Staff+ Software Engineer (Databases)

• We’re looking for experienced engineers to build and scale the database infrastructure that powers Claude’s products and Anthropic’s research. As a Software Engineer on the Databases team, you’ll architect and operate the systems that let millions of users interact with Claude while also supporting frontier AI research workloads
• You’ll help set the database strategy for Anthropic: designing systems that handle billions of API requests, building storage that runs cleanly across GCP, AWS, and a range of deployment models, and creating the reliable data layer that lets research move fast
• The Databases team spans three areas: the core database platform (data plane and control plane), data movement (migrations, backfill, and change data capture), and caching. We’re hiring across all three
• Drive the technical direction for database solutions used across Product and Research
• Design and implement database solutions that scale to support millions of users across Claude’s product ecosystem
• Build and scale database systems through 100x+ growth while maintaining reliability and performance
• Build the database platform that lets Anthropic engineers ship without thinking about databases or scaling
• Architect data storage solutions that operate across GCP, AWS, first-party deployments, third-party deployments, and other environments
• Develop database infrastructure that serves both product and research workloads with different performance characteristics
• Build data movement infrastructure (migration tooling, backfill, and change data capture pipelines) that safely consolidates and moves data across the organization
• Design and operate caching infrastructure, including CDC-driven cache invalidation, that keeps Anthropic’s hottest paths fast and correct
• Partner with product and research teams to understand data requirements and build infrastructure that accelerates their work
• Optimize database performance, reliability, and cost efficiency at scale
• Make build-vs-buy decisions for database technologies

Benefits

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance for you and your dependents
• Inclusive fertility benefits via Carrot Fertility
• 22 weeks of paid parental leave
• Flexible paid time off and absence policies
• Mental health support for you and your dependents
• Competitive salary and equity packages
• Optional equity donation matching at a 1:1 ratio, up to 25% of your equity grant
• Retirement plans with competitive matching
• Life and income protection plans
• $500/month flexible wellness and time saver stipend
• Commuter benefits
• Annual education stipend
• Home office stipends
• Relocation support for those moving for Anthropic
• Daily meals and snacks in the office

• Deep knowledge of distributed database architectures and OLTP systems at scale
• Ability to balance moving quickly with the reliability needs of production systems
• Track record of leading large, complex infrastructure projects as an engineer or tech lead
• Strong technical leadership and cross-functional collaboration skills
• Proficiency with SQL and at least one major relational or distributed database engine (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL, Spanner, CockroachDB, DynamoDB)
• Significant experience as a software engineer building and operating production database or storage systems
• Note: Prior AI/ML infrastructure experience is not required. We value deep infrastructure and database expertise from any domain
• We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every single qualification. Not all strong candidates will meet every single qualification as listed. Research shows that people who identify as being from underrepresented groups are more prone to experiencing imposter syndrome and doubting the strength of their candidacy, so we urge you not to exclude yourself prematurely and to submit an application if you’re interested in this work
• Experience with Redis, Temporal, vector databases, or async job processing frameworks
• 10+ years building and scaling database systems, with 3+ years leading large-scale projects or teams
• Contributions to database internals, storage engines, or related open source projects
• Experience building multi-cloud or hybrid cloud database solutions
• Knowledge of database orchestration and automation at scale
• Experience scaling databases through periods of rapid growth at high-growth companies
• Experience operating Spanner, CockroachDB, TiDB, AlloyDB, or other globally distributed SQL databases in production
• Experience with change data capture (Debezium or similar), large-scale data migration, or streaming data infrastructure

• Deadline to apply: None. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis