Staff Software Engineer, Unified Data Store

Airbnb; United States; Remote; USD 190,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Airbnb’s Unified Data Store team is seeking a Staff Engineer to define the technical strategy for the UDS client stack and architect a scalable data access layer. You will lead design reviews, mentor engineers, and partner with global teams to deliver high-impact infrastructure that powers products and transactions.

The role emphasizes hands-on leadership in distributed systems, performance, and reliability, with a Brazil Engineering Hub focus and collaboration across product teams.

Qualifications

• 9+ years of relevant industry experience at senior or staff level.
• Deep expertise in large-scale distributed systems, storage internals, networking, and consistency models.
• Proven ability to lead complex technical initiatives and mentor senior talent.
• Passion for building high-performance infrastructure services that scale and provide strong developer experience.

Responsibilities

• Define the multi-year technical strategy for the UDS client stack and align with product teams.
• Architect and operate high-performance data access layers with scalable consistency models.
• Lead design reviews and establish best practices for fault-tolerant distributed systems.
• Bridge infrastructure and product teams to simplify engineering interactions with data systems.
• Collaborate globally with UDS and Data Infrastructure teams to drive adoption and impact.

Skills

Distributed systems

Technical leadership

Platform mindset

Communication

Innovation

9+ years

Job description

The Community You Will Join:

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

The Unified Data Store (UDS) team is the architect of Airbnb’s global system-of-record. We design, build, and operate the mission-critical storage platform that powers every user profile, listing, reservation, and financial transaction on the platform. Supporting over 150 million users worldwide, our work is the bedrock of Airbnb’s reliability and efficiency.

As a Staff Engineer in our Brazil Engineering Hub , you will join a high-impact group of technical leaders who value craft and operational excellence. You won’t just be managing data; you will be building a modern distributed infrastructure service that enables hundreds of product teams to ship features with total confidence.

The Difference You Will Make:

We are looking for a hands-on technical leader who thrives on solving deep architectural challenges and leading through ambiguity. As a Staff Engineer, you will serve as the Technical North Star for the UDS Client Stack, ensuring our data access layer is seamless, high-performance, and future-proof.

A Typical Day:

• Define Technical Strategy: Lead the multi-year roadmap and long-term architecture for the UDS client stack, balancing immediate execution with systemic platform evolution.
• Architect for Scale: Design and operate a high-performance data access layer that abstracts complexities like indexing, replication, and global consistency models.
• Drive Engineering Excellence: Lead deep-dive design reviews and establish best practices for building fault-tolerant distributed systems across the organization.
• Empower Developers: Act as a bridge between infrastructure and product, creating a unified interface that simplifies how engineers interact with complex data systems.
• Collaborate Globally: Partner with UDS and Data Infrastructure teams globally to align architecture, drive adoption, and deliver high-impact solutions.

Your Expertise:

• Experience: 9+ years of relevant industry experience, with a proven track record of operating at a Senior or Staff level in a high-growth environment.
• Distributed Systems Mastery: Deep expertise in large-scale distributed systems, including storage internals, networking, and consistency models.
• Technical Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead complex technical initiatives, influence architectural decisions across multiple teams, and mentor senior talent.
• Platform Mindset: A passion for building high-performance infrastructure services that prioritize developer experience and system reliability at scale.
• Communication: Exceptional ability to articulate complex infrastructure challenges to both technical partners and internal customers.
• Innovation: A strong interest in leveraging emerging technologies, including Applied AI, to optimize data management and system observability.

Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging:

Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions.