Staff / Principal Software Engineer – Cloud Platform & SaaS

SingleStore; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 215,000; Full time

Job summary

SingleStore, a leading cloud-native database company, seeks a Staff or Principal Software Engineer to drive architecture, reliability, and scale for the Helios managed cloud offering. You’ll lead multi-cloud SaaS control and data planes and guide high-density Kubernetes deployments across hyperscalers.

The role blends greenfield design with hands-on systems programming and 10–20% Tier-3 production escalations.

Qualifications

• 8–12+ years of professional software engineering experience designing, deploying, and operating distributed enterprise SaaS platforms at scale.
• Deep Kubernetes expertise: hands-on mastery of Kubernetes internals, CRDs, and custom controller development (client-go/controller-runtime).
• Strong proficiency in Go and Python with focus on concurrent programming, low-latency I/O, and distributed state management.

Responsibilities

• Architect distributed SaaS infrastructure: design, implement, and scale multi-tenant Kubernetes operators, custom controllers, and orchestration workflows for thousands of customer clusters globally.
• Write resilient systems code: develop performant, fault-tolerant backend services and control planes using Go and Python.
• Lead cloud networking design: own multi-region routing, VPC peering, DNS architectures, and service mesh performance across AWS, Azure, and GCP.
• Support AI platform capabilities: collaborate to build scalable compute, vector indexing pipelines, and ingestion infrastructure for real-time GenAI workloads on Helios.
• Handle production operations & tier-3 escalations: diagnose complex issues, serve as final escalation for deep infrastructure failures and performance bottlenecks.
• Ensure security & compliance by design: automated controls for SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS environments.
• Author ADRs and RFCs, mentor engineers, and align roadmaps with product and SRE teams.

Skills

Kubernetes

Go

Python

Distributed systems

Concurrency

Communication

System design

Tools

client-go/controller-runtime

Terraform

Pulumi

Crossplane

Job description

We are looking for a high-impact Staff or Principal Software Engineer to drive the architecture, reliability, and scaling of our managed cloud offering, SingleStore Helios. In this role, you will lead the evolution of our multi-cloud SaaS control and data planes, manage high-density Kubernetes deployments across major hyperscalers, and partner directly with our AI Platform initiatives.

As a senior technical leader, you will balance greenfield architecture with hands-on systems programming and operational resilience. You will also allocate approximately 10–20% of your bandwidth toward high-priority Tier-3 operational escalations, identifying root causes in production distributed systems to inform durable platform architecture.

Note: Final leveling (Staff vs. Principal) will be calibrated during the interview loop based on demonstrated depth of organizational influence, architectural scope, and system design experience.

What You’ll Do

• Architect Distributed SaaS Infrastructure: Design, implement, and scale multi-tenant Kubernetes operators, custom controllers, and orchestration workflows managing thousands of customer database clusters globally.
• Write Resilient Systems Code: Develop performant, fault-tolerant backend services and control planes using modern Go language & Python.
• Lead Cloud Networking Design: Own cross-cloud networking topology, ingress/egress controls, multi-region routing, VPC peering/PrivateLink topologies, DNS architectures, and service mesh performance (Envoy, Cilium, or Istio) across AWS, Azure, and GCP.
• Support AI Platform Capabilities: Collaborate across business units to build scalable compute, vector indexing pipelines, and ingestion infrastructure supporting real-time GenAI and vector workloads on Helios.
• Production Operations & Tier-3 Escalations: Dedicate 10–20% of your bandwidth to diagnosing complex production issues, acting as the final escalation point for deep infrastructure failures, performance bottlenecks, and kernel/networking anomalies.
• Security & Compliance by Design: Build infrastructure that upholds our strict enterprise compliance posture, maintaining automated controls for SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS environments.
• Technical Force Multiplier: Author clear RFCs/architectural design records (ADRs), mentor senior engineers, lead cross-functional reviews, and partner with Product and SRE teams to align roadmap priorities.

What We’re Looking For

• 8–12+ years of professional software engineering experience designing, deploying, and operating distributed enterprise SaaS platforms at scale.
• Deep Kubernetes Expertise: Hands-on mastery of Kubernetes internals, CRDs, custom controller development (client-go/controller-runtime), scheduling dynamics, and container networking/runtime internals.
• Strong OO / Systems Proficiency: Expert proficiency in Go and Python with an emphasis on concurrent programming, low-latency I/O, and distributed state management.
• Cloud Provider Networking: Deep operational literacy in cloud networking constructs (e.g., Transit Gateways, DirectConnect/ExpressRoute, Private Service Connect, CIDR subnetting, MTLS, and load balancing).
• AI Platform Awareness: Practical familiarity with the compute, caching, and storage dynamics needed for real-time AI/ML pipelines, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and vector embeddings.
• Diagnostic Acumen: Proven ability to debug complex, non-deterministic bugs in production across network layers, memory allocations, and distributed consensus.
• Communication & Collaboration: Outstanding written and oral communication skills, with a track record of driving cross-team alignment and influencing executive-level technical strategy.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience building managed database-as-a-service (DBaaS) or data-intensive streaming infrastructure.
• Active open-source contributions within the CNCF or cloud-native container ecosystem.
• Familiarity with Infrastructure-as-Code tooling (Terraform, Pulumi, Crossplane).

SingleStore delivers our cloud-native database with the speed and scale to power the world’s data-intensive applications. With a distributed SQL database that introduces simplicity to your data architecture by unifying transactions and analytics, SingleStore empowers digital leaders to deliver exceptional, real-time data experiences to their customers. SingleStore is venture-backed and headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Sunnyvale, Raleigh, Seattle, Boston, London, Lisbon, Bangalore, Dublin and Kyiv.

Consistent with our commitment to diversity & inclusion, we value individuals with the ability to work on diverse teams and with a diverse range of people.

SingleStore values individuals for their unique skills and experiences, and we’re proud to offer roles in a variety of locations across the United States. Salary is based on permissible, non-discriminatory factors such as skills, experience, and geographic location, and is just one part of our total compensation and benefits package. Certain roles are also eligible for additional rewards, including merit increases and annual bonuses.

For candidates residing in California, please see our California Recruitment Privacy Notice. For candidates residing in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland, please see our EEA, UK, and Swiss Recruitment Privacy Notice.

SingleStore’s total salary range for this role, if based in Boston, Chicago, New York, Austin, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Seattle, Washington, or Dallas is: $140,000 - $215,000 USD per year