Senior Software Engineer — Backend (Files Team)

Databricks
San Francisco, CA
On-site

Who this role is best for

A natural match if you have experience in large-scale distributed systems and filesystems.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with 5+ years of production-level backend development in systems languages
    — “5+ years of production-level experience in Java, Scala, C++, Go, Rust, or a similar language”
  • Individuals who have built or optimized blob storage systems for high-scale workloads
    — “Experience building object/blob storage (S3, Azure Blob Storage, GCS etc)”
  • Engineers who have worked on distributed systems and cloud provider internals
    — “Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, or MicroVM technologies (e.g., Firecracker) and a strong grasp of cloud provider internals (AWS/Azure/GCP)”

Things to consider

  • The role demands deep technical knowledge of filesystems and performance engineering
    — “Push filesystem performance for the most demanding workloads”
  • Candidates must be comfortable with building systems from the ground up when needed
    — “You aren't just a user of tools; you understand how to build them from the ground up when existing solutions fail at our scale”

How to stand out

  • Highlight your experience with FUSE and Linux-level performance optimization
    — “Experience with filesystems and FUSE”
  • Showcase projects where you designed or optimized storage systems for high-scale environments
    — “Background in high-scale content, storage, or file-sync products”
  • Demonstrate your ability to collaborate across teams on architecture decisions
    — “Partner with teams across the platform to design and evolve next-generation compute and storage architectures”
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • design, build, and operate filesystem platform
  • push filesystem performance
  • partner with teams to design next-generation architectures
  • set technical direction for content organization
Typical background
production-level experience in backend developmentlarge-scale distributed systems

Skills & requirements

Required

JavaScalaC++GoRustDistributed SystemsKubernetesDockerMicrovm TechnologiesFilesystemsFUSEObject/blob Storage

Preferred

Linux KernelHigh-scale ContentStorageFile-sync Products

Stack & domain

JavaScalaC++GoRustKubernetesDockerMicrovmAWSAzureGCPFilesystemsFUSEObject/blob StorageSystems Performance EngineeringHigh-scale ContentStorageFile-sync Products

About the role

Original posting from Databricks

P-78

At Databricks, we are passionate about enabling data teams to solve the world's toughest problems — from making the next mode of transportation a reality to accelerating the development of medical breakthroughs. We do this by building and running the world's best Data Intelligence Platform so our customers can use deep data insights to improve their business. Founded by engineers — and customer obsessed — we leap at every opportunity to tackle technical challenges, from designing next-gen UI/UX for interfacing with data to scaling our services and infrastructure across millions of virtual machines. And we're only getting started.

The filesystem has emerged as the preferred runtime interface for agentic AI. AI agents use the filesystem for context, memory management, artifact (dashboard, code etc) authoring, version control, sandboxing, and interacting between systems and agents. It is the foundational layer to accelerate AI adoption

As a Senior Software Engineer on the Files team, you will innovate at the intersection of storage, performance, and distributed systems, directly shaping our filesystem strategy to power next-generation agentic workloads.

The Impact You’ll Have

Design, build, and operate the the filesystem platform powering tens of thousands of data, AI and agentic workloads daily

Push filesystem performance for the most demanding workloads — profiling and optimizing across the stack, from the API layer down to the Linux kernel

Partner with teams across the platform to design and evolve next-generation compute and storage architectures

Set the technical direction for how content is organized across Databricks, standardizing around filesystem primitives that apply to every product surface

What We’re Looking For

Bachelor's degree (or higher) in Computer Science or a related field

5+ years of production-level experience in Java, Scala, C++, Go, Rust, or a similar language

3+ years of experience developing large-scale distributed systems

Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, or MicroVM technologies (e.g., Firecracker) and a strong grasp of cloud provider internals (AWS/Azure/GCP).

You aren't just a user of tools; you understand how to build them from the ground up when existing solutions fail at our scale.

Experience with filesystems and FUSE

Experience building object/blob storage (S3, Azure Blob Storage, GCS etc)

Systems performance engineering across microservices, down to the Linux level

Background in high-scale content, storage, or file-sync products

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$166,000—$225,000 USDAbout 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.

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 click here.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

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.

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.

Source: Databricks careers

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