Staff Backend Engineer (Databases)

TL;DR

Staff Backend Engineer (Go/Databases): Building and evolving Tempo, a distributed tracing backend, with an accent on operational excellence, high-density APIs, and AI-driven observability. Focus on designing scalable ingestion pipelines, optimizing query performance, and creating LLM-friendly interfaces for next-generation observability products.

Location: Remote (Must be based in the US or Canada)

Salary: $186,368 - $223,642 CAD

Company

A remote-first, open-source powerhouse providing observability tools like Grafana, Mimir, Loki, and Tempo to millions of users worldwide.

What you will do

• Lead multi-quarter technical initiatives from problem framing through rollout, focusing on trace aggregation and query engine improvements.
• Own the architecture of core Tempo components, including ingestion, storage, query, and metrics generation.
• Design structured, deterministic APIs for consumption by both humans and AI agents.
• Drive operational excellence by owning SLOs and pushing toward Zero Ops via automation and parameterized rollouts.
• Mentor engineers through code reviews, design feedback, and pairing on complex technical problems.
• Contribute to the Tempo open-source project, engaging with the community and reviewing external contributions.

Requirements

• Proven track record of leading complex, multi-quarter initiatives spanning design, delivery, and operations.
• Deep hands-on experience building and operating distributed data systems (ingestion pipelines, storage engines, or query execution) in production.
• Strong proficiency in Go, or deep experience in other systems languages like Rust, C, or C++.
• Must be based in the US or Canada.
• Operational mindset with experience owning production services, handling on-call, and reducing toil.
• Ability to lead through writing and collaborate effectively in a fully remote, asynchronous environment.

Nice to have

• Experience with OpenTelemetry or large-scale observability systems.
• Knowledge of columnar storage formats like Parquet or analytical on-disk formats.
• Experience operating multi-tenant SaaS infrastructure at scale on Kubernetes.
• Experience building structured APIs and evaluation harnesses for AI/LLM consumers.
• Open-source contribution or maintainership experience.

Culture & Benefits

• 100% remote, global culture with a focus on asynchronous communication and transparency.
• High trust, low ego environment that values outcomes over optics and encourages autonomy.
• Competitive compensation package including Restricted Stock Units (RSUs).
• Global annual leave policy of 30 days, including dedicated company shutdown days.
• Company-funded usage budgets for frontier AI models (GPT, Claude, Gemini) to enhance productivity.
• In-person onboarding experience to integrate new hires into the team.