Staff Engineer Distributed Storage and Transaction

Description

Yugabyte is the company behind YugabyteDB , the AI-ready, multi-modal, distributed PostgreSQL database for cloud-native apps. Trusted by industry leaders including Shopify, Paramount+, GM, Kroger, Fiserv, and NPCI, YugabyteDB has been deployed in over 100 countries and powers more than 5 million clusters worldwide.

Together, our hard-working team of experts and our industry-leading technology are uniquely positioned to meet the demands of modern workloads: geo-distributed, ultra-resilient, and built to scale without limits.

Our Yugabeings (distributed, like our database) span 12+ countries and multiple time zones, sharing expertise from diverse backgrounds and industries.

Staff Engineer – Distributed Storage & Transactions (DST)

Role Overview

As a Staff Engineer on the Distributed Storage & Transactions (DST) team , you will play a critical role in designing, building, and scaling the core distributed storage, replication, and transaction foundations of YugabyteDB.

You will work on some of the most challenging problems in distributed systems — including consistency, durability, fault tolerance, performance, and scalability — while collaborating closely with query layer, platform, and cloud teams. This role is ideal for engineers who thrive in low-level systems work and want to shape the future of a globally distributed database.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, testing, and delivery of core storage and replication features in YugabyteDB.
• Write high-quality C/C++ code with comprehensive automated tests; actively participate in design discussions and code reviews.
• Troubleshoot and resolve correctness, stability, and performance issues in complex distributed storage and transactional subsystems.
• Improve database scalability and throughput as cluster sizes, data volumes, and transaction rates continue to grow.
• Build and streamline database management operations , including:
• Horizontal cluster scale-out
• Incremental and point-in-time backups
• Online schema and index operations
• Rolling upgrades and blue-green deployments
• Identify and implement performance improvements across the storage engine, transaction processing, and replication layers.
• Contribute to the open-source YugabyteDB project , helping evolve its storage architecture and operational reliability.
• Mentor and technically influence other engineers in distributed systems design, performance engineering, and systems-level debugging.
• Required Qualifications
• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience , with a strong foundation in systems programming using C/C++ .
• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Computer Science (or related field), or equivalent practical experience.
• Deep understanding of distributed systems fundamentals , including:
• Replication and consensus
• Transactions and consistency models
• Fault tolerance and recovery
• Experience working on storage engines, databases, or other infrastructure-level systems .
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to operate effectively in a collaborative, distributed team environment
• Preferred Skills
• Hands-on experience with distributed storage systems , transactional engines, or consensus protocols.
• Familiarity with LSM-tree based storage engines , WALs, snapshots, or compaction strategies.
• Experience with PostgreSQL internals or other relational database engines is a strong plus.
• Prior contributions to open-source systems or database projects .
• We work in a hybrid model, with the team together in our Sunnyvale office 2–3 days per week.
• We feel strongly about equal pay for equal work, and transparency in compensation is one way to help achieve that. The cash compensation for this role is market competitive, with a range of USD 150,000 - USD 250,000, inclusive of variable/incentive for some roles. As well as equity (when applicable), and benefits including health plans, retirement plans, and unlimited paid time off (PTO). The pay range for this position is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. The actual pay will vary based on factors including experience, qualifications, and skill level.