Staff Engineer - Distributed SQL Engine & Performance

Yugabyte

Sunnyvale (CA)

Hybrid

USD 150,000 - 250,000

Full time

14 days+

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Job summary

Yugabyte is a company behind YugabyteDB, a distributed PostgreSQL database designed for cloud-native applications. The Staff Engineer – Languages & Relational Technologies (LRT) will design, build, and scale core database features for YugabyteDB's SQL layer, collaborating across teams to solve complex distributed planning and execution challenges.

The role emphasizes high-quality C/C++ development, performance optimization, and mentoring within a hybrid Sunnyvale office setup.

Qualifications

8+ years of professional software engineering experience.
Strong background in compiled languages such as C/C++.
BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

Lead the design, development, testing, and release of new database features.
Write high-quality C/C++ code with automated tests and participate in code reviews.
Identify and implement performance improvements including plan optimization and push-downs to data nodes.
Improve database scalability and throughput as cluster sizes grow.
Contribute to YugabyteDB open source project and distributed SQL capabilities.
Troubleshoot correctness, stability, and performance issues in distributed query planning.
Mentor engineers on database internals and performance-oriented development.