Staff Software Engineer, ditto
Query
+ Equity
Data sync platform
Be an early applicant
Data sync platform
101-200 employees
Be an early applicant
+ Equity
101-200 employees
Company mission
To expand the internet via software enabling devices to synchronise data in realtime, even where the internet doesn't reach.
Role
Who you are
- 7+ years of experience in software engineering, 2 or more in a Senior or Staff role, with a focus on distributed systems and low-level programming languages like Rust and/or modern C/C++
- Willingness to learn the Rust programming language
- Prior experience with building SQL like query languages
- Prior experience with building cost based and ruled based query optimizers
- Prior experience with collecting index statistics and data distributions
- A willingness to travel (including internationally) once a quarter for team get-togethers and design sessions
- Strong communication skills, with an emphasis on written communication skills in particular. As a fully distributed team, async communication is the default and the development process often includes written architecture and design documents
Desirable
- Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science or Engineering
- Prior professional experience with the Rust programming language or other systems programming languages (C, C++, D, Ada, Zig, etc)
- Experience with property-based testing or other state-space exploration techniques
- Familiarity with Conflict-Free Replicated Data Types (CRDTs)
- Experience with monitoring tools such as Prometheus or Grafana
What the job involves
- The Query Engine team builds the primary surface for our customers to interact with their data and the Ditto system: the Ditto Query Language (DQL)
- We use DQL extensively throughout both the cloud database and on-device SDKs, and query engineers work closely with many other teams to integrate with their systems
- As a specialist team this group is laser-focused on enabling customers to get the most out of Ditto while providing a familiar, SQL-like experience
- Work with product managers and other engineers to help design the future of the technology
- Troubleshoot production issues, and design future remediations to deliver on Ditto's goal of a high performance, self-healing, and reliable mesh
- Design and implement data distribution collection subsystems and index statistics collection subsystems
- Design and implement a query cost based optimizer based on collected data distribution, and as a fall back, a rule based query optimizer, to be used when suitable distributions and statistics do not exist or are insufficient
- Assist with implementation of other query engine features as needed
- Author RFCs, design and document system architecture, and collaborate with other teams within Ditto
- Estimate the delivery timeline for projects and communicate with management and the broader team regarding project execution
- Set team culture by example, expanding Ditto’s culture of Trust, Communication, and Continual Improvement
Our take
While it's convenient to assume that all the data an app needs is always located in a single place, the reality is more messy. Multi-cloud platforms, IoT devices with varied or limited connectivity and even smartphones can hold necessary data for many applications. The problem for developers is how to tame, access and use this data. Ditto exists to fix this, providing a distributed database that pulls and synchronises data from edge devices and the cloud.
Able to operate even in locations without internet, using peer-to-peer WiFi, Bluetooth and wired networks to pull data together, it provides a layer of infrastructure which is increasingly required as IoT picks up steam. However, it is not the only entrant in this growing market, and faces competition from the likes of Whalesync, PieSync and Grouparoo.
While most of these companies provide the same kind of functionality, Ditto's large and growing customer base in the tens of thousands (including the likes of the US Air Force, Lufthansa and Japan Airlines) indicates that its product is a strong competitor in this space. It has also attracted the attention of investors, most recently closing a hefty Series A round. It intends to use this funding to almost double its headcount and to focus on commercializing its product.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Company
Funding (last 2 of 3 rounds)
Mar 2025
$82m
SERIES B
Apr 2023
$45m
SERIES A
Total funding: $136m
Company benefits
- Fully Remote
Leadership
Max Alexander
(CPO)An extensive background in development, more recently working as a Mobile Engineer for Hipmunk and Product Engineer for Realm Inc.
Adam Fish
(CEO)Co-founded Roobiq in 2011. Following this they were VP of Product at Realm Inc and a Technical Consultant at HBO.
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