Staff Backend Software Engineer (AI Platform)

TL;DR

Staff Backend Software Engineer (AI Platform): Designing and building core systems and APIs that power Databricks Model Serving with an accent on scalability, reliability, and operational excellence. Focus on optimizing performance, throughput, autoscaling, and operational efficiency for CPU and GPU serving workloads.

Location: San Francisco, California

Salary: $192,000 — $260,000 USD

Company

Databricks is the data and AI company that provides a unified platform to democratize data, analytics, and AI.

What you will do

• Design and implement core systems and APIs for Databricks Model Serving.
• Define the technical roadmap and long-term architecture for serving workloads.
• Drive architectural decisions to optimize performance and efficiency for CPU and GPU serving workloads.
• Contribute to key components across the serving infrastructure, including model container builds, deployment workflows, and runtime systems.
• Collaborate with product, platform, and research teams to translate customer needs into reliable systems.
• Lead technical initiatives to improve latency, availability, and cost-effectiveness.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience building and operating large-scale distributed systems.
• Deep expertise in model serving, inference systems, and related infrastructure.
• Strong foundation in algorithms, data structures, and system design.
• Proven ability to deliver technically complex, high-impact initiatives.
• Experience leading architecture for large-scale, performance-sensitive CPU/GPU inference systems.
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across teams.

Culture & Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits and perks to meet the needs of all employees.
• Committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture.
• Equal employment opportunity standards.