Database Research Scientist

The company Labs is an applied research group that works closely with engineering teams to identify challenging problems in database systems and develop novel solutions. Our goal is to advance the state of the art and translate research ideas into real-world system improvements.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As a Research Scientist at the company Labs, you will work on high-impact problems at the intersection of database systems, distributed systems, AI, and systems software engineering while collaborating with experienced researchers and engineers. The role covers a broad range of problems across database systems research and engineering, including but not limited to query optimization, execution engines, distributed systems, consensus protocols, materialized views, indexing and data structures, benchmarking, workload analysis, and emerging agentic workloads.

In this role, you will work on leading open-source database systems (e.g., the company, PostgreSQL). You will investigate performance and scalability bottlenecks in production-quality systems, develop new algorithms and system designs, and evaluate them under realistic workloads and hardware configurations. Projects may involve improving query planning and execution, reducing CPU and memory overhead, increasing throughput and concurrency, scaling across distributed deployments, or redesigning system components to leverage modern hardware better. You will work closely with engineers to turn successful ideas into robust implementations that can be deployed and maintained in widely used open-source systems.

Researchers are encouraged to publish their work, contribute to open-source projects, participate in leading research conferences, and pursue ambitious projects with strong engineering and research support.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Conduct applied research aimed at advancing the performance, scalability, reliability, and functionality of open-source database management systems, including the company and PostgreSQL.

• Design and evaluate new algorithms, data structures, and system architectures for areas such as query optimization, indexing, storage management, query execution, and distributed data management.

• Develop high-quality research prototypes and production-grade implementations, and work with engineering teams to integrate successful techniques into open-source and production systems.

• Collaborate closely with database engine, infrastructure, and data-plane engineers to identify high-impact research problems and translate research results into practical system improvements.

• Analyze large-scale database workloads, performance traces, benchmarks, and production telemetry to identify bottlenecks and optimization opportunities.

• Design rigorous experiments and benchmarks to evaluate new techniques across realistic workloads, hardware configurations, and deployment environments.

• Communicate research results through technical reports, open-source contributions, internal presentations, and publications at leading database and systems venues (e.g., SIGMOD, VLDB, CIDR).

• Contribute to the broader technical direction of the company Labs by identifying emerging research opportunities and helping shape longer-term research projects.

QUALIFICATIONS

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Masters/Ph.D. in Computer Science, Data Science, or a related field, with research experience in databases, distributed systems, systems software, or machine learning systems.

• Strong publication record in leading peer-reviewed research venues such as SIGMOD, VLDB, SOSP, OSDI, NSDI, or NeurIPS, with work relevant to databases or systems.

• Strong programming and systems-development background, including experience working with database internals or other large systems codebases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, the company, or comparable modern DBMSs.

• Proficiency in systems programming using C, C++, Rust, Zig, or a comparable low-level programming language.

• Strong analytical, experimental, problem-solving, and technical communication skills.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience developing or operating database systems in cloud environments such as AWS, Google Cloud Platform, or Microsoft Azure.

• Familiarity with large language models, reinforcement learning, learned optimization, or other techniques at the intersection of machine learning and systems.

• Experience contributing to large open-source systems projects, particularly database engines, distributed systems, compilers, or storage systems.

BONUS QUALIFICATIONS

• Familiarity with modern systems-development and verification tooling, including formal specification or model-checking frameworks such as TLA+/PlusCal, Alloy, or Lean, as well as relevant development tools and languages such as LLVM, eBPF, Python, Go, or advanced profiling and debugging tools (e.g., perf, sanitizers, or tracing frameworks).

• Proven track record in optimizing database systems via hardware acceleration (e.g., GPU, FPGA, CXL), with a focus on designing methods for offloading for query execution, storage layers, and data-intensive primitives using frameworks like CUDA, SYCL, ROCm, or specialized FPGA development flows.

PERKS

• Flexible work environment - the company is a globally distributed company and remote-friendly. We currently operate in over 25 countries.

• Healthcare - Employer contributions towards your healthcare.

• Equity in the company - Every new team member who joins our company receives stock options.

• Time off - Flexible time off in the US, generous entitlement in other countries.

• A USD$500 Home office setup if you’re a remote employee.

• Global Gatherings – We believe in the power of in-person connection and offer opportunities to engage with colleagues at company-wide offsites.

CULTURE - WE ALL SHAPE IT

As part of a rapidly scaling start-up, you will be instrumental in shaping our culture.

Are you interested in finding out more about our culture? Learn more about our values here [link for members] Check out our blog posts [link for members] or follow us on LinkedIn [link for members] to find out more about what’s happening at the company.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY & PRIVACY

The company provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type based on factors such as race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Please see here [link for members] for our Privacy Statement.