Open Source, Google Zanzibar-inspired permissions database

AuthZed is revolutionizing the authorization space with their open-source permissions database inspired by Google's Zanzibar system. As a Senior Software Engineer, you'll be instrumental in building AuthZed's commercial products in the infrastructure and authorization space. The company has secured significant funding, including a $3.9M seed fund and $12M Series A, demonstrating strong market validation and growth potential.

The role offers a unique opportunity to work on challenging problems in distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and authorization models. You'll be joining a fully remote company with a software-driven culture, working alongside passionate engineers across the US and Europe. The position requires strong technical expertise in programming languages like Go, Python, or Java, with a focus on distributed systems and cloud infrastructure.

Key responsibilities include designing and implementing new features, driving optimization efforts, maintaining high-quality software practices, and taking end-to-end ownership of your work. You'll be expected to troubleshoot complex issues in distributed systems, participate in on-call rotations, and contribute to technical documentation and thought leadership.

The ideal candidate brings 6+ years of experience, strong systems engineering background, and excellent communication skills. Experience with Kubernetes, database concepts, and modern authorization systems is a plus. AuthZed values agency, collaboration, and open-mindedness, fostering an inclusive environment where every team member's voice matters.

This is more than just an engineering role – it's an opportunity to shape the future of authorization technology while working with a team that brings integrity to all interactions and values diverse perspectives. The company's recent funding and growing open-source community provide a stable foundation for innovation and professional growth.

Senior Software Engineer position at authzed, building and scaling authorization solutions with focus on distributed systems and cloud infrastructure.

Senior Software Engineer - U.S. or EU

AuthZed is pioneering open-source authorization solutions for scaling businesses, focusing on complex end-user permissions in zero-trust architectures. They provide SpiceDB, an open-source permissions database inspired by Google's Zanzibar system. The company has secured $3.9M in seed funding and $12M in Series A, establishing itself as an authority in authorization database technology.

As a Site Reliability Engineer, you'll play a crucial role in ensuring system reliability, availability, and performance. You'll work with cutting-edge technology, designing and implementing scalable infrastructure solutions while collaborating with a distributed team across the US and Europe. The role combines technical expertise with strategic thinking, requiring proficiency in various programming languages and cloud technologies.

The company values agency, collaboration, and open-mindedness, fostering an environment where every team member can make meaningful contributions. You'll be part of a hardworking group with a software-driven culture, where even the sales team understands and appreciates the technology. The remote-first setup offers flexibility and work-life balance, while periodic team on-sites promote collaboration and team bonding.

This position offers competitive compensation, including stock options, comprehensive benefits, and the opportunity to work with innovative technology in a growing sector. You'll be joining at an exciting time as the company continues to scale its enterprise products and expand its open-source community.

Site Reliability Engineer role at AuthZed, focusing on infrastructure automation and system reliability for a Google Zanzibar-inspired permissions database platform.

Site Reliability Engineer (Eastern U.S. or EU - remote)

We're looking for a driven and innovative Senior Software Engineer, Distributed Database to help shape the future of our open-source, Google Zanzibar-inspired database, built to manage security-critical application permissions. In this role, you'll leverage your deep expertise in database engineering to push the boundaries of performance, scalability, and efficiency in SpiceDB OSS and Enterprise. You'll focus on low-latency query optimization, refining database architecture, and ensuring the system is robust and reliable for large-scale, mission-critical applications.

What You'll Do:
- Research, design, implement, test and release new database features and enhancements.
- Troubleshoot correctness, stability or performance issues related to statement planning and execution in a complex distributed system.
- Drive Optimization efforts by gathering statistics, refining query planning, and implementing materialized views and incremental view maintenance (IVM).
- Apply indexing, partitioning, and caching strategies to improve query efficiency and overall database performance.
- Contribute to both our open source and enterprise database product, SpiceDB.
- Collaborate closely with product, engineering, and support teams.

Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field or equivalent experience.
- 5+ years of experience working in system-level languages like Golang, C/C++, Rust or Zig.
- In-depth knowledge of database concepts, and how they are implemented: compilers, indices, query planning, optimization, materialized views, etc.
- Strong Systems engineering background (e.g. distributed systems, operating systems, databases).
- Proven ability to diagnose performance bottlenecks and propose creative solutions.
- Excellent communication skills with a proven ability to articulate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Ability to collaborate effectively with remote teams across time zones.
- Familiarity with modern software development practices and tools, such as continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD), Docker, and Git.

Nice to Have:
- Master's level coursework in database systems.
- Experience with Golang.
- Experience with cloud infrastructure and managing databases in cloud-native environments.
- Familiarity with modern authorization systems and access control models.

About authzed:
We're pioneering open-source authorization solutions for scaling businesses tackling complex end-user permissions in zero-trust architectures. Our focus is on providing SpiceDB—the most mature open-source permissions database inspired by Google's Zanzibar system—and building managed services that enable planet-scale production authorization services.

Our strategic approach to capital-raising has empowered us to efficiently utilize our $3.9M seed funding. We've developed SpiceDB, now the open source standard in authorization database technology, fortified our reputation as authorization experts, accelerated our open-source community growth, and are scaling revenue with robust enterprise products.

AuthZed is a fully remote company with employees across the US and Europe. We're a hardworking group with a software-driven culture; even our sales team understands and loves our technology! We bring integrity to all our interactions, fostering confidence in decision making - trusting and respecting each voice on our team, every day.

Company Values:
1. Agency: Everyone should have the capability, freedom, and confidence to bring about changes to our business and product. Organizational processes exist to clearly define our goals, but not restrict how progress is made.
2. Collaboration: Success is defined in various dimensions and no single person can be an expert in all of them. Without valuing the opinions of others, finding compromises, and sharing mutual trust and respect, you cannot arrive at the best possible solution.
3. Open-mindedness: Without asking questions, testing assumptions, and questioning our pre-existing biases we risk operating within an echo-chamber. We celebrate the representation of diverse perspectives and backgrounds as a catalyst for creating an inclusive work environment that everyone can appreciate.

Senior Software Engineer, Distributed Database role at authzed, focusing on open-source, Google Zanzibar-inspired permissions database.

Senior Software Engineer, Distributed Database

We're looking for a driven and innovative Senior Software Engineer, Distributed Database to help shape the future of our open-source, Google Zanzibar-inspired database, built to manage security-critical application permissions. In this role, you'll leverage your deep expertise in database engineering to push the boundaries of performance, scalability, and efficiency in SpiceDB OSS and Enterprise. You'll focus on low-latency query optimization, refining database architecture, and ensuring the system is robust and reliable for large-scale, mission-critical applications.

**What You'll Do**
- Research, design, implement, test and release new database features and enhancements.
- Troubleshoot correctness, stability or performance issues related to statement planning and execution in a complex distributed system.
- Drive Optimization efforts by gathering statistics, refining query planning, and implementing materialized views and incremental view maintenance (IVM).
- Apply indexing, partitioning, and caching strategies to improve query efficiency and overall database performance.
- Contribute to both our open source and enterprise database product, SpiceDB.
- Collaborate closely with product, engineering, and support teams.

**About authzed**
We're pioneering open-source authorization solutions for scaling businesses tackling complex end-user permissions in zero-trust architectures. Our focus is on providing SpiceDB—the most mature open-source permissions database inspired by Google's Zanzibar system—and building managed services that enable planet-scale production authorization services.

Our strategic approach to capital-raising has empowered us to efficiently utilize our $3.9M seed funding. We've developed SpiceDB, now the open source standard in authorization database technology, fortified our reputation as authorization experts, accelerated our open-source community growth, and are scaling revenue with robust enterprise products.

AuthZed is a fully remote company with employees across the US and Europe. We're a hardworking group with a software-driven culture; even our sales team understands and loves our technology! We bring integrity to all our interactions, fostering confidence in decision making - trusting and respecting each voice on our team, every day.

Senior Software Engineer, Distributed Database role at authzed, focusing on open-source permissions database inspired by Google Zanzibar.

authzed Engineering Jobs

Open Source, Google Zanzibar-inspired permissions database