teams to align technical direction with business and platform priorities.
• Elevate the broader organization through thought leadership and mentorship, while playing an active role in defining the technical hiring bar and developing the next generation of engineers.
• Lead the rethinking of the transaction layer and scalability architecture from first principles, pressure-testing every assumption the current system makes.
• Guide team in future initiatives pertaining to building the next-generation CDC pipeline, log storage, and build tiered storage.

Minimum Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience designing, implementing, and operating highly scalable distributed systems.
• Deep expertise in planet-scale database systems, with hands-on experience in systems such as Spanner, DynamoDB, CockroachDB, or comparable technology.
• Proven ability to define and communicate long-term technical strategy across large, complex engineering organizations.
• Strong cross-functional partnership skills, with experience working closely with platform, infrastructure, and product engineering teams.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills -- able to articulate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• A strong sense of ownership and a track record of driving outcomes in ambiguous, high-stakes environments.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with modern data storage systems.
• Knowledge of security & privacy.