Principal Software Engineer

About the role

We are seeking a highly experienced Principal Software Engineer to serve as a technical authority for critical systems and platform architecture. This role will define and evolve the long-term technical direction of a high-performance, low-latency distributed database and its underlying systems, balancing near-term product delivery with long-term goals around scalability, reliability, performance, and operational efficiency.

What you'll do

• Define and drive the long-term architecture and technical direction of core systems, particularly across networking, storage, low-level I/O, and hardware interaction
• Act as a technical authority and escalation point for complex, high-impact systems, scalability, reliability, and performance challenges
• Lead cross-functional and cross-team technical initiatives spanning multiple subsystems and engineering groups
• Establish architectural principles, performance standards, engineering practices, and design guidelines across the organization
• Translate customer and business requirements into durable technical strategies and influence product and engineering roadmaps

What you need

• C++
• Machine learning
• Linux
• C
• Root cause analysis
• Customer success

Good to have

• Test automation