Software Engineer, Database System

Software Engineer, Database System (All Levels)

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At Celer Data, we empower organizations to unlock the full potential of their data with our next-generation, cloud-native, high-performance analytical database built for modern lakehouse architecture. Challenging the status quo set by products like Snowflake, Click House, and Trino, we’re driving the future of data analytics by delivering unparalleled query performance and a streamlined architecture for enterprises worldwide. Join us to help customers transform their data into actionable insights and achieve exceptional technical success.

Job Overview

We are expanding our engineering team and hiring Software Engineers across multiple levels (Junior, Mid, Senior). You’ll contribute to Star Rocks, our high-performance SQL engine for composable lake houses, alongside experienced engineers and open-source contributors. If you love systems programming, care about performance while taking on real impact, we’d love to talk.

What You’ll Do

• Implement features and fixes in Star Rocks under guidance, from design review to production rollout.
• Write robust, maintainable code and unit/integration tests for performance-critical paths.
• Profile and debug issues related to concurrency, memory, IO, and query execution.
• Participate in code reviews, pairing, and design discussions to level up quickly.
• Collaborate with our open-source community: reproduce issues, review small PRs, and improve docs.
• Learn (and apply) fundamentals of fault tolerance, high availability, and scalability in distributed systems.

For Junior Candidates:

What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field or equivalent practical experience.
• Solid CS fundamentals: data structures, algorithms, operating systems, networking basics, and databases/SQL concepts.
• Proficiency in C++ (required); proficiency in Java is a plus.
• Comfort with Linux, Git, and writing tests; ability to read technical docs and RFCs.
• Curiosity, ownership, and a growth mindset - comfortable asking questions and iterating on feedback.

Nice to Have (Not Required)

• Exposure to distributed systems concepts (consensus, replication, transactions).
• Familiarity with Star Rocks or similar tech:
  Apache Iceberg, Parquet, Spark, Trino, Click House, or vectorized execution.
• Experience with performance tools (e.g., perf, gdb, flame graphs) or observability (logs/metrics/tracing).
• Contributions to any open-source project (even small PRs/issues) or systems-level class projects.
• Scripting experience (Python/Go/Bash) for tooling and automation.

How We Support Your Growth

• Mentorship from senior engineers and regular 1:1s.
• Clear learning path and meaningful starter projects.
• Code reviews focused on teaching, not just gating.
• Opportunities to engage with and contribute to open source.

For Senior Candidates:

What You’ll Bring

• At least 3 years of professional experience in developing commercial or open-source software applications.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related fields is required (Master’s preferred).
• Advanced proficiency in C++ and Java, with a proven track record in designing and implementing complex functionalities in performance-critical environments.
• Experience with large-scale distributed systems, including transaction management and consistency models.
• Evidence of active participation in open-source projects or a deep understanding of technologies such as Star Rocks, Apache Iceberg, Parquet, Spark, Trino, or similar big data solutions.

📍 This position is hybrid in Menlo Park, CA.