Distributed Systems Engineer

About the role

Become a part of Cloudflare's DATA Organisation, where you will play a pivotal role in transforming how data is managed for countless online properties. In this position, you will be responsible for constructing and maintaining high-performance systems capable of processing over a billion events each second, delivering essential insights to our customers regarding their digital presence. Your primary focus will be on developing robust logging and audit logging solutions that ensure data integrity and security.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Design, build, and oversee a reliable logging platform that guarantees secure data transmission to various customer endpoints and external systems.
• Develop and maintain efficient data connectors and integrations for log delivery products, emphasizing user-friendliness, scalability, and data precision.
• Create and manage systems dedicated to comprehensive audit logs, ensuring secure data transmission while adhering to compliance and performance benchmarks.
• Optimize and enhance the data delivery pipeline to handle vast amounts of data with minimal latency, identifying and addressing bottlenecks in data processing and routing.
• Collaborate closely with product managers and other engineering teams to establish requirements for new logging platforms and integrations.
• Maintain the operational stability of the log delivery platform through vigilant monitoring and participation in an on-call rotation.
• Contribute to the architectural evolution of our data egress platform by exploring and implementing innovative technologies to improve efficiency and reliability.
• Engage in code reviews and provide mentorship to junior engineers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the team.
• Participate in the development of documentation and best practices for logging and audit logging systems, ensuring clarity and accessibility for future reference.
• Analyze system performance metrics and user feedback to drive enhancements and feature development in the logging platform.
• Work with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless integration of logging solutions into existing systems and workflows.
• Stay updated on industry trends and advancements in distributed systems and logging technologies to keep Cloudflare at the forefront of innovation.

Requirements

• At least 3 years of experience in software development, particularly in the realms of distributed systems and data pipelines.
• Strong programming capabilities, with a preference for Go, and a solid understanding of best practices for constructing resilient, high-throughput systems.
• Hands-on experience with contemporary observability tools such as Prometheus and Grafana, including managing high-cardinality metrics at scale.
• Proficient in SQL with experience in optimizing queries for performance.
• Solid foundational knowledge of computer science concepts, including algorithms, data structures, distributed systems, and concurrency.
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with a proactive approach to troubleshooting complex, large-scale challenges.
• Ability to work collaboratively within a team environment and communicate effectively with various departments at Cloudflare.

Nice to have

• Familiarity with data streaming technologies such as Kafka or Flink.
• Experience with different logging platforms or Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions (e.g., Splunk, Datadog, Sumo Logic) and storage options (e.g., S3, R2, GCS).
• Knowledge of Infrastructure as Code tools like SALT or Terraform.
• Experience with Linux container technologies, including Docker and Kubernetes.

Skills & tools

• Go (preferred)
• Prometheus
• Grafana
• SQL
• Algorithms
• Data Structures
• Distributed Systems
• Concurrency
• Kafka (nice to have)
• Flink (nice to have)
• SALT (nice to have)
• Terraform (nice to have)
• Docker (nice to have)
• Kubernetes (nice to have)

Practical notes

• This position qualifies for Cloudflare's equity plan.
• Cloudflare provides a comprehensive benefits package in the US, which includes Medical/Rx, Dental, and Vision Insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts, Commuter Spending Accounts, Fertility & Family Forming Benefits, mental health support, and Global Travel Medical Insurance.

Join Cloudflare and be part of a team that is redefining the future of data management and logging solutions. Your contributions will directly impact the way millions of users experience the internet, making it a safer and more efficient space.

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.