Staff Software Engineer

Snowflake1 months ago

Location

DE-Berlin-Trion Building

Type

Full Time

Salary

EUR 150,000 – 220,000

Level

Staff

Role

Staff Software Engineer

Posted

Feb 6, 2026

Full TimeStaff

The role

Summary

Snowflake is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to join their Core Data and Transactions Infrastructure team in Berlin, focusing on metadata systems that power the Data Cloud platform. The role involves building next-generation transaction systems, storage engines, and multi-tenant database systems that handle trillions of requests per day while ensuring low-latency, highly consistent metadata access across analytics, AI, and container workloads.

What you'll do

Large-Scale Systems Engineering: Solve real business needs at large scale by applying software engineering and analytical problem solving skills to handle trillions of requests per day

Next-Generation Infrastructure Development: Build the next-generation transaction system, storage engine and multi-tenant database system for Snowflake's Data Cloud platform

High-Performance Database Systems: Design, develop, and support a highly-parallel and fault-tolerant database system including a decentralized caching system of terabytes of metadata

Critical System Implementation: Design and implement critical high-performance systems to handle the ever growing request rate of the database infrastructure

Core Infrastructure Features: Design and implement core infrastructure features including APIs, DDL transactions and logs as well as advanced features like cloning, time travel, snapshots and replication

Performance Optimization: Analyze and understand performance and scalability bottlenecks in the system and implement solutions to resolve them

Background Services Development: Work on various background services that power Snowflake's proprietary multi-level metadata system to support fast compilation and query optimization

Operational Excellence: Ensure operational readiness of the services and meet the commitments to customers regarding availability and performance SLAs

What we look for

Technical

Systems Programming ExpertiseAdvanced skills in multi-threading, concurrency, caching, and distributed systems programming

Java ProficiencyFluency in Java or other similar procedural object-oriented languages for large-scale systems development

Computer Science FundamentalsStrong foundation in data structures, algorithms, and distributed systems architecture

Database Systems KnowledgeUnderstanding of database internals, transaction processing, and storage engine optimization

Large-Scale Production SystemsExperience designing, building and supporting large scale systems in production environments

Creative Problem SolvingProven track record of identifying and implementing innovative solutions to complex technical challenges

Education

Bachelor's DegreeBS in Computer Science or related technical field required

Advanced Degree PreferredMasters or PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field preferred for advanced research and development

Experience

Senior Engineering Experience10+ years of industry experience in software engineering with focus on distributed systems and infrastructure

Production Systems ExperienceExtensive experience designing, building, and supporting large-scale production systems

Performance EngineeringExperience with performance optimization, scalability analysis, and system bottleneck identification

Database Systems ExperienceBackground in database internals, transaction systems, and metadata management preferred

Skills

Required skills

Java ProgrammingExpert-level proficiency in Java for large-scale distributed systems development

Distributed SystemsDeep understanding of distributed systems architecture, consensus protocols, and fault tolerance

Multi-threading and ConcurrencyAdvanced skills in concurrent programming, thread safety, and parallel processing

Database SystemsKnowledge of database internals, transaction processing, and storage optimization

Performance EngineeringExperience with performance profiling, optimization, and scalability analysis

System DesignAbility to design and architect large-scale, fault-tolerant infrastructure systems

Nice to have

Cloud PlatformsExperience with AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform for cloud-native development

Container TechnologiesKnowledge of Docker, Kubernetes, and container orchestration platforms

Streaming SystemsFamiliarity with Apache Kafka, event-driven architectures, and real-time processing

Caching TechnologiesExperience with Redis, Memcached, or distributed caching systems

Monitoring and ObservabilityKnowledge of Prometheus, Grafana, and distributed tracing systems

Data SerializationExperience with Avro, Protobuf, or other data serialization frameworks

Compensation & benefits

Salary

EUR 150,000 – 220,000 (annual)

Stock options

Available

Benefits

Equity Compensation

Competitive stock options and equity participation in Snowflake's growth as a leading cloud data platform

Health Insurance

Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance coverage for employees and family members

Professional Development

Learning and development budget for conferences, training, and skill advancement in cloud technologies

Flexible Work Arrangements

Hybrid work model with flexible scheduling and modern office facilities in Berlin

Parental Leave

Generous parental leave policies supporting work-life balance for growing families

Retirement Planning

Company retirement plan contributions and financial planning resources

Wellness Programs

Employee wellness initiatives including gym memberships and mental health support

Interview process

1
Initial Screening — 45-minute phone/video call with technical recruiter to discuss background, experience, and role alignment
2
Technical Phone Interview — 60-minute technical interview focusing on systems design, data structures, and problem-solving with senior engineer
3
System Design Interview — 90-minute system design session covering distributed systems architecture, scalability, and metadata infrastructure design
4
On-site Technical Interviews — Full-day on-site interviews including coding challenges, database systems discussion, and team collaboration scenarios
5
Final Interview — 45-minute conversation with engineering leadership discussing career goals, team fit, and Snowflake's technical vision