Distributed Systems Engineer – Apache Big Data Internals (Remote)

About the role

BairesDev is looking for a senior Distributed Systems Engineer to work on the core internals of Apache big‑data projects. The position is fully remote and focuses on building, debugging, and optimizing the engines themselves rather than downstream applications.

Key responsibilities

• Write production‑grade code for Apache big‑data projects such as Spark, Flink, Trino, Kafka, Hadoop, and related ecosystems.
• Debug and optimize engine components including query planning, distributed execution, scheduling, state management, replication, storage layers, and metadata services at petabyte scale.
• Influence architectural decisions to improve performance and scalability of the engine layer.
• Profile and tune JVM behavior (garbage collection, memory layout, concurrency).
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams and open‑source committers on integrations and ecosystem work.
• Mentor senior engineers through code reviews and design critiques.

Required profile

• 6+ years of professional software development experience.
• Strong proficiency in Java and/or Scala.
• Solid background in distributed systems and concurrent/parallel programming.
• Hands‑on knowledge of the internals of at least one Apache big‑data project (e.g., Spark, Flink, Trino, Kafka, Hadoop, Hive, NiFi, Iceberg, HBase, Impala, Kudu).
• Deep understanding of JVM performance characteristics.
• Advanced English communication skills.

Required skills

• Java
• Scala
• JVM performance tuning (GC, memory, threading)
• Distributed systems design
• Apache Spark, Flink, Trino, Kafka, Hadoop, Hive, NiFi, Iceberg, HBase, Impala, Kudu
• Kubernetes (nice to have)
• Cloud‑native deployment (nice to have)

What we offer

• Fully remote work arrangement.
• Competitive compensation in USD or local currency.
• Provided hardware and software for home office.
• Flexible working hours.
• Paid parental leave, vacation, and national holidays.