Senior/Staff Software Engineer, Database Team

About Pinecone

Pinecone is the knowledge infrastructure for AI at scale. Its leading vector database and knowledge engine, Pinecone Nexus, power accurate, performant AI applications for more than 9,000 customers and 800,000 developers worldwide. Pinecone's mission is to make AI knowledgeable. Pinecone is based in New York and raised $138M in funding from Andreessen Horowitz, ICONIQ, Menlo Ventures, and Wing Venture Capital.

About The Team And Role

Join a team that builds robust, real-time distributed systems for a cutting-edge database. We care about performance, reliability, scalability, and most of all learning and having fun together. Whether you’re a seasoned coder or just getting started, if you’re passionate about technology and eager to learn, you’ll fit right in.

Who We Are

• We show up to work, ready to collaborate and build technologies that make a difference, with people who genuinely care.
• We chase improvements such as tail latencies, bytes throughput, cache hit rate, and operational cost efficiency.
• We believe learning is ongoing and that even the most complex problems can have simple solutions.

What You’ll Do

• Collaborate with teammates to design and build database features that power AI applications.
• Learn how to tune performance and support reliability in distributed systems (don’t worry, we’ll guide you).
• Help Pinecone run smoothly on popular cloud providers.
• Take ownership of your work and grow your skills every day.
• Have fun.

Who You Are

• 5+ years of work experience - programming in Rust, Go, C++, or a comparable language.
• You’re genuinely curious about distributed systems and eager to dive deep into technical challenges.
• You approach problems with creativity and persistence, and you’re comfortable asking thoughtful questions or seeking feedback.
• You’re excited to learn, value constructive feedback, and appreciate mentorship.

Bonus Points

• You have hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) or have demonstrated an ability to pick up new tools quickly.
• You’re comfortable thinking in async or multi-threaded environments, or can show you’re ready to learn.
• You’ve explored performance tools or have a track record of optimizing code for speed, reliability, or efficiency.

Perks & Benefits

• Comprehensive health coverage (medical, dental, vision, and mental health resources)
• 401(k) plan
• Equity award
• Flexible time off
• Paid parental leave
• Annual company retreat
• WFH equipment stipend

All qualified applicants will receive considerations for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, veteran status, and any other legally protected status under federal, state, or local anti-discrimination laws.

Compensation Range: $190K - $270K