Principal Software Engineer – Data Lakes

Remote from: EMEA, Germany
Annual salary: Undisclosed
Salary information is not provided for this position. Check our Salary Directory to estimate the average compensation for similar roles.
Department: Software Engineering
Employment type: Full Time,
Job posted: 17 Jun 2026
Apply before: 17 Jul 2026
Experience level: Senior
Views / Applies: 97 / 17

About company

About Fivetran

The leader in automated data movement.

Computer Software
2012

Actively Hiring

AI Summary

Fivetran is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead the technical architecture and development of their Managed Data Lake product. This senior role involves designing scalable, high-performance systems, contributing to open-source projects like DuckDB and Polaris, and setting technical standards across the organization. The ideal candidate has deep expertise in high-performance relational data management systems, strong Java and C++ skills, and experience with columnar storage formats and public clouds. This is a full-time remote position based in Germany, offering a comprehensive benefits package including stock grants and flexible time off. Fivetran aims to make data access as simple and reliable as electricity, and this role is critical to advancing that mission.

Role DNA

Job Complexity

Easy Hard

Pace & Pressure

Relaxed Fast-paced

Autonomy Level

Guided Full Ownership

Communication Load

Independent Highly Collaborative

AI Insight The role requires deep expertise in high-performance data systems, open-source contributions, and leading large projects, making it highly challenging.

Salary Analysis

AI Insight The offered salary is not specified, but for a Principal Software Engineer in the US market, the typical range is $150,000 to $250,000, with a median around $200,000. This role is remote in Germany, so compensation may vary by region.

Key Skills

Java C++ Data Lakes AWS GCP Azure Kubernetes Iceberg DuckDB Distributed Systems

Cover Letter Sample

Dear Hiring Manager,

I am writing to express my strong interest in the Principal Software Engineer - Data Lakes position at Fivetran. With over 7 years of experience designing and building high-performance distributed systems, I am excited about the opportunity to contribute to Fivetran's mission of making data access as simple as electricity.

In my previous role at [Company], I led the development of a scalable data lake platform using Java and C++, and I have hands-on expertise with columnar storage formats like Parquet and Iceberg. I am passionate about open-source technologies and have contributed to projects similar to DuckDB and Polaris.

Fivetran's innovative approach to data pipelines and commitment to reliability align perfectly with my professional values. I am confident that my technical leadership and deep understanding of data management systems will allow me to drive significant improvements to your Managed Data Lake product.

Possible Interview Questions

Describe your experience with building and optimizing high-performance data lake systems.

I have designed and implemented data lake architectures that handle petabyte-scale data using columnar storage formats like Parquet and Iceberg. I optimized query performance by leveraging partitioning, clustering, and advanced caching strategies, achieving 10x improvement in query latency.

How do you approach contributing to open-source projects, and what contributions have you made?

I actively contribute to open-source by submitting pull requests, participating in design discussions, and addressing issues. For example, I contributed a new feature to DuckDB that improved its integration with S3-compatible storage, and I have also contributed to the Iceberg project.

Explain a time you had to lead a complex project with cross-functional teams. How did you ensure success?

I led a project to migrate a legacy data warehouse to a cloud-native data lake. I collaborated with product, infrastructure, and data teams to define requirements, set milestones, and conduct regular syncs. I also implemented automated testing and monitoring to ensure reliability.

What strategies do you use to ensure high availability and fault tolerance in distributed systems?

I design systems with redundancy, using replication and failover mechanisms. I implement circuit breakers, retries with exponential backoff, and health checks. I also conduct chaos engineering experiments to identify weaknesses and improve resilience.

How do you stay current with emerging technologies in data storage and processing?

I regularly read research papers, attend conferences like VLDB and SIGMOD, and experiment with new tools. I also participate in online communities and contribute to open-source projects to learn from peers and apply new ideas.

From Fivetran’s founding until now, our mission has remained the same: to make access to data as simple and reliable as electricity. With Fivetran, customer data arrives in their warehouses, canonical and ready to query, with no engineering or maintenance required. We’re proud that more organizations continue to leverage our technology every day to become truly data-driven.

About the Role

Fivetran is building data pipelines to power the modern data stack for thousands of companies.

We’re seeking a Principal Software Engineer to contribute to the technical architecture, design and development of Fivetran’s Managed Data Lake product offering. As part of a senior engineering team, you’ll partner with product and engineering teams to build scalable, high-performance systems, advance open-source technologies, and set technical standards that raise the bar across the organization.

This is a full-time remote position based out of Germany.

Technologies You’ll Use

Java, C++, Postgres, Temporal, gRPC
AWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes, Grafana
Iceberg, Polaris, Delta Lake, Parquet, DuckDB

What You’ll Do

Partner closely with product teams to understand requirements and design cutting-edge new capabilities that go directly into customer’s hands.
Design, develop, implement, and operate highly reliable large-scale data lake systems in cooperation with a dedicated data lake engineering team.
Contribute to open-source projects such as DuckDB and Polaris.
Embrace Fivetran innovations with open-source standards and toolsets.
Analyze fault-tolerance and high availability issues, performance and scale challenges, and solve them.
Ensure operational excellence of the services and meet the commitments to our customers regarding security, reliability, availability, and performance.
Set technical directions and influence cross-functional teams.

Skills We’re Looking For

6+ years of hands-on or research experience with high-performance relational data management systems.
Deep understanding of infrastructure & software optimizations and performance engineering to drive significant performance, latency, and availability improvements.
Proven track record of leading and delivering large and complicated projects.
Strong development skills in Java and C++.
Solid experience with public clouds (AWS, Azure, GCP).
Demonstrated knowledge of columnar storage formats.
Growth mindset and excitement about breaking the status quo by seeking innovative solutions.
Excellent team player who is consistent in making everyone around you better.

Bonus Skills

Strongly prefer an MS or PhD in Computer Science, ideally focusing on database management and/or storage engines.

#LI-IM1
#LI-REMOTE

Perks and Benefits

100% employer-paid medical insurance*
Generous paid time-off policy (PTO), plus paid sick time, inclusive parental leave policy, holidays, and volunteer days off
RSU stock grants*
Professional development and training opportunities
Company virtual happy hours, free food, and fun team-building activities
Monthly cell phone stipend
Access to an innovative mental health support platform that offers personalized care and resources in areas such as: therapy, coaching, and self-guided mindfulness exercises for all covered employees and their covered dependents.

*May vary by country and worker type – please reach out to your recruiter for more information

Click here to learn more about Fivetran’s Benefits by Region.

We’re honored to be valued at over $5.6 billion, but more importantly, we’re proud of our core values of Get Stuck In, Do the Right Thing, and One Team, One Dream. Read about us in Forbes.

Fivetran brings together high-quality talent across the globe to make data access as easy and reliable as electricity for our customers. We value and recognize that our customers benefit from having innovative teams made of people from many backgrounds, experiences, and identities. Fivetran promotes diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging through attracting, recruiting, developing, and retaining a diverse workforce, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it helps us build a world-class company to better serve our customers, our people and our communities.

To learn more about Fivetran’s culture and what it’s like to be part of the team, click here and enjoy our video.

To learn more about our candidate privacy policy, you can read our statement here.

We are committed to ensuring that all candidates have an equal opportunity to participate in our interview process. If you require accommodations at any stage of the process due to a disability, medical condition, or any other circumstance, please don’t hesitate to submit your request by filling out this form. We will work with you to provide reasonable accommodations to facilitate your participation and ensure a fair and accessible interview experience. Your request and any information provided will be kept confidential and will not impact your candidacy. We look forward to hearing from you and accommodating your needs to the best of our ability.

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