Staff Software Engineer - Database Engineering

Snowflake; Bellevue (WA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 288,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

401(k) plan

Flexible spending & Health Savings

Paid holidays

Paid time off

Parental leave

Employee assistance program

Job summary

Snowflake is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to join our Database Engineering team, focusing on a high-performance, petabyte-scale data processing system.

You will mentor junior engineers, design new service architectures for the Snowflake Data Cloud, and own end-to-end delivery from design through production, leveraging strong C/C++ or Java and deep CS fundamentals.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of industry experience in commercial or open-source software.
• Strong fluency in C/C++ and/or Java and systems programming.
• Deep CS fundamentals: data structures, algorithms, distributed systems.
• Experience with multi-threading and concurrency; Linux development environment.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement novel query optimization or distributed data processing algorithms.
• Develop a petabyte-scale cloud database system that is highly parallel and fault-tolerant.
• Build and support new service architectures for the Snowflake Data Cloud.
• Identify and resolve performance and scalability bottlenecks.
• Own end-to-end delivery from design to production rollout; ensure reliability.

Skills

Years of experience

C/C++ or Java

CS fundamentals

Multithreading

Distributed systems

Linux debugging

Education

Bachelor's in CS/SE or related

Job description

At Snowflake, we are powering the era of the agentic enterprise. To usher in this new era, we seek AI-native thinkers across every function who are energized by the opportunity to reinvent how they work. You don't just use tools; you possess an innate curiosity, treating AI as a high-trust collaborator that is core to how you solve problems and accelerate your impact. We look for low-ego individuals who thrive in dynamic and fast-moving environments and move with an experimental mindset - who rapidly test emerging capabilities to discover simpler, more powerful ways to deliver results. At Snowflake, your role isn't just to execute a function, but to help redefine the future of how work gets done.

Snowflake is a high-growth, cloud-native data platform company committed to empowering enterprises to achieve their full potential. With a culture built on impact, innovation, and collaboration, we offer an environment where you can build large-scale systems, move fast, and take your technology career to the next level.

We are seeking a highly talented and experienced Software Engineer to join our Database Engineering team. In this role, you will be a key contributor to the evolution of our core product: an elastic, large-scale, high-performance data processing system. We are looking for smart, enthusiastic engineers who can quickly master complex technical areas and are passionate about building new, industry-leading technologies.

AS A STAFF SOFTWARE ENGINEER AT SNOWFLAKE, YOU WILL:

• Design and implement novel query optimization or distributed data processing algorithms to maintain Snowflake's industry-leading data warehousing capabilities.
• Design, develop, and support a petabyte-scale cloud database system, ensuring it is highly parallel and fault-tolerant.
• Develop and implement the new service architecture required to enable the next generation of the Snowflake Data Cloud.
• Analyze, understand, and resolve complex performance and scalability bottlenecks within the system.
• Own the end-to-end delivery of your projects, including identifying solutions, design, implementation, rigorous testing, and safe production rollout.
• Ensure operational readiness and execute production operations of services, meeting our customer commitments for durability, availability, and performance.
• Build high-quality, highly reliable software that meets the demands of the world's largest companies.
• Develop tools to provide customers with greater insight into their workloads.
• Evangelize best practices for database usage and end-to-end system architecture.
• Mentor and support the professional growth of junior engineers on the team.

OUR IDEAL STAFF SOFTWARE ENGINEER WILL HAVE:

• 6+ years of industry experience working on commercial or open-source software.
• Strong fluency in C/C++ and/or Java
• Excellent problem-solving skills and a deep understanding of Computer Science fundamentals, including data structures, algorithms, and distributed systems.
• Strong systems programming skills, including experience with multi-threading and concurrency.
• A solid foundation in distributed systems concepts (e.g., consistency, scaling, failure recovery).
• Experience with implementation testing, debugging, and documentation , specifically within a Linux development environment.
• Bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field.

BONUS POINTS FOR EXPERIENCE WITH THE FOLLOWING:

• Working experience in database internal design and implementation, systems programming and large scale distributed systems design and implementation
• Experience with working on design, implementation and production-izing distributed key value stores like FoundationDB across multiple clouds.

Snowflake is growing fast, and we're scaling our team to help enable and accelerate our growth. We are looking for people who share our values, challenge ordinary thinking, and push the pace of innovation while building a future for themselves and Snowflake.

How do you want to make your impact?

For jobs located in the United States, please visit the job posting on the Snowflake Careers Site for salary and benefits information: careers.snowflake.com

The following represents the expected range of compensation for this role:

• The estimated base salary range for this role is $200,000 - $287,500.
• Additionally, this role is eligible to participate in Snowflake's bonus and equity plan.

The successful candidate's starting salary will be determined based on permissible, non-discriminatory factors such as skills, experience, and geographic location. This role is also eligible for a competitive benefits package that includes: medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance; 401(k) retirement plan; flexible spending & health savings account; at least 12 paid holidays; paid time off; parental leave; employee assistance program; and other company benefits.

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