Principal Research Scientist, Database Systems

MongoDB MongoDB · Enterprise · United Kingdom · Remote · PTO Research

Research Scientist role focused on advancing database systems, including query optimization, storage engines, and indexing. The role involves designing, prototyping, and evaluating novel database architectures, collaborating with engineering teams, and publishing research in top-tier conferences. The position also includes building and mentoring a research group.

What you'd actually do

  1. Conduct innovative research in query optimization, indexing methods, storage engines, and performance optimization
  2. Design, prototype, and empirically evaluate novel database systems and architectures that leverage modern hardware features, such as SIMD parallelism, GPU acceleration, and multicore processing
  3. Collaborate closely with our Engineering teams to translate cutting-edge research into practical solutions applicable in commercial database products
  4. Publish influential research outcomes in top-tier database and systems conferences and journals (e.g., VLDB, SIGMOD)
  5. Build a Database Systems research group with a critical mass of 2-3 researchers over the next 1-2 years

Skills

Required

  • database systems
  • query optimization
  • storage engines
  • indexing
  • multicore processing
  • performance engineering
  • hardware-aware optimizations
  • database engine internals
  • research prototypes
  • empirical studies

Nice to have

  • SIMD parallelism
  • GPU acceleration

What the JD emphasized

  • Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a closely related field with a specialization in database systems
  • 12+ years of experience applying computer science concepts to large scale software development problems, including databases and distributed systems
  • Proven track record of impactful research publications in top-tier database and systems conferences and journals