Software Engineer, Data Platform

Vercel

San Francisco +1 more

Hybrid

Who this role is best for

Best suited to infrastructure-focused engineers with a curiosity about distributed systems working in a hybrid setting.

Best fit for

Infrastructure-focused engineers with a curiosity about distributed systems and real-time data movement
— “the streaming systems, storage layers, and tooling that other engineers, analysts, and data scientists build on top of.”
Candidates who value building reusable systems and have a strong interest in storage and query layer design
— “working across ClickHouse, Tinybird, and Snowflake as part of the platform's storage and query layer.”
Mid-level professionals seeking mentorship and exposure to large-scale platform architecture decisions
— “learn from senior engineers doing it at scale”

Things to consider

Compensation may vary significantly based on location, with San Francisco as the base pay range reference
— “The San Francisco, CA base pay range for this role is $130,000 - $200,000.”

How to stand out

Highlight experience building reusable infrastructure and working with streaming systems like Kafka
— “Work with Kafka and streaming tooling to support real-time data movement”
Demonstrate understanding of storage and query systems beyond just querying them
— “curiosity about how storage and query systems like ClickHouse or Snowflake are designed under the hood”
Emphasize contributions to monitoring, alerting, and observability systems in your resume or interviews
— “Help build monitoring, alerting, and observability so issues get caught before they become outages.”
Showcase your ability to collaborate with senior engineers and iterate on feedback
— “Develop platform features and fixes with growing independence, treating feedback from code review as a core part of your growth.”
Include experience with access controls, data protection, and compliance practices in your application materials
— “Help implement access controls, data protection, and compliance practices across the platform”

Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · TeamLevel · Junior

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

What success looks like

built and operated core platform components
developed platform features and fixes
implemented access controls and compliance practices

Typical background

1-3 years of experience in data engineering, backend/infrastructure engineering

Skills & requirements

Required

Data EngineeringDistributed SystemsStreaming SystemsMonitoring And AlertingAccess ControlsData ProtectionCompliance Practices

Preferred

KafkaClickhouseTinybirdSnowflake

Stack & domain

PythonJavaScalaGoKafkaClickhouseSnowflakeSQLCommunicationData_engineeringBackend_infrastructure

About the role

Original posting from Vercel via Greenhouse

About Vercel:
Vercel is the agentic infrastructure company. We free people and agents to ship what’s next.
For more than a decade, Vercel has shaped how the web is built. As the team behind Next.js, v0, and AI SDK, we create products that help builders move from idea to production with speed, security, and exceptional developer experience.
Now, software is entering a new era, and the next generation of products will not just be used by people. They will be built, extended, and operated by agents.
We are building the platform for that future, trusted by companies like OpenAI, PayPal, Ramp, Supreme, and millions of developers worldwide. Whether you’re building our products, supporting our customers, growing our community, or shaping our story, you’ll help define what comes next.
About the Role
We're looking for a Data Platform Engineer to join our Data Engineering team and help build the infrastructure that powers data across Vercel. This isn't a reporting or pipelines-for-a-dashboard role. You'll work on the platform itself: the streaming systems, storage layers, and tooling that other engineers, analysts, and data scientists build on top of.
You'll help build and operate core platform components using technologies like Kafka, ClickHouse, Tinybird, and Snowflake, and get exposure to real infrastructure problems: throughput, latency, schema evolution, fault tolerance, and designing systems that stay reliable as usage scales.
If you're excited to build the plumbing the rest of the data org depends on, and want to learn from senior engineers doing it at scale, we'd love to hear from you.
What You Will Do
Contribute to the systems that ingest, move, and serve data across Vercel, building reusable infrastructure other teams rely on rather than one-off pipelines.
Work with Kafka and streaming tooling to support real-time data movement, under the guidance of senior platform engineers.
Help build monitoring, alerting, and observability so issues get caught before they become outages.
Contribute to internal tools and abstractions that make the platform easier for other engineers and data consumers to use self-service, working across ClickHouse, Tinybird, and Snowflake as part of the platform's storage and query layer.
Develop platform features and fixes with growing independence, treating feedback from code review as a core part of your growth.
Help implement access controls, data protection, and compliance practices across the platform, in partnership with senior engineers.
Get exposure to how the team makes architecture and build-vs-buy decisions at the platform level, and how this infrastructure underpins analytics and AI/ML workloads across the company.
About You
1-3 years of experience in data engineering, backend/infrastructure engineering, or a related field
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field
Solid programming foundation in a language commonly used in infrastructure or data systems (e.g., Python, Java, Scala, Go, or similar)
Some exposure to or strong interest in distributed systems and streaming/event-driven architecture (e.g., Kafka)
Comfort with SQL, and curiosity about how storage and query systems like ClickHouse or Snowflake are designed under the hood, not just how to query them
An infrastructure mindset: drawn to building the thing other systems run on, more than the report or dashboard on top of it
Good communication skills and comfort collaborating with senior engineers, asking questions, and iterating on feedback
Benefits:
Competitive compensation package, including equity.
Inclusive Healthcare Package.
Learn and Grow - we provide mentorship and send you to events that help you build your network and skills.
Flexible Time Off.
We will provide you the gear you need to do your role, and a WFH budget for you to outfit your space as needed.
The San Francisco, CA base pay range for this role is $130,000 - $200,000. Actual salary will be based on job-related skills, experience, and location. Compensation outside of San Francisco may be adjusted based on employee location. The total compensation package may include benefits, equity-based compensation, and eligibility for a company bonus or variable pay program depending on the role. Your recruiter can share more details during the hiring process.
Vercel is committed to fostering and empowering an inclusive community within our organization. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Vercel encourages everyone to apply for our available positions, even if they don't necessarily check every box on the job description.

Source: Vercel careers (Greenhouse)