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Software Development Manager - Distributed Systems (Cloud Database)

2 days ago Krakow, Poland

Introduction

We're building Astra Serverless, the next generation of distributed, scalable, fault-tolerant, serverless NoSQL data services - powered by Apache Cassandra and extended with native vector and AI capabilities across multi-cloud environments.

Our customers depend on our platform to serve real-time, mission-critical workloads on a global scale. Ensuring reliability, performance, and correctness under unpredictable workloads is a non-trivial challenge - and that's where you come in.

As a Software Development Manager, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our distributed database platform and team building it - from architecture and performance design to leadership and mentoring. You'll work on systems that power mission-critical workloads for enterprises worldwide, helping ensure scalability, resilience, and reliability at a global scale.

Why This Role?

This is a rare opportunity to work on the internals of a globally distributed, cloud-scale database service - while helping lead a team that deeply cares about craftsmanship, resilience, and elegant systems design. You'll combine hands-on technical depth with mentorship and architectural impact, ensuring Astra DB continues to push the boundaries of what distributed databases can do in a serverless world.

Your role and responsibilities

  • Lead design and development of advanced database features and distributed services across multi-region, serverless deployments.
  • Architect and optimize components for scalability, observability, and maintainability in high-throughput, low-latency environments.
  • Drive performance, availability, and fault tolerance, improving replication, compaction, and storage-layer behavior for large-scale clusters.
  • Guide and mentor engineers across teams - elevating engineering practices, design quality, and distributed systems craftsmanship.
  • Collaborate cross-functionally with cloud platform, infrastructure, and quality engineering teams to deliver reliable, automated, and testable systems.
  • Contribute strategically to technical roadmap discussions and help define the long-term vision for our cloud database architecture.
  • Stay ahead of innovation in distributed databases, storage systems, and cloud-native technologies - influencing how we evolve Astra DB.

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Required education

None

Preferred education

Bachelor's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise

  • Deep experience designing or operating distributed systems - understanding consistency, replication, partitioning, and fault tolerance.
  • Strong software engineering skills in Java and the JVM ecosystem or C++ (experience with concurrency, performance profiling, and memory management).
  • Practical experience with database internals
  • Proficiency in Linux/Unix environments and debugging large-scale production systems at the lower level.
  • Proven ability to lead through influence, mentor engineers, and set technical direction.

Preferred technical and professional experience

  • Hands-on experience with Cassandra, ScyllaDB, or similar distributed database technologies.
  • Familiarity with Kubernetes, Docker, and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure).
  • Contributions to open-source database or distributed systems projects.
  • Exposure to vector databases, AI embeddings, or hybrid transactional/analytical workloads.

ABOUT BUSINESS UNIT

IBM Software infuses core business operations with intelligence-from machine learning to generative AI-to help make organizations more responsive, productive, and resilient. IBM Software helps clients put AI into action now to create real value with trust, speed, and confidence across digital labor, IT automation, application modernization, security, and sustainability. Critical to this is the ability to make use of all data, because AI is only as good as the data that fuels it. In most organizations data is spread across multiple clouds, on premises, in private datacenters, and at the edge. IBM's AI and data platform scales and accelerates the impact of AI with trusted data, and provides leading capabilities to train, tune and deploy AI across business. IBM's hybrid cloud platform is one of the most comprehensive and consistent approach to development, security, and operations across hybrid environments-a flexible foundation for leveraging data, wherever it resides, to extend AI deep into a business.

YOUR LIFE @ IBM

In a world where technology never stands still, we understand that, dedication to our clients success, innovation that matters, and trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships, lives in what we do as IBMers as we strive to be the catalyst that makes the world work better.

Being an IBMer means you'll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you'll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment everyday, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background.

Our IBMers are growth minded, always staying curious, open to feedback and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide on-going feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues keeping in mind a team focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers. The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions everyday is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can-do attitude and always striving for an outcome focused approach within everything that they do.

Are you ready to be an IBMer?

ABOUT IBM

IBM's greatest invention is the IBMer. We believe that through the application of intelligence, reason and science, we can improve business, society and the human condition, bringing the power of an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy to life for our clients and partners around the world.

Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are not only one of the largest corporate organizations in the world, we're also one of the biggest technology and consulting employers, with many of the Fortune 500 companies relying on the IBM Cloud to run their business.

At IBM, we pride ourselves on being an early adopter of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain. Now it's time for you to join us on our journey to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

IBM is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other characteristics protected by the applicable law. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.

OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILS

For additional information about location requirements, please discuss with the recruiter following submission of your application.

Client-provided location(s): Krakow, Poland
Job ID: IBM-67945
Employment Type: OTHER
Posted: 2025-10-23T18:59:55

Perks and Benefits

  • Health and Wellness

    • Parental Benefits

      • Work Flexibility

        • Office Life and Perks

          • Vacation and Time Off

            • Financial and Retirement

              • Professional Development

                • Diversity and Inclusion

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