Principal Engineer, Data Path / Metadata / Performance (StorageGRID)

Job Responsibilities

• Datapath Architecture
• Own the architecture and technical implementation of the StorageGRID S3 data path — from ingest/retrieve/delete to metadata storage to the on-disk replicated/erasure-coded data flow.
• Lead performance analysis, benchmarking then identify performance improvements and deliver.
• Design for scale and geo-distribution—multi-site, cross-grid replication, and global/federated namespace behavior at hundreds of nodes and exabyte scale
• Drive large, cross-cutting data path initiatives from architecture through implementation, validation, and release readiness
• Hands-On Technical Leadership
• Stay deep in the code and the hardest bugs; set the technical bar through high-quality design, reviews, root-cause analysis, and pragmatic engineering standards
• Lead StorageGRID designs and drive architectural alignment across data path engineering.

Job Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in systems, storage, distributed systems, or performance engineering, with a track record of technical leadership
• Strong hands-on programming skills in one or more of C/C++, Go, or Python, and experience debugging distributed software in Linux-based environments
• Built or owned an object storage system, S3 implementation, or large-scale distributed storage/database product including request data path, data placement, replication/erasure coding, consistency, and failure handling
• Experience with Apache Cassandra or comparable distributed databases at scale
• Proven ability to influence technical direction across teams without direct authority
• Mentor Senior and MTS engineers on data path internals, performance optimization, distributed-systems design, and debugging practices
• Collaborate with quality engineering, product management, supportability, support, and field teams to translate customer requirements into data path and performance improvements
• Nice to Have Qualifications
• Experience with S3 protocol semantics (multipart, versioning, Object Lock/WORM) and the data path implications of the API contract
• Experience with load balancing, network, storage media (NVMe/SSD/HDD), and x86 hardware
• Experience with AI-assisted development and observability tooling for analysis, debugging, testing, and documentation

Education