Staff Engineer

MongoDB•Toronto, ON

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Search Query team at MongoDB builds the core infrastructure behind MongoDB Search and Vector Search. Our mission is to make advanced search capabilities feel native to the database, so developers can build powerful, scalable applications without standing up separate systems or compromising transactional performance. We are the team behind mongot, the indexing and query execution engine that powers Search and Vector Search across MongoDB Atlas and self-managed deployments. Our work sits at the intersection of distributed systems, databases, and search infrastructure. We integrate Apache Lucene with MongoDB using native query operators like $search and $vectorSearch, build asynchronous change-stream-driven indexing pipelines that scale independently from transactional workloads, and support deployments across cloud, on-prem, and hybrid environments. Engineers on this team own meaningful subsystems, influence architectural decisions, and work on core database technology used by developers globally. We are looking to speak to candidates who are based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for our hybrid working model.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in data management systems or related distributed infrastructure
Deep proficiency in modern programming languages and techniques, e.g., Java, Rust
Demonstrable experience designing and operating distributed systems, cloud services, or SaaS products at scale
The ability to reason about systems at the physical layer: data consistency, durability guarantees, concurrency, and failure modes in distributed environments
A track record of operating at Staff or Principal scope: defining technical direction, resolving cross-team ambiguity, and personally championing initiatives from conception to delivery

Nice To Haves

Experience designing or maintaining search platforms or distributed databases
Experience building query engines or information retrieval systems
Contributor to Lucene or other similar projects

Responsibilities

Own the cross-system data infrastructure layer for MongoDB's next-generation Search and Vector Search capabilities, carrying outcomes that span 6-18 months
Define the technical roadmap for Atlas Search, identifying gaps, proposing solutions, and driving alignment across engineering teams globally
Lead the architecture and evolution of the core mongot and MongoDB infrastructure, making durability, consistency, and scale decisions with conviction
Drive complex, multi-team initiatives by building technical consensus, navigating ambiguity, and setting direction when there is no clean playbook
Serve as a trusted technical partner to leadership on roadmap, architecture, and engineering process, advising rather than just informing
Raise the technical ceiling of the team through mentoring, rigorous code review, and knowledge-sharing that creates leverage beyond your own output
Standardize how engineering teams across the globe contract with one another, reducing coordination costs and increasing execution velocity at scale