Software Engineer

About MotherDuck

Don't let the quirky name fool you We're on a mission to radically transform the data analyst user experience. We think we can empower and delight analysts using a novel cloud architecture built on top of DuckDB, an open source foundation with a vibrant community. We're rapidly driving towards general availability and need your help to create many "aha moments" for our users. Our team is a diverse mix of passionate, collaborative, and empathetic data industry veterans from Google, Amazon, Meta, Snowflake, SingleStore, Databricks, and the like.

At MotherDuck, the Database team is responsible for building the DuckDB-based compute layer and integrating it to work seamlessly as an extension to DuckDB. We run DuckDB locally in users' machines, on the edge, and in the cloud. The scope of work will span running locally in users' machines embedded in Python, CLI, or via WASM in the users' browser as well as on our cloud servers.. As a Software Engineer on our team, you will help design and build our systems, gain thorough understanding on how DuckDB (and databases in general) work, and bridge the gap between an extremely efficient SaaS platform and blazingly fast local computation. You will be joining a small team with a big vision, your expertise in database architecture and optimization will be instrumental in achieving our vision to "make the easy things easy, and the impossible things possible".

Core Responsibilities

• Design and implement features in what we call hybrid-execution - running queries that are executed both on a local DuckDB instance and a DuckDB backend in the Cloud.
• Learn, become a DuckDB expert, and share that knowledge with other MotherDuck engineers and our users.
• Collaborate with frontend and platform engineering teams to ensure our product functions seamlessly.
• Optimize database performance, network throughput, and reliability to provide a smooth and efficient user experience.
• Be in direct contact with our users, help identifying and work to fix root causes in your area of expertise.
• Participate in code reviews and contribute to the continuous improvement of engineering processes.
• Work closely with the product teams as we design features, providing technical guidance and insights.

What we value

• 5+ years of years of experience in software development, with a focus on backend development
• Solid experience in designing and developing backend database systems, preferably for cloud-based applications.
• Strong experience with C++ programming language and libraries.
• Strong understanding of database performance tuning, query optimization, and data indexing.
• Familiarity with cloud-based database services and distributed computing concepts.
• Experience with big data technologies and data warehousing.
• Experience with SQL databases, such as PostgreSQL and DuckDB.
• Experience with version control systems and collaborative development practices.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, agile environment and adapt to evolving project needs.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills, with a keen attention to detail.
• Sense of fun, ability to not take yourself too seriously

What we provide

• Competitive compensation and stock options
• For US-based employees:
  
  • 100% paid medical, dental, and vision for employees
  • 80% paid medical, dental, and vision for dependents
• For Non-US based employees:
  
  • You probably have a functioning health system and social safety net so healthcare is not a major factor in employment. If that is not the case let us know and we'll work something out.
• Unlimited Paid Time Off
• 401k plan
• Regular offsites in hub or exotic locations
• Geographically distributed team with hubs in Seattle, San Francisco, New York City, & Amsterdam

Please Apply

If this role sounds appealing to you, but you're missing some of the requirements or don't quite think you're qualified, please apply anyway. We believe in building a diverse team and encourage applicants from underrepresented groups in technology. We will strongly consider applicants who bring many of the requirements plus have other experiences that complement their qualifications. Join us on our mission to revolutionize the data analyst user experience

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