Source

Database Engine Engineer

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Organization:
Source, Inc.
Organization Profile:
We build Source and we build with Source. We maintain an open-source, edge-native data stack and deploy it in production where the cloud isn't an option — phones, laptops, vehicles, robots, ground stations, satellites. Engineer-led, no roadmap theater, no process for the sake of process. The plan is to ship, learn, and fix what breaks. Upstream, we're making the stack faster, more correct, and less annoying to use. Downstream, we're deploying real workloads for partners on hardware that doesn't forgive lazy engineering. We run managed services too, for teams that want edge infra without the ops burden. If you'd rather debug a CRDT merge on a satellite than sit through a sprint retro, you'll like it here.
Location:Remove NA/EU
Salary:Minimum expected salary: $150,000 USD + equity

Why we are hiring this role

The edge is becoming the primary site of data creation — across devices, vehicles, robots, ground stations, and satellites. The databases that exist today were designed for centralized environments. They assume stable networks, abundant resources, and a single point of coordination. That model breaks at the edge.

DefraDB is our answer: an open-source, peer-to-peer document database built in Go, designed from the ground up for edge-native, local-first, and distributed environments. It uses CRDTs for conflict-free replication, supports peer-to-peer synchronization, and ships with native cryptographic primitives for data privacy and governance.

We need engineers who build databases — not engineers who build applications that talk to them. This is a role where you work on query planners, storage engines, replication protocols, and indexing structures. If your database experience is writing queries and designing schemas, this role is not the right fit.

Why this role matters

As a Database Engine Engineer, you'll own critical subsystems inside DefraDB — the engine that underpins Source's entire edge-native data stack.

Every feature we ship to developers, every edge deployment we support, and every system we operate depends on the correctness, performance, and reliability of what you build. You'll work on the internals that make DefraDB possible: how queries are planned and executed, how data is stored and retrieved, how state replicates across peers, and how the system behaves under constraint.

This role sits at the intersection of database systems, distributed computing, and edge infrastructure. Working closely with our CTO, co-founders, and infrastructure teams, you'll directly shape the architecture of a database designed to run on anything from a phone to a satellite.

Responsibilities

  • Design and implement query planner components, including cost-based optimization and execution strategies.
  • Build and improve storage engine internals — compaction, caching, on-disk formats, and data layout.
  • Work on CRDT-based data replication for peer-to-peer and edge synchronization.
  • Implement and optimize indexing structures (B-trees, inverted indexes, composite indexes).
  • Improve concurrency control and transaction semantics.
  • Profile and optimize performance at the systems level — memory allocation, I/O patterns, CPU utilization.
  • Contribute to query language design, parsing, and execution pipeline improvements.
  • Ensure DefraDB remains scalable, survivable, and consistent as we grow.

Requirements for the role

  • Direct experience building database internals, storage engines, query processors, compilers, or distributed systems infrastructure — not building applications on top of them.
  • Strong understanding of data structures and algorithms used in database systems (B-trees, LSM trees, hash indexes, skip lists, CRDTs).
  • Proficiency in Go or equivalent systems language (Rust, C/C++). DefraDB is written in Go — you'll be writing Go daily.
  • Experience with replication protocols, consistency models, or conflict resolution in distributed systems.
  • Familiarity with query language design, parsing, or optimization.
  • Ability to make pragmatic design tradeoffs, balancing correctness, performance, maintainability, and delivery time.
  • Contributions to open-source database or infrastructure projects (link your work).
  • 5+ years building systems-level software, with meaningful time spent on database or storage engine internals.
  • A first-principles mindset — you care about building foundational systems that will last decades.

Why Join Source

This is a rare opportunity to build a database engine from the inside at one of the most ambitious companies in edge-native infrastructure.

As a Database Engine Engineer, you'll work on deep systems problems — query planning, storage design, replication, and performance — inside a database that's designed to run where traditional databases can't. You'll join a small, world-class team defining how data works in decentralized, privacy-preserving, edge-first environments.

At Source, you'll build the core infrastructure that makes edge-native computing possible. If you've spent your career working inside databases and want to help build one that's purpose-built for the edge, this is that moment.

  • Work with a great team building the future of edge-native data infrastructure
  • Keep company with leaders in edge AI/software
  • Flexible work arrangement and hours
  • Unlimited days off
  • Great healthcare benefits
  • Technology spending budget
  • Competitive compensation, including equity

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