Skip to content
MongoDBMongoDBNew York, NY

Principal Research Scientist, Database Systems

Leads research in database systems, focusing on query optimization, storage engines, indexing, and hardware-accelerated architectures. Collaborates with engineering to productize innovations and builds a research team. Requires PhD and 12+ years experience.

168k – 330k
Remote12+ YOEAI Research

About the role

Responsibilities

  • Conduct innovative research in query optimization, indexing methods, storage engines, and performance optimization
  • Design, prototype, and empirically evaluate novel database systems and architectures leveraging modern hardware (SIMD parallelism, GPU acceleration, multicore processing)
  • Collaborate with Engineering teams to translate research into commercial database products
  • Publish in top-tier conferences/journals (e.g., VLDB, SIGMOD)
  • Build a Database Systems research group of 2-3 researchers in 1-2 years
  • Mentor junior researchers

Qualifications

  • Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field specializing in database systems
  • 12+ years experience applying CS concepts to large-scale software, databases, and distributed systems
  • Proven track record of impactful publications in top database/systems venues
  • Expertise in query optimization, efficient data structures, high-performance database architectures
  • Strong background in performance engineering, hardware-aware optimizations, database engine internals
  • Experience building research prototypes and rigorous empirical studies
  • Excellent analytical, communication, and collaboration skills

Compensation

Base salary range: $168,000 - $330,000 USD (U.S. candidates). Additional benefits include equity, ESPP, flexible PTO, parental leave, 401(k), and health offerings.

Skills

Query OptimizationStorage EnginesIndexingDatabase ArchitectureMulticore ProcessingSimdGpu AccelerationPerformance EngineeringDistributed SystemsData Structures

Similar roles

AI Research jobs
Upstart

Principal Applied Scientist

UpstartUnited States

As a Principal Applied Scientist, you will define the technical direction for offer optimization and conversion modeling systems, working across teams to integrate models and optimization systems. This role involves structuring ambiguous problems, designing solutions, and providing technical oversight to ensure a coherent long-term vision.

220k – 330k
Remote8+ YOEAI Research
Databricks

Principal Research Scientist - AI Scaling & Optimization

DatabricksMountain View, CA +1

Leads research team advancing LLM scaling, efficiency, post-training, RL, and inference optimization. Drives innovations from research to production, requiring deep ML expertise, Python/PyTorch proficiency, and leadership in large-scale experiments.

270k – 350k
On-siteAI Research
Databricks

Principal Research Scientist – Scaling

DatabricksSan Francisco, CA

Leads research team advancing LLM scaling, post-training, RL, and inference efficiency. Drives innovations in optimization, distributed systems, and production integration using Python/PyTorch, with deep expertise in large-scale ML.

280k – 350k
HybridAI Research
Airbnb

Principal AI/ML Researcher / Engineer Reasoning, Planning, and Decision-making systems

AirbnbUnited States

Seeking a Principal AI/ML Researcher/Engineer to invent, scale, and operationalize intelligent decisioning systems. This role focuses on integrating Large Reasoning Models with Knowledge Graphs and applying Reinforcement Learning for adaptive planning and control in multi-agent systems.

296k – 370k
Remote15+ YOEAI Research
Datadog

Distinguished Architect, AI

DatadogNew York, NY +1

As a Distinguished Architect, AI, you will be a technical multiplier for leading AI labs and AI-native companies, bridging their infrastructure aspirations with Datadog's technology roadmap. You will ensure the platform solves unique observability challenges for training and deploying foundational models at scale.

300k – 484k
Hybrid10+ YOEAI Research