March 4, 2025

Staff Database Systems Engineer, Cassandra Integration ASE

Senior • On-site

$166,600 - $296,300/yr

Seattle, WA

Summary

Posted:
Role Number:200593490
Imagine what you could do here. At Apple, new ideas have a way of becoming great products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring passion and dedication to your job and there's no telling what you could accomplish! Apple is seeking experienced database systems engineers to join our Cassandra Integration team. Apple’s Cassandra organization develops and contributes to Apache Cassandra, an open source distributed database powering many of Apple's most critical internet services. Join a team of experts, working with industry leading modern database technology, distributed systems and storage engineering to evolve Apache Cassandra. The team's work is deployed at massive scale. It also has big impact, providing the storage platform upon which many iCloud, Media, and other internet services at Apple are built. The work in this role will benefit all users of Apple products and is crucial to the success of current and future offerings.

Description

Apple’s Cassandra Integration team develops systems that are correct, reliable, scalable, and fast. This work requires an innovative spirit and an extraordinary degree of care and rigor in engineering. Team members contribute to all major open source components of Apache Cassandra and it's growing official ecosystem, including authentication / authorization, control plane (Apache Cassandra Sidecar), bulk analytics (Apache Cassandra Analytics) and full featured, deep integrations inside and around Apache Cassandra’s massive ecosystem! As a member of this team, you will build and evolve major components of the database. THESE AREAS INCLUDE: - Bulk Data Interchange - Data and Control Plane Isolation - Security and authorization - Tenant isolation - Traffic and load balancing - Quota and rate limiting ...and many more. Success in this role requires expertise in several of the following and desire to gain experience in others: - Fundamentals of system-level hardware and networking components (storage devices and controllers, network interfaces, CPU and memory layout in server-class systems). - Operating systems concepts (process scheduling, disk and network I/O, performance). - Datacenter architecture (networking topologies, host placement strategies, and failure modes); design of multi-datacenter systems; failure domains; and wide-area networking. - Understanding of distributed systems concepts (fallacies of distributed computing, CAP, FLP, etc). - Understanding of database concepts (consistency models, isolation levels, crash and recovery semantics). - Advanced concepts such as failure detection, smart clients, load balancing, request pipelining, speculation / retry policies, and operational semantics of high-throughput distributed systems. - Performance engineering (design concepts, profile-guided optimization). - Software validation concepts (fault injection, property-based testing and model checking, workload replay, quality metrics). - Strong cross-functional, cross field collaboration skills and penchant for delivering incremental value. Experience with Agile, Scrum and other methodologies is a big plus. - This role also requires excellent communication, ability to partner with our Site Reliability peers, and a high degree of customer focus when engaging with internal platform customers. Ability to work effectively with colleagues based in other locations is also essential; experience in this area is a plus. Prior experience with development of distributed databases / storage systems is recommended.

Minimum Qualifications

  • 10+ years of experience in Database Internals Engineering or High Performance Distributed Systems.
  • Proficient in modern Java including Concurrency, Memory Management and Garbage Collection concepts.
  • Deep understanding of data structures and algorithms in storage systems.
  • Understanding of REST, HTTP, TCP/IP and other critical Internet protocols.
  • Understanding of the Big Data Ecosystem.
  • Experience developing database systems or distributed systems.
  • Advanced knowledge of security standard methodologies.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Demonstrated expertise developing distributed systems including concepts such as traffic and load balancing; quota and rate limiting; multi-tenant isolation; and security engineering.
  • Experience developing critical internet services and/or platform infrastructure.
  • Experience developing software in open source communities a plus.

Pay & Benefits

  • At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $166,600 and $296,300, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.

    Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple’s discretionary employee stock programs. Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You’ll also receive benefits including: Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits, a range of discounted products and free services, and for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses — including tuition. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Learn more about Apple Benefits.

    Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.

  • Apple is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We take affirmative action to ensure equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Learn more about your EEO rights as an applicant.