Member of Technical Staff Senior - Specialized Indexing

 

Category-defining tech. Career-defining work.

For more than a decade, Cockroach Labs has built database technology trusted to power some of the world's most mission-critical applications. Now, as AI transforms how software is created and operated, the infrastructure behind it has to keep pace. Cockroach Continuum is built to meet this moment, bringing individual databases together into one fleet designed for agentic applications, where AI agents help teams provision, scale, and optimize workloads at machine speed.

At Cockroach Labs, you'll solve problems that didn't exist five years ago alongside people who believe the simplest solutions often require the most sophisticated thinking. Your work will run in production at some of the most innovative companies in the world. The people who thrive here are the ones who want to own that opportunity.  

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The Role

The SQL Queries team is responsible for the core of CockroachDB’s query execution and optimization layer. This group designs and delivers features that make our distributed SQL engine fast, reliable, and flexible for a wide range of workloads.

AI is transforming how we search, learn, and build, and databases are evolving to keep up.

We’re forming a new Specialized Indexing subteam within SQL Queries to expand CockroachDB’s indexing capabilities beyond traditional relational workloads. This team will design and implement high-performance indexing systems such as vector, full-text, and geospatial indexes to support the next generation of AI-native and search-driven applications.

As part of this team, you’ll work on deep systems problems, collaborate across the SQL organization, and build production-quality features that make CockroachDB a unified platform for both structured and unstructured data.

You Will 

• Design, build, and maintain specialized indexing features for CockroachDB, including vector, full-text, and geospatial indexing.
• Improve the performance and reliability of existing vector indexing systems, including backfill, query planning, and import workflows.
• Partner with other database teams to integrate new indexing mechanisms into the query engine.
• Develop hybrid search capabilities that combine vector similarity and text-based search for modern AI and search workloads.
• Participate in design discussions, code reviews, and release planning within the SQL organization.
• Take full ownership of your work, from design through implementation, testing, and release.

The Expectations

In your first month, you’ll get familiar with CockroachDB’s SQL architecture, vector indexing implementation, and the surrounding systems. You’ll also begin contributing to smaller improvements and fixes.

Within three months, you’ll take ownership of components related to specialized indexing, making measurable improvements to performance and reliability.

After six months, you’ll play a key role in advancing hybrid search capabilities and help shape the roadmap for future indexing and search features. 

You Have

• Passion for databases, indexing systems, and high-performance distributed architectures.
• A strong background in backend or systems programming, preferably with Go, C/C++, or Rust.
• Experience working on indexing or query execution systems such as vector, text, or spatial search.
• Solid understanding of data structures, algorithms, and distributed systems.
• Curiosity about AI-driven and hybrid workloads that combine structured and unstructured data.
• A focus on building reliable, maintainable, and high-performance software.
• Collaborative mindset and ability to work effectively with a distributed global team.
• Typically 10+ years of experience building large-scale, production-grade systems.
• Demonstrated ability to translate ambiguous problems into scalable, production-grade AI-enabled solutions.
• A builder's instinct for reuse and extensibility — your output becomes a platform, pattern, or capability others depend on.
• Clear judgment about where AI should be deeply integrated and where traditional approaches are more reliable.

The Team

The SQL Queries team is one of the most impactful and technically challenging groups at Cockroach Labs. Joining the Specialized Indexing subteam means working at the frontier of databases and AI, helping shape how CockroachDB powers intelligent, hybrid applications.

You’ll be part of a small, autonomous team based in India, collaborating with engineers and leaders across the world. You’ll have the chance to own complex, high-visibility features that directly influence how customers use CockroachDB.

If you’re excited about building innovative systems that push the boundaries of what a database can do, we’d love to meet you.

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Cockroach Labs is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer building a diverse and inclusive workforce. If you need additional accommodations to feel comfortable during your interview process, please email us at [email protected].

Cockroach Labs has a hybrid work model, with Roachers that are local to one of our offices coming in on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays and working flexibly the rest of the week. While we’ve learned valuable lessons working remotely, nothing can replace the connection, creativity, and fun that occurs when Roachers get together and we are committed to fostering a workplace that encourages collaboration and allows us all to do our best work.

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Benefits

• Medical Insurance
• Flexible Time Off
• Paid Parental Leave
• Mental Wellbeing Benefits
• Internet Reimbursement
• Wellness Allowance
• Food Allowance 
• Office Commute Reimbursement
• And more!