Staff Software Engineer - Distributed Data Systems
- Pay
- $192,000 – $260,000 per year
- Location
- Mountain View, CA · On-site
- Job type
- Full-time
- Level
- Senior
- Experience
- 8+ years
- Education
- Bachelor's degree
- Listed
- 30 days ago
Skills & highlights for this role
- Java
- Scala
- C++
- distributed systems
- Apache Spark
Also useful
- Hadoop
- Delta Lake
- query optimization
P-186
At Databricks, we are obsessed with enabling data teams to solve the world's toughest problems, from security threat detection to cancer drug development. We do this by building and running the world's best data and AI infrastructure platform, so our customers can focus on the high value challenges that are central to their own missions.
Founded in 2013 by the original creators of Apache Spark™, Databricks has grown from a tiny corner office in Berkeley, California to a global organization with over 1000 employees. Thousands of organizations, from small to Fortune 100, trust Databricks with their mission-critical workloads, making us one of the fastest growing SaaS companies in the world.
Our engineering teams build highly technical products that fulfill real, important needs in the world. We constantly push the boundaries of data and AI technology, while simultaneously operating with the resilience, security and scale that is critical to making customers successful on our platform.
We develop and operate one of the largest scale software platforms. The fleet consists of millions of virtual machines, generating terabytes of logs and processing exabytes of data per day. At our scale, we regularly observe cloud hardware, network, and operating system faults, and our software must gracefully shield our customers from any of the above.
Modern data analysis employs sophisticated methods such as machine learning that go well beyond the roll-up and drill-down capabilities of traditional SQL query engines. As a software engineer on the Runtime team at Databricks, you will be building the next generation distributed data storage and processing systems that can outperform specialized SQL query engines in relational query performance, yet provide the expressiveness and programming abstractions to support diverse workloads ranging from ETL to data science.
Below are some example projects
Apache Spark™: Develop the de facto open source standard framework for big data.
Data Plane Storage: Deliver reliable and high performance services and client libraries for storing and accessing humongous amount of data on cloud storage backends, e.g., AWS S3, Azure Blob Store.
Delta Lake: A storage management system that combines the scale and cost-efficiency of data lakes, the performance and reliability of a data warehouse, and the low latency of streaming. Its higher level abstractions and guarantees, including ACID transactions and time travel, drastically simplify the complexity of real-world data engineering architecture.
Delta Pipelines: It's difficult to manage even a single data engineering pipeline. The goal of the Delta Pipelines project is to make it simple and possible to orchestrate and operate tens of thousands of data pipelines. It provides a higher level abstraction for expressing data pipelines and enables customers to deploy, test & upgrade pipelines and eliminate operational burdens for managing and building high quality data pipelines.
Performance Engineering: Build the next generation query optimizer and execution engine that's fast, tuning free, scalable, and robust.
What we look for
- BS in Computer Science, related technical field or equivalent practical experience.
- Optional: MS or PhD in databases, distributed systems.
- Comfortable working towards a multi-year vision with incremental deliverables.
- Driven by delivering customer value and impact.
- 8+ years of production level experience in either Java, Scala or C++.
- Strong foundation in algorithms and data structures and their real-world use cases.
- Experience with distributed systems, databases, and big data systems (Apache Spark™, Hadoop).
Pay Range Transparency
Databricks is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The pay range(s) for this role is listed below and represents the expected salary range for non-commissionable roles or on-target earnings for commissionable roles.
Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to job-related skills, depth of experience, relevant certifications and training, and specific work location. Based on the factors above, Databricks anticipates utilizing the full width of the range.
The total compensation package for this position may also include eligibility for annual performance bonus, equity, and the benefits listed above. For more information regarding which range your location is in visit our page here.
Local Pay Range $192,000—$260,000 USD
Benefits
At Databricks, we strive to provide comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all of our employees. For specific details on the benefits offered in your region
Compliance
If access to export-controlled technology or source code is required for performance of job duties, it is within Employer's discretion whether to apply for a U.S. government license for such positions, and Employer may decline to proceed with an applicant on this basis alone.
About Databricks
Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 20,000 organizations worldwide - including adidas, AT&T, Bayer, Block, Mastercard, Rivian, Unilever, and 70% of the Fortune 500 - rely on the Databricks Data + AI Platform to build and scale data and AI apps, analytics and agents. Headquartered in San Francisco with 30+ offices around the globe, Databricks offers a unified platform that includes Genie, Lakebase, Agent Bricks, Lakeflow, Lakehouse, and Unity Catalog. To learn more, follow Databricks on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and Instagram.
Equal opportunity and legal notices
At Databricks, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can excel. We take great care to ensure that our hiring practices are inclusive and meet equal employment opportunity standards. Individuals looking for employment at Databricks are considered without regard to age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other protected characteristics.
From Databricks's careers page, first listed on Rolev.ai on October 10, 2026. Rolev.ai is not the employer.
How Rolev.ai helps with this application
Rolev.ai is a job search and application tool for US job seekers. For this Staff Software Engineer - Distributed Data Systems role at Databricks, it shows how your resume fits, tailors your resume to the posting, and prepares the application for you to review.
See how you fit
Openings from employer career sites are ranked against your whole resume—and searchable inside Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor via Rolev.ai MCP.
Tailor without inventing
Every change to your resume is checked against your original. New experience goes in only with your yes—zero fabricated claims.
Draft the full kit
Tailored and Full Match resumes, role-specific cover letters, and answers to employer screening questions are prepared in seconds.
1-Click Extension Autofill
The Chrome extension fills the employer's Greenhouse, Workday, Lever, or Ashby form in 1 click. You review it and press Submit.
Similar roles
All Software Developer jobs- Software DeveloperAccenture Federal Services · Washington, DC · $97.5k – $115k/yr
- Software Developer 803Freedom Technology Solutions Group · Annapolis Junction, MD · $150k – $200k/yr
- Software DeveloperPurvis Systems · Newport, RI
- NASA Human Spaceflight Artificial Intelligence (AI) Software Engineer and Data ScientistCACI · Houston, TX
- Senior Manager Software EngineeringNasdaq · Atlanta, GA
- Software Engineering Supervisor - Test SystemsMoog · Torrance, CA
Common questions
What is the salary for the Staff Software Engineer - Distributed Data Systems role at Databricks?
The Staff Software Engineer - Distributed Data Systems posting at Databricks states compensation of $192,000 – $260,000 per year. It is listed as a full-time position. Final pay may depend on location, experience, and interview evaluation on Databricks's official career site.
Where is the Staff Software Engineer - Distributed Data Systems job at Databricks located?
This Staff Software Engineer - Distributed Data Systems position at Databricks is located in Mountain View, CA (On-site). Always check Databricks's application page for specific state eligibility or relocation policies.
What qualifications are required for Staff Software Engineer - Distributed Data Systems at Databricks?
For the Staff Software Engineer - Distributed Data Systems role, Databricks highlights 8+ years of relevant experience; a bachelor's degree; experience with Java, Scala, C++, distributed systems, Apache Spark. Rolev.ai can score your existing resume against these requirements and show any skill gaps before you apply.
How do I apply for the Staff Software Engineer - Distributed Data Systems position at Databricks?
This listing links directly to Databricks's Greenhouse application page. You can apply directly on Databricks's site, or use Rolev.ai to check your resume fit, generate a zero-hallucination tailored resume and cover letter for this posting, and autofill the Greenhouse application form in 1 click with the Rolev.ai Chrome extension. You always review the form and press Submit yourself.