Senior Software Engineer, Systems

Aerospike is the real-time database for mission-critical use cases and workloads, including machine learning, generative, and agentic AI. Aerospike powers millions of transactions per second with millisecond latency, at a fraction of the total cost of ownership compared to other databases. Global leaders, including Adobe, Airtel, Barclays, Criteo, DBS Bank, Experian, Grab, HDFC Bank, PayPal, Sony Interactive Entertainment, The Trade Desk, and Wayfair, rely on Aerospike for customer 360, fraud detection, real-time bidding, profile stores, recommendation engines, and other use cases. At Aerospike, we dream big and deliver even bigger. Our mission is to unleash the power of the world’s real-time data with a database built for infinite scale, speed, and sustainability. If you're ready to shape the future of data, join us. Senior Software Engineer, Systems As a Senior Systems Engineer at Aerospike, you will play a pivotal role in advancing our high-performance, low-latency platform by developing core systems software with a strong emphasis on performance, reliability, and efficiency. Experience with kernel modules or filesystems is a plus, though not a core focus of this role. You will collaborate with project managers, performance engineers, and quality engineers to align development with business needs and ensure quality. Responsibilities Design and implement systems-level software, especially in areas related to networking, low-level I/O, and hardware interfaces. Develop high-performance, low-latency code for interacting with storage and network hardware. Debug and optimize OS-level issues across Linux-based environments. Ensure system quality through rigorous testing and benchmarking. Work with storage hardware to optimize performance. Participate in pair programming to improve code quality and knowledge sharing. Minimum Qualifications Fluent in C with deep understanding of low-level programming and memory management. Strong understanding of OS internals – threading, concurrency, memory management, and I/O subsystems. 5+ years of experience in systems-level software development, such as networking, kernel, drivers, RTOS, embedded, or firmware. Experience shipping and deploying performance-critical systems in production environments. Proficiency in at least one other language: C#, Go, Java, Python, Rust, etc. Self-motivated problem solver – you know when to execute, when to ask for help, and how to drive projects to completion. Preferred Qualifications Experience with large distributed systems software internals, such as Lustre or Ceph. Experience with pair programming or technical collaboration. Knowledge of the CAP theorem and/or distributed consensus protocols (Paxos, Raft, etc.). Familiarity with low-level performance optimization techniques for high-throughput data processing. Knowledge of ACID, consistency models, database internals, and indexing techniques. Experience with filesystems or Linux kernel development or tuning. Familiarity with PCIe, NVMe, DMA, RDMA, epoll, io_uring, or other low-level interfaces. Join us at Aerospike and be part of a dynamic team that is shaping the future of data management. Salary Range for California Based Applicants: [$170,000 - $195,000] (actual compensation will be determined based on experience, location, and other factors permitted by law