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Senior Software Engineer, Storage

Airbnb· Online Data / Database Kernel team
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United States$196k - $230kfull-timePosted 1mo ago

About the role

Senior software engineer focused on the storage layer and query execution engine of Airbnb's NewSQL database. You will diagnose and fix SQL latency, work with an open-source vendor on root cause analysis and upstream contributions, and optimize storage performance at scale.

Responsibilities

  • Dig into the query and storage layers to explain latency differences between B-tree and LSM-based storage engines.
  • Analyze query plans and execution paths (planning, optimization, operators, and distributed execution) to find and fix sources of SQL latency.
  • Tune storage engine behavior (compaction, caching, and I/O) for Airbnb's workloads.
  • Design and implement traffic prioritization at the storage layer for connection pooling.
  • Drive root cause analysis on high-severity incidents with our open-source vendor, and land fixes upstream.

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of software engineering, including significant hands-on work on a database storage layer or query execution engine.
  • Strong SQL skills, plus an understanding of how queries are planned, optimized, and executed at the engine level.
  • Deep understanding of storage engine internals (e.g., B-tree/LSM, compaction, indexing, I/O) and/or query processing (e.g., planning, optimization, execution operators).
  • Experience with distributed databases (replication, consensus, transactions) is a strong plus, and familiarity with NewSQL systems like TiDB is a bonus.
  • Ability to own and dive deeply into a complex database codebase, ideally an open-source one. Upstream contributions are a plus.
  • Experience analyzing and debugging high-severity production incidents, especially performance and latency problems.
  • Writes clean, testable, maintainable code.
  • Strong collaboration and communication skills in a remote working environment.
  • Strong ownership and a consistent track record of delivery.

Skills

Required:SQLDatabase storage internals
Nice to have:Distributed databases

Benefits

  • Reasonable accommodations available in recruitment process.
  • Competitive pay range: $196,000—$230,000 USD per year.
  • Potential for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.
Last updated Oct 22, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
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About Airbnb

Book accommodations around the world.

Founded in August of 2008 and based in San Francisco, California, Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world — online or from a mobile phone. Whether an apartment for a night, a castle for a week, or a villa for a month, Airbnb connects people to unique travel experiences, at any price point, in more than 33,000 cities and 192 countries. And with world-class customer service and a growing community of users, Airbnb is the easiest way for people to monetize their extra space and showcase it to an audience of millions. No global movement springs from individuals. It takes an entire team united behind something big. Together, we work hard, we laugh a lot, we brainstorm nonstop, we use hundreds of Post-Its a week, and we give the best high-fives in town. Headquartered in San Francisco, we have satellite offices in Dublin, London, Barcelona, Paris, Milan, Copenhagen, Berlin, Moscow, São Paolo, Sydney, and Singapore.

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