[Remote] Senior Software Engineer - Storage Infrastructure

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Yahoo serves as a trusted guide for hundreds of millions of people globally, helping them achieve their goals online through their portfolio of iconic products. As a Senior Software Engineer, you will design and optimize the foundational storage layer powering their massive dataset, ensuring efficient data access and system reliability while collaborating with various teams.ResponsibilitiesDesign and optimize Cloud Spanner schemas for efficient profile storage, query patterns, and write throughput at 2.5B+ profile scaleImplement Valkey (Redis-compatible) caching strategies achieving sub-10ms read latency for hot data access patternsBuild multi-region Spanner replication and automated failover mechanisms ensuring 99.99% availability and disaster recoveryOptimize Spanner read/write throughput, reduce hot-spotting, and improve query performance through index design and query optimizationImplement comprehensive monitoring and alerting systems tracking storage health, latency percentiles (p50, p95, p99), capacity utilization, and costCollaborate with API team on efficient data access patterns, query optimization, and caching strategies for activation endpointsPartner with Ingestion team on high-throughput write patterns, batch loading strategies, and schema evolution without downtimeDesign backup, point-in-time recovery, and disaster recovery procedures for critical user profile dataTroubleshoot production storage issues including performance degradation, hot-spotting, lock contention, and capacity constraintsWork with SRE teams on capacity planning, autoscaling strategies, cost optimization, and infrastructure efficiencyImplement cache invalidation strategies, cache warming, and distributed caching patterns for consistent data accessCreate comprehensive documentation for storage architecture, operational runbooks, disaster recovery procedures, and on-call playbooksSkillsBachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field5+ years software engineering experience building production systems3+ years hands-on experience with distributed databases or large-scale storage systems2+ years with GCP infrastructure (Spanner, Memorystore, Cloud Monitoring) or AWS equivalents (DynamoDB, ElastiCache)Strong proficiency in Java, Go, or Python for infrastructure and database tooling developmentHands-on experience with Cloud Spanner, CockroachDB, TiDB, or other distributed SQL databasesExperience with Redis, Valkey, Memcached, or other distributed caching systems in productionDeep understanding of distributed systems: consistency models (strong vs. eventual), replication strategies, consensus algorithms (Paxos, Raft)SQL optimization skills and database schema design expertise including indexing strategies, partitioning, and query tuningFamiliarity with database performance tuning: profiling slow queries, analyzing execution plans, optimizing hot-spottingStrong performance tuning and troubleshooting abilities in distributed database environmentsDemonstrated ability delivering reliable infrastructure solutions on schedule with minimal guidanceExcellent collaboration with infrastructure, application, and SRE teamsTeam-level impact with ability to influence technical decisions within immediate teamUnderstanding of data durability, consistency guarantees, and operational excellenceExperience with multi-region Cloud Spanner deployments at petabyte scaleKnowledge of cache invalidation strategies, cache coherence protocols, and distributed caching patternsPrior experience in large-scale user data platforms, identity systems, or adtech storage infrastructureFamiliarity with database migration tools (gh-ost, pt-online-schema-change) and zero-downtime schema evolutionUnderstanding of data partitioning strategies, sharding, horizontal scaling, and distributed transaction processingExperience with database backup and recovery tools, point-in-time recovery, and disaster recovery testingContributions to database or distributed systems open-source projects (Spanner clients, Redis modules, CockroachDB)Self-driven, detail-oriented, excellent multitasking abilities in fast-paced environmentsBenefitsIncentive compensation opportunities in the form of discretionary annual bonus or commissionsHealthcareA great 401kBackup childcareEducation stipendsCompany OverviewYahoo is a technology and media company that serves users through its portfolio of digital platforms, products, and services. It is a sub-organization of Verizon Media. It was founded in 1994, and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, USA, with a workforce of 5001-10000 employees. Its website is http://www.yahoo.com.Company H1B SponsorshipYahoo has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships, with 197 in 2023, 646 in 2022, 381 in 2021, 463 in 2020. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role.