Senior Software Engineer (Java/C++) — Query Engine / Data Platform

About the Client:

Our client is a leading enterprise data platform company building an open, high-performance data lakehouse for AI and analytical workloads. The platform combines an intelligent SQL query engine, an AI-ready semantic layer, and an open catalog built on Apache Iceberg — enabling Fortune 500 companies across finance, energy, manufacturing, and logistics to unify, query, and govern data at massive scale across cloud and on-premise sources.

About the Role:

We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer to design, build, and own significant components of the core query engine of a large-scale distributed data platform. You will lead work across query planning, optimization, and execution — driving architectural decisions, mentoring middle engineers, and pushing the platform's performance and scalability boundaries across all major clouds.

This is a systems-level, backend engineering role focused on distributed data processing internals — not application development or CRUD services.

Responsibilities:

• Architect, design, and implement significant components of the query engine — planner, optimizer, execution operators, memory management, and data access layers.
• Write and review high-quality, performance-critical code in Java and/or C++.
• Own end-to-end delivery of features from technical design through production rollout.
• Drive performance optimization work — profiling, benchmarking, and eliminating bottlenecks in latency- and throughput-sensitive paths.
• Integrate deeply with columnar formats, open table formats, and connectivity drivers.
• Mentor middle engineers, lead code reviews, and set technical standards for the team.
• Contribute to CI/CD architecture and quality processes across Jenkins, containerization, and multi-cloud deployment (GCP, AWS, Azure via Kubernetes / Docker).
• Debug complex, cross-layer issues spanning query planning, distributed execution, memory management, and I/O.
• Partner with US-based engineering leads on design reviews, architectural decisions, and roadmap execution.

Required Qualifications:

• Education: B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Programming: Strong proficiency in Java or C++, with deep understanding of OOP, systems design, memory management, and concurrency. Candidates strong in both are especially valued.
• SQL & Data: Advanced SQL skills and strong understanding of query execution internals — planning, optimization, and operator implementation.
• Data processing systems experience: Demonstrated experience building or extending data processing systems — query engines, distributed databases, ETL/ELT frameworks, or analytical platforms.
• Engineering experience: 5+ years in backend/systems software engineering, with a track record of owning significant components.
• CI/CD & DevOps: Solid experience with Jenkins and modern engineering workflows.
• Containers & Orchestration: Strong working knowledge of Docker and Kubernetes.
• Cloud: Hands-on experience with at least one major cloud (GCP, AWS, or Azure); exposure to more than one is a strong plus.
• Version Control: Confident with Git / GitHub workflows and rigorous code review practices.
• English: Upper-Intermediate or higher (B2+) — daily written and verbal communication with a US-based engineering team.
• Availability: Able to work EU hours with a 2–3 hour shift toward US West Coast time to ensure daily overlap with the client team.
• Leadership: Prior experience mentoring engineers, leading technical designs, or owning components end-to-end.

Desired Skills:

• Deep experience with Apache Arrow (columnar in-memory format).
• Hands-on experience with Apache Calcite (SQL parsing, planning, optimization framework).
• Experience with Gandiva or LLVM-based expression compilation and code generation.
• Experience with open table formats — Apache Iceberg, Delta Lake, or Hudi.
• Deep familiarity with distributed computing frameworks (e.g., Apache Spark, Kafka) and MPP SQL query engines (e.g., Presto, Trino, or similar).
• Deep understanding of query planning, optimization (cost-based, rule-based), and execution internals.
• Experience with data connectivity drivers: JDBC, ODBC, Arrow Flight.
• Kubernetes on managed services (GKE / EKS / AKS) and multi-cloud exposure.
• IaC tools such as Terraform.
• Track record of performance optimization at the systems level — profiling, vectorization, cache/memory-conscious design.
• Prior experience contributing to open-source data infrastructure projects.