Staff Software Engineer, Spark

About Cloudera

At Cloudera, we empower people to transform complex data into clear and actionable insights. With as much data under management as the hyperscalers, we're the preferred data partner for the top companies in almost every industry. Powered by the relentless innovation of the open source community, Cloudera advances digital transformation for the world’s largest enterprises.

The Data Platform Pillar is the bedrock of Cloudera’s technology, where we design and build the core components that let our customers store, manage, and process data with unmatched scalability, security, and performance.

The Role: Staff Software Engineer, Spark

Cloudera is seeking a Staff Software Engineer, Spark with strong distributed systems expertise to work on the Cloudera distribution of Apache Spark and Livy. This role involves building enterprise-grade systems for customers running Spark on thousands of nodes and processing petabytes of data.

We are looking for a passionate engineer eager to enhance a product already supporting major production systems and to drive the next-generation Data Engineering experience. You will collaborate with a distributed team across the United States and Hungary, including multiple Apache Spark committers.

As a Staff Software Engineer, you will…

• Design new features for Cloudera’s data engineering experience, and take them from prototypes to leading a team to deliver the feature in production at scale
• Contribute to Apache Spark, Livy
• Develop new features in Scala/Java/Python on modern platforms
• Gain expertise in distributed data processing, from SQL planners and optimizers, to data layout and table formats like Apache Parquet and Iceberg, to fault tolerance in distributed systems.
• Gain a solid understanding and deep technical knowledge of components across the Cloudera Data Engineering Experience stack, but focusing on Iceberg and Spark, which you can utilize in your daily tasks
• Get to work on large scale distributed systems, from 100s to 1000s of nodes, in production clusters
• Debug system level deployment issues, root cause analysis, perform system test analysis and resolve failures
• Work on improving internal infrastructure
• Collaborate with other team members and stakeholders

We are excited if you have...

• 6+ years professional software development.
• Experience leading and delivering complex product enhancements.
• Strong understanding of at least one of the following languages: Java, Scala, Python, and an interest to learn the others.
• Experience with systems design, development.
• Passion for programming, clean coding habits, attention to detail, and focus on quality.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Strong ability to research and solve problems independently without constant supervision.
• Open-minded, desire to learn new things and build great products.
• Experience with distributed systems.

You may also have...

• Experience with SQL planners
• Experience with using/developing Apache Spark, Livy or other related technologies.
• Experience with large-scale, distributed systems design and development with an understanding of scaling, performance, and scheduling.
• Solid experience with at least one cloud service provider.

Why this role matters:

You will tackle complex distributed systems challenges, crafting the foundational software for the control and data planes that powers CDP and keeps it running at massive scale. Working at the forefront of hybrid and multi-cloud technology, you will empower data scientists, engineers, and analysts with the tools and infrastructure they need for advanced analytics and modeling. Collaboration is key, you will work alongside brilliant minds across product, data science, and engineering to drive innovation, standardize best practices, and shape the future of enterprise AI and data platforms. This is your chance to build the future of data and see your work make a global impact.

What you can expect from us:

• Generous PTO Policy
• Support work life balance with Unplugged Days
• Flexible WFH Policy
• Mental & Physical Wellness programs
• Phone and Internet Reimbursement program
• Access to Continued Career Development
• Comprehensive Benefits and Competitive Packages
• Paid Volunteer Time
• Employee Resource Groups

Key skills/competency

• Apache Spark
• Distributed Systems
• Java
• Scala
• Python
• Data Engineering
• Apache Parquet
• Apache Iceberg
• SQL Optimizers
• Cloud Platforms