Staff Software Engineer - Flink SQL

Confluent; Phoenix (AZ); Remote; USD 230,000 - 272,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading data streaming platform is seeking an innovative Staff Engineer to enhance Flink SQL components. You will work on distributed systems, ensuring code quality and contributing to open-source Apache Flink, while mentoring junior developers. The ideal candidate has over 10 years of software development experience and deep technical knowledge. This remote position offers competitive compensation and benefits.

Benefits

Equity Options

Competitive Pay

Employee Benefits

Qualifications

• 10+ years of relevant software development experience.
• Deep knowledge of database internals, especially around query planning and optimization.
• Strong problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.

Responsibilities

• Work on Flink SQL components for efficient experiences.
• Ensure code quality, test coverage, and documentation.
• Design and curate components.
• Contribute to Open Source Apache Flink.
• Write blogs and give talks to strengthen Confluent's position.
• Participate in team processes and on-call rotations.
• Mentor less experienced engineers.

Skills

Software Development

Query Planning

Problem Solving

Communication

Distributed Systems

Job description

Location: Remote, United States

Employment Type: FullTime

Location Type: Remote

Department: Engineering

Compensation: $230.8K – $271.2K • Offers Equity

At Confluent, we are committed to providing competitive pay and benefits that are in line with industry standards. We analyze and carefully consider several factors when determining compensation, including work history, education, professional experience, and location. The actual pay may vary depending on your skills, qualifications, experience, and work location. In addition, Confluent offers a wide range of employee benefits. To learn more about our benefits click https://confluentbenefits.com/ .

Overview

We’re not just building better tech. We’re rewriting how data moves and what the world can do with it. With Confluent, data doesn’t sit still. Our platform puts information in motion, streaming in near real‑time so companies can react faster, build smarter, and deliver experiences as dynamic as the world around them.

It takes a certain kind of person to join this team. Those who ask hard questions, give honest feedback, and show up for each other. No egos, no solo acts. Just smart, curious humans pushing toward something bigger, together.

One Confluent. One Team. One Data Streaming Platform.

About the Role:

Confluent is seeking an innovative and executing Staff Engineer to help make stream processing feel like using a database with SQL. In this role, you will be instrumental in developing the core building blocks that will allow users a true just‑in‑time, consumption based experience, making it the most efficient and fast cloud native Apache Flink experience on the market. You will be working in a team with other known Flink experts iterating on an already existing implementation based on actual usage data and product requirements. With the team you will also be working on relevant components of open source Apache Flink that will benefit both the Open Source community as well as Confluent.

What You Will Do:

• Work on the next iterations of Flink SQL components such as logical query planner, parser, optimizer and SQL runtime on Confluent Cloud to deliver an efficient and unified experience for batch and streaming workloads.
• Following a holistic development approach you will be responsible for the code quality, test coverage, documentation and maintainability of the components you and your team work on.
• Designing Components: You will not only implement aspects of Flink SQL but also draft designs, discuss them and curate and moderate a decision with involved stakeholders.
• Open Source contribution: As part of the Flink SQL team you will contribute to relevant changes and features to Open Source Apache Flink and help the community to maintain a high quality project by participating in relevant mailing list discussions, reviewing PRs affecting deployment and coordination components.
• Open Source visibility: You will also write blog posts and give talks at meetups and conferences to strengthen the position of Confluent Cloud as industry experts for stream processing and Apache Flink in particular.
• Team: As part of the team you will help to follow and maintain processes, by being an active part of the team, leading meetings and taking initiatives where feasible and participating in on‑call rotations.
• Mentoring: You will mentor other engineers with less experience in Apache Flink to get started in the community and more junior developers to get into the area of serverless Apache Flink.

What You Will Bring:

• 10+ years of relevant software development experience.
• Technical Expertise: Deep knowledge of database internals, especially around query planning and optimization. Extensive experience in software development, including hands‑on experience in designing and development of complex distributed systems.
• Problem Solving: Strong problem‑solving skills, capable of translating complex requirements into effective solutions.
• Communication: Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to collaborate across teams.
• Industry Engagement: Active involvement in stream processing communities, conferences, and a strong network within the industry.

Ready to build what's next? Let’s get in motion.

Come As You Are

Belonging isn’t a perk here. It’s the baseline. We work across time zones and backgrounds, knowing the best ideas come from different perspectives. And we make space for everyone to lead, grow, and challenge what’s possible.

We’re proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Employment decisions are based on job‑related criteria, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other classification protected by law.