Senior Software Engineer – JVM Language Clients

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Germany.

📋 Description

• Take full ownership of the Java client and JDBC driver from start to finish: including roadmap, API design, performance optimization, release engineering, and support for partners.

• Lead efforts to enhance throughput and reduce latency across both the client and ClickHouse server.

• Collaborate closely with the Connectors team as an integral internal customer: comprehend their requirements from the driver and deliver accordingly.

• Interact directly with external partners in the areas of data ingestion and data visualization, focusing on interoperability, regression issues, and alignment of roadmaps.

• Achieve and deliver visible, quantifiable improvements in throughput, stability, and developer experience.

⛳️ Requirements

• Over 5 years of experience in software engineering, with a major focus on data-intensive systems such as drivers, SDKs, data ingestion, CDC, streaming, or analytics.

• Profound knowledge of Java and JVM, including understanding the memory model, garbage collection tuning, profiling, and the ability to analyze throughput and latency at the byte level.

• Practical experience in creating or significantly enhancing a library that is relied upon by other engineers. You recognize that API design has cumulative effects, and that a breaking change in a widely utilized library differs significantly from one in an application.

• Strong understanding of database principles, including SQL, query execution, and analytical/OLAP workloads. Ability to discern when to utilize framework abstractions versus when to engage with the protocol directly.

• Good instincts regarding concurrency in the JVM, including knowledge of executors, reactive streams, backpressure, connection pooling, and associated failure modes.

• Considerate and transparent application of modern AI development tools (like Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, or their equivalents), paired with robust independent design and code review judgment. We anticipate engineers to leverage AI where beneficial and to clearly articulate areas where they did not. An aversion to AI tools is not suitable for this team, nor is excessive dependence without the foundational engineering knowledge to evaluate the output.

• Outstanding written communication skills, as most coordination occurs in design documents, PR descriptions, and RFCs.

• A genuine inclination towards open-source collaboration: comfort in engaging with community issues, external contributors, and public design discussions. While being a maintainer of a prominent project is not necessary, a willingness to work transparently in the open is essential.

🏝️ Benefits

• Flexible work environment - ClickHouse is a globally distributed and remote-friendly company, currently operating in over 20 countries.

• Healthcare - Employer contributions towards your healthcare expenses.

• Equity in the company - All new team members receive stock options upon joining.

• Time off - Flexible time off in the US, with generous entitlements in other countries.

• A $500 allowance for home office setup for remote employees.

• Global Gatherings – We value in-person connections and provide opportunities for engagement with colleagues at company-wide offsite events.