Principal Software Engineer - Developer Tools

About MariaDB

MariaDB is making a big impact on the world. Whether you’re checking your bank account, buying a coffee, shopping online, making a phone call, listening to music, taking out a loan or ordering takeout – MariaDB is the backbone of applications used everyday. Companies small and large, including 75% of the Fortune 500, run MariaDB, touching the lives of billions of people. With massive reach through Linux distributions, enterprise deployments and public clouds, MariaDB is uniquely positioned as the leading database for modern application development.

About the Role

MariaDB Plc is seeking a highly experienced and visionary Principal Engineer to develop the next generation of developer tools for MariaDB's entire product range. This role requires a deep understanding of database application development, CI/CD pipelines, and the ability to write high-performance code in C or Python or GO. Strong experience in using agentic coding tools is highly desirable.

The Mission

At MariaDB, we believe that a database is only as powerful as the hands that build it. We are looking for a Principal Engineer to join our Developer Tools team and help make MariaDB the most developer-friendly ecosystem on the planet.

In this role, you won't just be part of a team; you will be a driving force in delivering an outstanding Developer Experience (DX). You will help bridging the gap between our powerful core engines—including MariaDB Server, and GridGain—and the millions of developers who rely on them to power the next generation of applications.

Key Responsibilities

• Product Ownership: Take ownership of a core product in the MariaDB developer tools portfolio. Lead its development, testing and build processes using AI coding agents.
• API & Tooling Excellence: Implement APIs, SDKs and AI agent skills that make building on MariaDB feel like magic.
• Ecosystem Integration: Ensure seamless integration with modern, AI driven development workflows, including popular frameworks, IDEs, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Management Tooling: Build and refine the interfaces that DBAs and developers use to interact with our products. You will write clean, performant code to evolve our management tools, ensuring technical power is matched by a seamless, intuitive user experience.
• Cross-Team Cooperation: Work closely with other teams at MariaDB to provide developers and DBAs with the best integrated solution possible.

Who You Are

• A Seasoned Developer: You have 10+ years of experience in software engineering and product ownership, specifically within the realm of developer tools, database technologies, or infrastructure-as-a-service.
• Developer-Centric: You know that 'good enough' documentation isn't good enough. You have a passion for excellent, production-level code and understand the nuances of what makes a tool indispensable versus a nuisance.
• Technically Deep: You can hold your own in a deep dive on SQL optimization, distributed systems, or the intricacies of MariaDB. You are a master of C/Python/GO coding and managing large projects.
• Strategic & Tactical: You can apply modern development techniques to complex, large-scale codebases, and you know how to use AI agents for major refactoring, implementing features and testing tasks.
• Community Minded: You understand the unique dynamics of Open Source and how to build tools that the community will love and contribute to.

Required Technical Fluency

• Core Database Tech: Deep familiarity with SQL, relational databases, and distributed systems concepts.