Senior Software Engineer, Distributed Data Systems

Clera

$200K — $350K *
Information Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 4+ years of experience in data systems, backend, infrastructure, or platform engineering
  • Proficiency in Haskell and/or TypeScript
  • Deep understanding of data quality, correctness, and performance
  • Experience building products from scratch; preference for prior startup experience
  • Familiarity with distributed systems
  • Experience with big data technologies like Apache Spark or Hadoop
  • Knowledge of various database types, including relational and columnar
  • Strong background in algorithms and data structures
  • Experience with OLAP lakehouse architecture and query optimization

Responsibilities

  • Develop the OLAP lakehouse project from the ground up
  • Design and build distributed system components focused on query performance
  • Collaborate across teams to provide complete data platform features
  • Ensure the stability and scalability of enterprise-grade data infrastructure
  • Engage in early-stage, high-ownership development work

Benefits

  • Equity participation in a high-growth startup
  • Interview travel costs covered for onsite candidates
  • Visa sponsorship provided
Full Job Description
About the Role

Join a fast-moving, NYC-based AI-native data infrastructure company that is building the next generation of agentic analytics. This is a greenfield opportunity to architect and build a scalable OLAP lakehouse platform that turns messy enterprise data into trustworthy, actionable answers - at scale, for some of the most data-intensive organizations in the world.

As a Senior Software Engineer on the Distributed Data Systems team, you'll own core platform components end-to-end, with a particular focus on query performance and join optimization. If you get genuinely excited about JOIN order optimization or have ever implemented a query optimizer for fun, this role was written for you.

The company is well-funded (Series A/B stage) and backed by notable strategic investors. Hiring decisions can be made within 72 hours of an onsite interview, and interview travel is covered.

Visa sponsorship is available.
What You'll Do
  • Work on a greenfield OLAP lakehouse project, building the data platform for the agentic era - where AI agents drive the vast majority of queries.
  • Design and implement distributed data system components with a strong focus on join optimization and query performance.
  • Collaborate fluidly across infrastructure, services, and frontend to deliver end-to-end data platform features.
  • Ship reliable, scalable data infrastructure that powers enterprise-grade analytics at scale.
  • Contribute from zero to one - this is early-stage, high-ownership work.
What We're Looking For

Required:
  • 4+ years of experience as a data systems, backend, infrastructure, or platform engineer.
  • Proficiency in Haskell and/or TypeScript (the core tech stack).
  • Strong data focus - you think deeply about data quality, correctness, and performance.
  • Experience building products from zero to one; prior startup experience (ideally VC-backed) strongly preferred.
  • Experience with distributed systems.
  • Experience with big data systems (Apache Spark, Hadoop).
  • Experience with databases (relational, columnar, or otherwise).
  • Strong foundation in algorithms and data structures and their real-world applications.
  • Experience with OLAP lakehouse / data lakehouse architecture and query optimization.

Nice to Have:
  • Comfortable diving into any layer of the stack - infrastructure, services, or frontend.
  • Passion for building robust, scalable, and easy-to-use systems.
  • Background at companies working on data platforms, query engines, or AI/ML infrastructure.
Compensation & Benefits
  • Salary: $200,000 - $350,000 USD annually (based on experience)
  • Equity participation in a well-funded, high-growth startup
  • Interview travel covered for onsite candidates
  • Visa sponsorship available
Location

This role is on-site in New York, NY. Candidates should be based in NYC or willing to relocate. This is not a remote role.

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