Greenhouse ·
full-timePrincipal Software Engineer - Roblox Database
Roblox · San Mateo, CA, United States
Roblox is an online platform that lets creators build and share immersive 3‑D experiences for millions of users worldwide. Its database team builds a multi‑tenant storage system that powers every data‑intensive service on the platform. As a Principal Software Engineer on this team, you will define and deliver core database capabilities such as indexing, storage formats, write‑ahead logging, replication, sharding, and query‑planner improvements. You will also extend the control plane to enable elastic scaling, autonomous healing, and zero‑downtime schema migrations across global regions. Daily work includes profiling and optimizing critical code paths with kernel‑level tracing, establishing best‑practice processes like design reviews and failure drills, and automating testing, CI/CD, and observability pipelines. The role requires mentoring other engineers and collaborating with storage, platform, and product groups, as well as contributing to open‑source projects like PostgreSQL and RocksDB. The position is suited to candidates with 12+ years of software engineering experience, deep knowledge of distributed databases, strong C/C++, Go or Rust skills, and a track record of building high‑QPS, low‑latency services at scale.
Education
- Level: Bachelor's degree
Key Skills
Experience required
12-12 years experienceAbout the Role Roblox's database team develops the next‑generation multi‑tenant database platform that scales globally. As a Principal Software Engineer you will shape architecture, build and launch critical database capabilities. Responsibilities Design and implement new engine features such as indexing, storage formats, WAL, replication, sharding and query‑planner enhancements. Evolve the control plane for elastic scaling and zero‑downtime schema moves. Profile and optimise code paths using kernel‑level tracing and performance tooling. Lead design reviews, benchmarks, failure drills and retrospectives. Automate testing, CI/CD, rollout safety, observability and autoscaling. Mentor engineers and share knowledge across teams. Engage with the open‑source community on PostgreSQL, RocksDB and related ecosystems. Requirements 12+ years of software engineering experience. Deep experience building and operating large‑scale distributed databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL/InnoDB, RocksDB, Spanner, Aurora, AlloyDB). Expertise in database internals (B‑trees, MVCC, WAL, query optimisation, buffer management). Strong skills in C/C++, Go or Rust. Hands‑on with consensus algorithms (Raft, Paxos) and multi‑region replication. Experience shipping high‑QPS, low‑latency services on Kubernetes or Nomad with observability. Passion for automation, rigorous testing and data‑driven decision making. Bonus: contributions to PostgreSQL or RocksDB, familiarity with disaggregated storage, HTAP workloads or custom query languages.
Skills for this role
Required skills
Also mentioned in the listing
| Role | Principal Software Engineer - Roblox Database |
|---|---|
| Company | Roblox |
| Location | San Mateo, CA, United States |
| Compensation | Not disclosed |
| Posted | 2026-09-30 |
| Deadline | Rolling |
Typical process for this type of role
A general guide — the exact steps for this specific listing may vary; check the original posting for details.
- 1ApplicationSubmit your resume through the apply link.
- 2ScreeningRecruiter reviews your background against the role.
- 3AssessmentA technical test, assignment, or coding round, depending on the role.
- 4Interview(s)One or more rounds with the hiring team.
- 5OfferOffer letter with compensation and start date.
Before you apply
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