Principal Software Engineer - Postgres
WFA Digital Insight
ClickHouse’s search for a Principal Software Engineer focused on Postgres puts a spotlight on deep system‑level expertise rather than a generic senior coding role. The position sits at the intersection of storage architecture, query execution and cloud‑native extensions, meaning candidates will spend their days shaping core database behavior that powers real‑time analytics for large customers. What makes this opening distinct is the autonomy granted: the engineer owns end‑to‑end projects, mentors senior staff, and drives architectural standards across a fast‑moving team. Candidates should be comfortable navigating PostgreSQL internals, profiling low‑level performance, and translating research into production‑ready extensions. It’s a role for engineers who thrive on solving complex scalability puzzles with hands‑on code.
Job Description
About ClickHouse
Recognized on the 2025 Forbes Cloud 100 list, ClickHouse is one of the most innovative and fast-growing private cloud companies. With more than 4,000 customers and ARR that has grown over 250 percent year over year, ClickHouse leads the market in real-time analytics, data warehousing, observability, and AI workloads.
The company’s sustained, accelerating momentum was recently validated by a $400M Series D financing round. Over the past three months, customers including Capital One, Lovable, Decagon, Polymarket, and Airwallex have adopted the platform or expanded existing deployments. These customers join an established base of AI innovators and global brands such as Meta, Cursor, Sony, and Tesla.
We’re on a mission to transform how companies use data. Come be a part of our journey!
About the Role
ClickHouse is expanding its capabilities in the database systems domain, building next-generation infrastructure that redefines performance, scalability, and developer experience. We’re looking for a Principal Engineer with deep expertise in systems programming and database internals — particularly Postgres — to help us push boundaries in how databases are built and operated at scale.
This is a strategic and high-impact role for an engineer who can work independently across complex technical areas: from storage and performance optimization to distributed coordination and extension development. You’ll shape critical components of our data platform, mentor other engineers, and drive architectural direction for systems that serve massive workloads.
What You’ll Do
- Lead design and implementation of advanced systems features across areas like storage, replication, query execution, and performance optimization.
- Contribute to and extend Postgres internals — improving reliability, scalability, and efficiency.
- Prototype and build extensions that expand Postgres’s core capabilities and integrate with cloud-native infrastructure.
- Collaborate with product, infrastructure, and cloud platform teams to deliver robust, developer-friendly experiences.
- Profile and optimize database performance using low-level instrumentation and benchmarking.
- Provide technical leadership, set standards for engineering excellence, and mentor senior engineers.
- Operate with significant autonomy and ownership — driving projects from concept to production.
About You
- 10+ years of experience building systems software in C/C++ or Rust (Go experience a plus).
- Deep knowledge of PostgreSQL or other database engine internals, including storage, execution, or replication subsystems.
- Strong understanding of concurrency, operating systems, and performance engineering.
- Proven ability to ship large-scale systems or core infrastructure features end-to-end.
- Experience contributing to open-source databases or similar complex systems is highly desirable.
- Pragmatic problem solver with a bias for simplicity and measurable impact.
- Thrives in a high-autonomy, high-velocity environment.
Why Join Us
- Work on foundational database technologies at the intersection of performance, reliability, and usability.
- Shape the future of Postgres-based systems and cloud data infrastructure.
- Operate with autonomy in a small, high-talent team that values depth, craftsmanship, and impact.
- Contribute to an ambitious vision: making data systems faster, simpler, and more powerful for developers everywhere.
#LI-remote
Compensation
For roles based in the United States, the typical starting salary range for this position is listed above. In certain locations, such as the San Francisco Bay Area and the New York City Metro Area, a premium market range may apply, as listed.
These salary ranges reflect what we reasonably and in good faith believe to be the minimum and maximum pay for this role at the time of posting. The actual compensation may be higher or lower than the amounts listed, and the ranges may be subject to future adjustments.
An individual’s placement within the range will depend on various factors, including (but not limited to) education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, location, performance, and the needs of the business or organization.
If you have any questions or comments about compensation as a candidate, please get in touch with us at paytransparency@clickhouse.com.
Perks
- Flexible work environment - ClickHouse is a globally distributed company and remote-friendly. We currently operate in over 20 countries.
- Healthcare - Employer contributions towards your healthcare.
- Equity in the company - Every new team member who joins our company receives stock options.
- Time off - Flexible time off in the US, generous entitlement in other countries.
- A $500 Home office setup if you’re a remote employee.
- Global Gatherings – We believe in the power of in-person connection and offer opportunities to engage with colleagues at company-wide offsites.
Culture - We All Shape It
As part of a rapidly scaling start up, you will be instrumental in shaping our culture.
Are you interested in finding out more about our culture? Learn more about our values here. Check out our blog posts or follow us on LinkedIn to find out more about what’s happening at ClickHouse.
Equal Opportunity & Privacy
ClickHouse provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type based on factors such as race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
Please see here for our Privacy Statement.
How to Stand Out
- Prepare a concise portfolio of any PostgreSQL extensions or low‑level system components you’ve built, highlighting performance gains.
- Be ready to discuss specific profiling tools (e.g., perf, bpftrace) you’ve used to diagnose bottlenecks.
- Demonstrate your understanding of concurrency by walking through a complex thread‑synchronization problem you solved.
- Highlight any open‑source contributions; recruiters often probe for community involvement.
- When negotiating, reference the equity component and remote‑work flexibility as key value drivers.
- Watch for vague descriptions of reporting structure; ask clarifying questions about team size and decision‑making authority during interviews.
- Practice white‑board design of a storage engine or replication protocol to showcase architectural thinking.
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