Principal Engineer, Tableflow

Confluent1 months ago

Location

East Coast Region, United States

Workplace

Remote

Type

Full Time

Salary

USD 274,500 – 329,400

Level

Principal

Role

Principal Engineer

Posted

Jan 26, 2026

Full TimeRemotePrincipal

The role

Summary

Confluent is seeking a Principal Engineer to lead technical strategy for Tableflow, their data streaming platform. The role involves architecting large-scale distributed storage systems, metadata management, and multi-tenant infrastructure while mentoring teams and contributing to open-source projects like Apache Iceberg.

What you'll do

Technical Strategy Leadership: Define and drive company-level technical strategy for critical systems, ensuring long-term innovation for Tableflow's storage and metadata engines

Metadata Architecture Design: Architect and evolve a high-performance metadata management system that supports low latency updates and efficient query planning

Storage Engine Innovation: Design and implement innovative strategies for table schematization, materialization, and compaction at massive scale

Platform Engineering: Build and maintain multi-tenant, highly available infrastructure for background computational tasks with focus on scalability and resilience

Architectural Excellence: Establish and evangelize engineering standards, architectural patterns, and technical frameworks adopted across the organization

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with executives, product management, and engineering leaders to align technical vision with business objectives

Technical Mentorship: Mentor senior and staff-level engineers, growing future technical leaders and shaping engineering excellence culture

Open-Source Leadership: Lead contributions to relevant open-source projects like Apache Iceberg and represent Confluent through technical talks and thought leadership

What we look for

Technical

Distributed Systems ExpertiseProven track record of leading architecture and delivery of large-scale distributed storage systems with company-level impact

Fault Tolerance & ScalabilityComprehensive knowledge of fault tolerance, consistency, scalability, and cloud-native platforms

Storage Systems KnowledgeDeep expertise in storage internals, runtime systems, and large-scale data infrastructure supporting mission-critical workloads

Cloud Platform ExperienceDeep experience with public clouds (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and expertise in resource management and multi-tenancy

Education

Advanced Technical DegreeBachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience

Continuous LearningCommitment to staying current with emerging technologies and industry best practices

Experience

Strategic Technical LeadershipAbility to navigate extreme ambiguity, reduce systemic complexity, and anticipate industry trends to design systems for 3-5 years

Executive InfluenceStrong ability to influence executives and stakeholders while fostering collaborative environment across multiple teams

Vision to ImplementationDemonstrated ability to move from high-level vision to detailed technical implementation and delivery

Industry RecognitionPreferred: Recognized industry thought leader through open-source contributions or published research

Skills

Required skills

Distributed Systems ArchitectureExpert-level knowledge of designing and implementing large-scale distributed storage systems

Technical LeadershipProven ability to lead technical strategy and influence engineering practices at company level

Cloud Platform ExpertiseDeep experience with AWS, Azure, or GCP for scalable infrastructure design

Metadata ManagementExperience with high-performance metadata systems supporting low latency and efficient query planning

Multi-tenant ArchitectureKnowledge of building highly available, multi-tenant infrastructure for computational tasks

Nice to have

Apache Kafka ExpertiseDeep knowledge of Apache Kafka ecosystem and event streaming platforms

Apache IcebergExperience with table formats for large analytic datasets and open-source contributions

Stream ProcessingFamiliarity with Apache Flink and real-time data processing frameworks

Open-Source LeadershipTrack record of meaningful contributions to major open-source projects

Industry Thought LeadershipPublished research, technical talks, or recognized expertise in data infrastructure

Compensation & benefits

Salary

USD 274,500 – 329,400 (annual)

Stock options

Available

Benefits

Equity Compensation

Stock options and equity participation in company growth

Remote Work Flexibility

Full remote work arrangement with flexible scheduling across time zones

Professional Development

Opportunities for conference speaking, open-source contributions, and technical leadership

Inclusive Culture

Equal opportunity workplace focused on belonging and diverse perspectives

Technical Growth

Access to cutting-edge technology projects and industry-leading data streaming platforms

Mentorship Opportunities

Platform to mentor and develop next generation of technical leaders

Interview process

1
Initial Screening — Phone or video call with recruiting team to discuss background, interest, and basic qualifications
2
Technical Architecture Interview — Deep-dive technical discussion on distributed systems design, storage architecture, and scalability challenges
3
System Design Interview — Whiteboard or collaborative session designing large-scale data infrastructure solutions
4
Leadership & Strategy Interview — Discussion with engineering leadership on technical strategy, team management, and cross-functional collaboration
5
Executive Panel — Final interview with senior executives to assess strategic thinking and cultural alignment
6
Reference Checks — Verification of technical expertise and leadership capabilities with previous colleagues or supervisors