Principal Software Engineer - Postgres

at ClickHouse

📍 United States

USD 215,000-260,000 per year

SENIOR

✅ Remote

Tech Stack
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1-2 — basic awareness. Minimal hands-on experience, and a rudimentary understanding of the technology's purpose;

3-6 — daily use. Comfortable and regular usage, capable of handling common tasks and challenges related to the technology;

7-9 — you are an expert, you can teach others, you know all the pitfalls and tricks;

10 — exceptional knowledge, comprehensive understanding, and adeptness in all aspects of the technology, including advanced problem-solving. Think twice before claiming or demanding such level.

ClickHouse @ 4 Go @ 1 Performance Optimization PostgreSQL @ 7 Rust @ 1 Technical Leadership

Details

ClickHouse is expanding its database systems capabilities by building next-generation infrastructure focused on performance, scalability, and developer experience. This strategic, high-impact role involves systems programming, database internals, storage and performance optimization, distributed coordination, and Postgres extension development. The engineer will work independently across complex technical areas, shape critical data-platform components, mentor other engineers, and drive architectural direction for systems serving massive workloads.

Responsibilities

Lead the design and implementation of advanced systems features involving storage, replication, query execution, and performance optimization.
Contribute to and extend Postgres internals to improve reliability, scalability, and efficiency.
Prototype and build extensions that expand Postgres's core capabilities and integrate with cloud-native infrastructure.
Collaborate with product, infrastructure, and cloud platform teams to deliver robust, developer-friendly experiences.
Profile and optimize database performance using low-level instrumentation and benchmarking.
Provide technical leadership, establish engineering excellence standards, and mentor senior engineers.
Operate with significant autonomy and ownership, driving projects from concept through production.

Requirements

10+ years of experience building systems software in C/C++ or Rust; Go experience is a plus.
Deep knowledge of PostgreSQL or other database engine internals, including storage, execution, or replication subsystems.
Strong understanding of concurrency, operating systems, and performance engineering.
Proven ability to ship large-scale systems or core infrastructure features end-to-end.
Experience contributing to open-source databases or similar complex systems is highly desirable.
A pragmatic problem-solving approach with a bias toward simplicity and measurable impact.
Ability to thrive in a high-autonomy, high-velocity environment.

Benefits

Flexible, remote-friendly work environment at a globally distributed company operating in over 20 countries.
Employer contributions toward healthcare.
Stock options for every new team member.
Flexible time off in the United States and generous entitlement in other countries.
$500 home office setup allowance for remote employees.
Opportunities to engage with colleagues at company-wide offsites.

Compensation

Typical starting salary in the United States: $215,000–$250,000 USD.
Typical starting salary in US premium markets: $220,000–$260,000 USD.
Actual compensation depends on factors including education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, location, performance, and business needs.