Software Engineer - Query Execution

Dremio
Portugal
Remote

Who this role is best for

Aimed at mid-level to senior engineers with experience in query execution and distributed systems, working remotely in a collaborative, performance-focused environment.

Best fit for

  • Individuals who thrive in open-source environments and have a solid grasp of performance optimization techniques.
    — “Based on open source technologies, including Apache Iceberg and Apache Arrow”
  • Those who enjoy working on foundational systems and have a track record of delivering incremental improvements.
    — “deliver incremental improvements”

Things to consider

  • The role may require adapting to a large Java codebase, which may not be ideal for those unfamiliar with it.
    — “willingness to learn and work in a large Java codebase”
  • Candidates should be prepared to engage in detailed debugging and performance analysis using telemetry and logs.
    — “Help diagnose query correctness, reliability, and performance issues using query profiles, logs, telemetry, benchmarks, and production data”

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience with Java and focus on performance optimization in your resume and interview responses.
    — “Proficiency in Java or another object-oriented programming language”
  • Demonstrate your ability to debug complex systems by showcasing relevant troubleshooting or profiling projects.
    — “Help diagnose query correctness, reliability, and performance issues”
  • Emphasize any contributions to open-source projects or work with distributed data systems like Spark or Hadoop.
    — “Experience with C++, Apache Arrow, Parquet, Apache Iceberg, Spark, Hadoop, or cloud object stores”
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

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

What success looks like

  • Built and supported execution-engine components
  • Developed reliable software
  • Investigated and resolved query issues
Typical background
Software EngineeringDatabase Systems

Skills & requirements

Required

JavaQuery ExecutionMemory ManagementSchedulingPerformance Tuning

Preferred

Apache IcebergApache ArrowAi-assisted Development

Stack & domain

JavaQuery OperatorsExpression EvaluationExecution SchedulingResource ManagementUnit And Integration TestsQuery ProfilingLog AnalysisBenchmarkingData ExchangeDisk SpillingCode ReviewTestingDocumentationProblem-solving AbilityQuality MindsetCommunication And CollaborationQuery ExecutionDatabase Internal

About the role

Original posting from Dremio

Be Part of Building the Future

Dremio is the unified lakehouse platform for self-service analytics and AI, serving hundreds of global enterprises, including Maersk, Amazon, Regeneron, NetApp, and S&P Global. Customers rely on Dremio for cloud, hybrid, and on-prem lakehouses to power their data mesh, data warehouse migration, data virtualization, and unified data access use cases. Based on open source technologies, including Apache Iceberg and Apache Arrow, Dremio provides an open lakehouse architecture enabling the fastest time to insight and platform flexibility at a fraction of the cost.  Learn more at www.dremio.com.

About the role

Dremio’s Query Execution team builds the runtime responsible for executing analytical queries at scale. The team sits between query planning and table scans, building the systems that turn query plans into efficient, reliable execution.

As a Software Engineer, you’ll work with experienced engineers to build, test, and support well-scoped improvements to the execution engine. You’ll learn how Dremio’s query runtime works while contributing to areas such as query operators, expression evaluation, memory management, scheduling, and performance.

What you’ll be doing

Build and support execution-engine components: Implement, test, debug, and maintain well-defined changes to query operators, expression evaluation, execution scheduling, and resource management.

Develop reliable software: Write clear, maintainable Java code; add unit and integration tests; and follow established engineering practices for code review, testing, and documentation.

Investigate issues: Help diagnose query correctness, reliability, and performance issues using query profiles, logs, telemetry, benchmarks, and production data.

Learn runtime and performance fundamentals: Build familiarity with vectorized processing, concurrency, memory usage, parallelism, data exchange, and disk spilling.

Collaborate with the team: Work closely with senior engineers and partner teams to understand requirements, break work into manageable tasks, and deliver incremental improvements.

Use AI-assisted development tools: Apply AI tools to code comprehension, debugging, test generation, and documentation, while validating results through testing, review, and sound engineering judgment.

Grow your engineering skills: Participate actively in design discussions and code reviews, seek feedback, and steadily take on broader technical responsibility.

What we’re looking for

Software engineering foundation: Up to two years of professional software development experience, or equivalent experience through internships, coursework, or substantial personal projects.

Programming skills: Proficiency in Java or another object-oriented programming language; willingness to learn and work in a large Java codebase.

Computer science fundamentals: Understanding of data structures, algorithms, and basic concurrency concepts.

Problem-solving ability: Able to work through well-defined technical problems, ask good questions, and apply feedback to reach a solution.

Quality mindset: Commitment to writing tested, maintainable code and learning established development, testing, and review practices.

Communication and collaboration: Able to communicate progress, surface blockers early, and work effectively with teammates.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

Bonus points if you have

Exposure to database internals, query processing, distributed systems, or large-scale data processing.

Familiarity with performance-oriented software concepts such as profiling, memory management, concurrency, or vectorized processing.

Experience with C++, Apache Arrow, Parquet, Apache Iceberg, Spark, Hadoop, or cloud object stores.

Contributions to open-source projects.

What we value 

At Dremio, we hold ourselves to high standards when it comes to People, Thinking, and Action. Our Gnarlies (that's what we call our employees) communicate with clarity, drive accountability, and are respectful towards each other. We confront brutal facts and focus on results while operating with a sense of urgency and building a "flywheel". People who like to jump in and drive momentum will thrive in our #GnarlyLife.

Dremio is an equal opportunity employer supporting workforce diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other unlawful factor.

Dremio is committed to providing any necessary accommodations for individuals with disabilities within our application and interview process. To request accommodation due to a disability, please inform your recruiter.

Dremio has policies in place to protect the personal information that employees and applicants disclose to us. Please click here to review the privacy notice. 

Important Security Notice for Candidates

At Dremio, we uphold trust and transparency as paramount values in all our interactions with customers, partners, employees, and the general public. We have been targeted by individuals creating fake domains similar to ours to scam prospects and candidates. Please note that all official communications from us will be from an @dremio.com domain. If you suspect you've been targeted by a scam, it's imperative to report the incident to your local law enforcement agencies. For more information about this type of scam, please refer to Dremio's official statement here.

Dremio is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes and will not pay fees to any third-party agency or company that does not have a signed agreement with the Company.

Source: Dremio careers

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