At a Glance
- Tasks: Operate and evolve multi-cloud streaming clusters and database infrastructure.
- Company: Join a cutting-edge tech company focused on next-gen database products.
- Benefits: Enjoy remote work, competitive salary, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Collaborative team environment with excellent career advancement potential.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on high-throughput systems and innovative cloud solutions.
- Qualifications: Experience in software engineering and strong problem-solving skills required.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
This is a remote opportunity and we would be interested in applicants living in UK time zones only at this time.
The Managed Services team is a newly formed squad within the Databases department. It owns and operates shared, production‑critical infrastructure that powers Grafana Cloud’s next‑generation database products (Mimir, Loki, and Tempo). Today, this includes operating 100+ WarpStream clusters across multiple cloud providers and regions, with continued growth anticipated for the future. WarpStream acts as the streaming backbone for ingestion and read/write decoupling across databases. It sits directly on the hot path for metrics, logs, and traces, handling high‑throughput, multi‑consumer workloads at massive scale.
In addition to streaming infrastructure, the team works closely with high‑volume analytical and storage systems that power query‑heavy and aggregation‑heavy workloads, where latency, compression behaviour, storage layout, and scaling characteristics matter deeply.
What You’ll Be Doing:
- Operating and evolving 100+ multi‑cloud streaming clusters and related database infrastructure
- Diagnosing and eliminating cross‑layer failure modes (e.g., object storage latency, noisy neighbors, control‑plane bottlenecks, query performance regressions, etc.)
- Designing safe upgrade and rollout strategies at scale
- Improving observability, automation, and operational ergonomics
- Partnering closely with database and platform teams to ensure safe scaling, partitioning, consumer fan‑out, and query performance
- Working directly with distributed systems behaviour, Kubernetes scheduling dynamics, storage engines, compression trade‑offs, etc.
- Serving as a primary escalation point and on‑call for relevant incidents
- Owning the relationship with all system vendors, including WarpStream Labs and others.
- Providing guidance and regular updates via video calls, requiring an independent attitude and strong communication skills.
What Makes You a Great Fit:
- Regular 1:1s with your manager and close collaboration with teammates across regions
- Reviewing and defining SLOs for shared database infrastructure, proactively reducing error budgets through improvements to monitoring, automation, scaling strategies, and system design
- Improving the diagnosability of core streaming and database systems in production, where possible.
- Implementing solutions that ensure reliability, scalability, and performance of high‑throughput, multi‑cloud infrastructure
- Developing fault‑tolerant patterns.
Senior Software Engineer - Grafana Databases, Managed Services | UK | Remote in London employer: Grafanalabs
Grafana Labs is an exceptional employer that fosters a fully remote and innovative work culture, allowing you to collaborate with talented professionals across the United Kingdom. With competitive compensation and opportunities for travel, you will not only enhance your marketing skills but also grow within a supportive environment that values creativity and teamwork.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Software Engineer - Grafana Databases, Managed Services | UK | Remote in London
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Grafanalabs or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Grafanalabs.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Grafanalabs.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Grafanalabs that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Software Engineer - Grafana Databases, Managed Services | UK | Remote in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Grafanalabs.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Grafanalabs and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Grafanalabs
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Grafanalabs uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
