Backend Engineer

We’re a global team of over 400 people, working together to push the boundaries of open-source technology and multi-cloud solutions. Our vision is to help developers, builders, and creators bring their ideas to life with speed and simplicity, by providing a cloud data platform that makes open-source databases, search, streaming, and application infrastructure easily accessible to everyone. The Role We're looking for a Backend Engineer to join our small, focused ClickHouse team. You'll work on the systems that power our managed ClickHouse service – building, scaling, and operating infrastructure that thousands of customers depend on daily. You'll write Python that orchestrates database lifecycle operations, dig into Linux internals when things get interesting, and ship features through a well-established CI/CD pipeline. You'll work in a modern async-first Python codebase alongside engineers who care about code quality, type safety, and automation. If you have experience with ClickHouse internals or C++ – even better. But what matters most is strong backend fundamentals and a genuine interest in databases and distributed systems. What You'll Do - Design, build, and maintain backend services in Python (FastAPI, asyncio, psycopg2) that manage the ClickHouse service lifecycle - Work with CI/CD pipelines (Buildkite, GitHub Actions) to ship code reliably and often - Investigate and resolve production issues across the stack – from Python application code down to Linux system behavior - Contribute to technical planning within a small team where your input directly shapes the roadmap - Write well-tested, type-checked code and participate in thorough code reviews - Use AI coding tools as part of your daily workflow to accelerate development What We're Looking For Must have: - Solid Python development skills -- you write clean, production-grade Python and understand async patterns (asyncio, aiohttp) - Strong understanding of databases -- you know how relational and analytical databases work under the hood, not just how to query them - Deep Linux knowledge (Fedora preferred) -- comfortable with systemd, process management, filesystem internals, and debugging at the OS level - CI/CD experience -- you've built and maintained delivery pipelines, not just used them - Familiarity with automated testing -- unit, integration, and system tests are part of how you work - Experience with AI coding tools -- you actively use AI-assisted development in your workflow and understand how to get the most out of it - Distributed systems awareness -- you understand the challenges of running services across multiple nodes and regions - Fluent English -- written and verbal Nice to have: - ClickHouse experience -- operational knowledge, query optimization, or contributions to the project - C++ or C -- ability to read and contribute to database engine code - Cloud infrastructure experience (AWS, GCP, Azure) with Terraform or similar IaC tools - PostgreSQL operational experience - Software and network security knowledge Why This Role - Small team, big impact. You're not a cog -- you'll shape the technical direction of a product used at scale. - Real engineering problems. Database orchestration, distributed systems, performance at scale -- not CRUD apps. - Modern tooling. Strict type checking, automated formatting, security scanning, and AI-assisted development are the norm, not aspirations. - Helsinki-based, hybrid. The team is in the office 3 times per week. Global Benefits: - Participate in Aiven’s equity plan. - Balance work and life with our hybrid work policy. - Choose the equipment you need to set yourself up for success. - Use your Professional Development Plan budget for learning opportunities. - Receive holistic wellbeing support through our global Employee Assistance Program. - Inquire about our Global Time Off Commitment (Parental and Sick Leave, as well as Personal Time) - Enjoy country-specific benefits for our global cast.