Distributed Systems Engineer

About the role

Become a part of our DATA organization at Cloudflare, where you will play a crucial role in shaping the future of data management. In this position, you will engage with systems that handle over a billion events every second, delivering real-time insights to our customers about their online assets. Your primary focus will be on developing customer-centric products that enhance data accessibility and usability.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Design and enhance APIs that are customer-facing, ensuring optimal performance and user experience.
• Construct and sustain a real-time alerting platform that encompasses everything from data processing to the delivery of notifications.
• Refine intricate analytical queries that drive our APIs and dashboards, ensuring they operate efficiently.
• Develop tools that empower customers to navigate their data and set up alerts based on logs and metrics.
• Scale the API and alerting infrastructure to accommodate an increasing variety of use cases.
• Work in collaboration with product managers and front-end engineers to create a data experience for users.
• Maintain the operational integrity of APIs and alerting systems through diligent monitoring and on-call responsibilities.
• Engage in troubleshooting and resolving issues that arise within the distributed systems environment.
• Participate in code reviews and contribute to the development of best practices within the team.
• Stay updated with industry trends and advancements to continually improve our systems and processes.
• Document system designs and processes to ensure clarity and facilitate knowledge sharing among team members.

Requirements

• A minimum of 3 years of experience in software development, specifically with distributed systems and scalable APIs.
• Expertise in Go, with a comprehensive understanding of best practices for creating high-performance services.
• Familiarity with observability tools such as Prometheus and Grafana, particularly in managing high-cardinality metrics.
• Strong command of SQL, with a proven track record of optimizing complex queries for performance.
• A solid grounding in computer science fundamentals, including algorithms, data structures, distributed systems, and concurrency.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with a readiness to address complex challenges at scale.
• Capability to collaborate effectively within a team and communicate efficiently with various departments.

Nice to have

• Experience in developing and scaling GraphQL APIs to enhance data interaction.
• Knowledge of data streaming technologies like Kafka or Flink, which can improve real-time data processing.
• Familiarity with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools such as SALT or Terraform for managing infrastructure.
• Experience with containerization technologies including Docker and Kubernetes to streamline deployment processes.

Skills & tools

• Proficient in Go programming language
• Strong SQL skills
• Experience with Prometheus for monitoring
• Familiarity with Grafana for visualization
• Knowledge of GraphQL for API development
• Understanding of Kafka and Flink for data streaming
• Experience with SALT and Terraform for infrastructure management
• Proficient in Docker and Kubernetes for container orchestration

Practical notes

This position qualifies for Cloudflare's equity plan, allowing employees to participate in the company's growth. The benefits package includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, flexible spending accounts, and support for fertility and family planning. Mental health resources, global travel medical insurance, disability and life insurance, and a 401(k) retirement plan are also part of the offerings. Employees enjoy flexible paid time off for vacations and sick leave, along with various leave options such as parental, medical, and bereavement leave.

Join us at Cloudflare and contribute to building innovative data solutions that empower our customers and enhance their online experiences. Your expertise will help us continue to lead in the realm of distributed systems and real-time data management.

About the company

Cloudflare operates one of the largest networks in the world, providing security, performance, and reliability services to websites and internet applications. Founded by Matthew Prince, Lee Holloway, and Michelle Zatlyn in 2009, Cloudflare went public on the NYSE in September 2019.