Staff Software Engineer - Databases, Tempo | Germany | Remote

ABOUT THE ROLE We're looking for a highly skilled Staff Software Engineer to lead our team in delivering the next generation of Tempo, the open-source distributed tracing backend behind Grafana Cloud Traces and Grafana Enterprise Traces (GET). As a Staff Engineer, you will set technical direction on the hardest problems in our roadmap and raise the bar across the team. WHAT YOU'LL DO As a key member of our team, you will be responsible for leading multi-quarter technical initiatives, owning the architecture of core Tempo components, designing APIs for humans and agents, driving operational excellence, partnering with Product and sibling teams, mentoring engineers, participating in on-call, and contributing to open source. Your primary focus will be on making Grafana Cloud Traces "just work" for customers, achieving operational excellence at scale, evolving Tempo into a platform enabler, pushing performance further, and preparing Tempo for an agent-driven world. WHAT YOU'LL NEED To succeed in this role, you will need: - 8+ years of experience in software engineering, with a strong focus on distributed systems, scalability, and performance. - Proven track record of leading technical initiatives and driving architectural decisions. - Expertise in designing and implementing high-performance APIs, as well as experience with autoscaling, parameterized rollouts, and toil reduction. - Strong understanding of open-source software development, including community engagement and contribution. - Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work closely with cross-functional teams. WHY REMOTE We are a 100% remote company with 1,600+ team members across 40+ countries, and we're committed to providing a flexible and inclusive work environment. As a remote employee, you will have the opportunity to work from anywhere and enjoy a better work-life balance. BENEFITS As a member of our team, you will have access to a comprehensive benefits package, including: - Competitive salary and bonus structure - Comprehensive health insurance - Flexible vacation policy - Professional development opportunities, including training and education budget - Access to cutting-edge technology and tools - Opportunity to work on a high-impact project with a talented team of engineers - Flexible work arrangements, including remote work options - AI-assisted development tools, including a company-funded usage budget