Senior/Staff Software Engineer, Database Team
Pinecone is hiring a Senior/Staff Software Engineer, Database Team for a remote role open to applicants in United States. It pays $190k-$270k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Pinecone.
Level's read on this job
- On Level's scale, this software engineer role is Works on AI ●●●○: the daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
- Pay on this posting starts 13% higher than the typical software engineer posting on Level.
- This is listed as a remote role.
- The posting mentions Rust, Go and C among its tools and skills.
- Pinecone has 7 other open roles on Level.
AI in this role
Senior or Staff Software Engineer to build and optimize distributed database features powering AI applications.
About Pinecone
Pinecone is the trusted AI knowledge company. Its trusted AI knowledge platform—including its Database, Nexus, and Marketplace products—power accurate, fast, and cost-effective AI applications for more than 10,000 customers and 1M developers worldwide. Pinecone's mission is to make AI knowledgeable. For more information, visit pinecone.io.
About the Team and Role:
Join a team that builds robust, real-time distributed systems for a cutting-edge database. We care about performance, reliability, scalability, and most of all learning and having fun together. Whether you’re a seasoned coder or just getting started, if you’re passionate about technology and eager to learn, you’ll fit right in.
Who we are:
We show up to work, ready to collaborate and build technologies that make a difference, with people who genuinely care.
We chase improvements such as tail latencies, bytes throughput, cache hit rate, and operational cost efficiency.
We believe learning is ongoing and that even the most complex problems can have simple solutions.
What You’ll Do:
Collaborate with teammates to design and build database features that power AI applications.
Learn how to tune performance and support reliability in distributed systems (don’t worry, we’ll guide you).
Help Pinecone run smoothly on popular cloud providers.
Take ownership of your work and grow your skills every day.
Have fun.
Who You Are:
5+ years of work experience - programming in Rust, Go, C++, or a comparable language.
You’re genuinely curious about distributed systems and eager to dive deep into technical challenges.
You approach problems with creativity and persistence, and you’re comfortable asking thoughtful questions or seeking feedback.
You’re excited to learn, value constructive feedback, and appreciate mentorship.
Bonus Points:
You have hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) or have demonstrated an ability to pick up new tools quickly.
You’re comfortable thinking in async or multi-threaded environments, or can show you’re ready to learn.
You’ve explored performance tools or have a track record of optimizing code for speed, reliability, or efficiency.
Perks & Benefits:
Comprehensive health coverage (medical, dental, vision, and mental health resources)
401(k) plan
Equity award
Flexible time off
Paid parental leave
Annual company retreat
WFH equipment stipend
All qualified applicants will receive considerations for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, veteran status, and any other legally protected status under federal, state, or local anti-discrimination laws.
How we rate this
Senior/Staff Software Engineer, Database Team at Pinecone rates 65 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Works on AI (AI Level 3 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Works on AI. The daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Also common in software engineer jobs at this level
Pay
- This job starts at
- $190k
- Typical software engineer job
- $168k
This posting starts 13% above the typical software engineer job. See software engineer jobs
Questions you could be asked
- Tell me about a project where distributed systems was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where database was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where backend was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where performance optimization was part of your work. What did you do?
- Walk me through how you've used Rust in your day-to-day work.
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Distributed Systems, Database, Backend, Performance Optimization, and Rust. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
- Show where AI is part of your daily process, not a one-off project. This role expects it to be a running habit.
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