As a Senior Data-Intensive Backend Engineer (Rust) at Rerun, you will primarily focus on developing a cloud-native analytical database system for multimodal data. Your responsibilities include designing and implementing components to ensure the scalability and efficiency of our system, handling specialized query semantics, and maintaining indices for high performance. You'll be collaborating with a talented remote team to tackle complex challenges presented by big data volumes.

To qualify for the Senior Data-Intensive Backend Engineer (Rust) position at Rerun, you should have significant experience in Rust, particularly in asynchronous programming. A robust background in building scalable data-intensive systems is essential, alongside familiarity with concepts like query planning and query optimization. Additionally, communication skills in English are crucial, as you will be collaborating with a globally distributed team.

No, prior robotics knowledge is not required to apply for the Senior Data-Intensive Backend Engineer (Rust) role at Rerun. While a passion for robotics and spatial AI is beneficial, your primary focus will be on working with multimodal data and developing scalable systems, which can be approached without specific robotics experience.

In the Senior Data-Intensive Backend Engineer (Rust) position at Rerun, you will be working with technologies such as Apache Arrow for building a column-oriented analytical database. Familiarity with GPU workloads and experience with the Apache Datafusion framework would be beneficial but are not mandatory. Your role will primarily center around Rust programming for data-intensive tasks.

Rerun boasts a talented, tight-knit remote team where members are primarily located across Europe and the US. You can expect regular synchronous work hours between 1:30 and 5 pm CET. As a part of the team, you'll collaborate closely, engaging in weekly and quarterly check-ins to maintain a strong sense of community despite the remote setup.

Senior Data-Intensive Backend Engineers at Rerun enjoy a range of perks including competitive cash and equity compensation, a generous six weeks of paid vacation, and the flexibility of working remotely. The company also provides whatever hardware and software you might need to excel in your position, ensuring you have the resources necessary to thrive.

The work culture at Rerun emphasizes agency and helpfulness, with a strong expectation for all team members to take broad responsibility for their contributions. The company values a curious mindset and encourages collaboration and innovation across all levels, creating an engaging and positive work environment for the Senior Data-Intensive Backend Engineer.

In your interview, focus on specific projects where you implemented asynchronous programming in Rust. Discuss how you managed tasks concurrently and improved system performance. Mention any libraries or tools you used, such as Tokio or async-std, and emphasize the outcomes of your implementations.

When answering, discuss the key principles of scalability, such as data partitioning, load balancing, and caching. Share your experience in designing systems that handle increased data volumes without sacrificing performance. Use examples that demonstrate your ability to identify bottlenecks and implement effective architecture.

Talk about specific strategies you employ for query optimization, such as indexing, query rewriting, and understanding execution plans. Highlight your experience with testing and measuring query performance, and provide examples of how you achieved significant performance gains in previous projects.

Choose a project that showcases your problem-solving skills. Describe the challenges you faced, the methods you used to tackle them, and the ultimate impact on the project. Emphasize collaborative efforts and any innovative solutions you proposed to the team.

In your response, outline your approach to ensuring data integrity, which may include strategies like validations, automated testing, and consistent data storage practices. Discuss any specific tools or frameworks you use to manage data consistency and how you've applied these in past roles.

If you have worked with Apache Arrow, discuss how its columnar format helped you optimize data processing tasks. Provide examples of projects where you used Arrow for efficient memory usage and fast queries, illustrating its impact on performance.

Explain the concept of query planning, including how queries are parsed, optimized, and executed. Discuss your experience with analyzing query plans and the trade-offs made in system design to optimize execution, using specifics from your background.

Discuss your strategies for effective communication in a remote setting, such as using collaboration tools, regular meetings, and establishing clarity in expectations. Share examples of how you've maintained strong team dynamics and ensured project alignment despite geographical distances.

Provide specific examples where you streamlined data processing workflows. Discuss the tools or methods you employed to enhance efficiency or reduce latency, and highlight the measurable outcomes of your improvements.

Share your passion for data engineering and your interest in multimodal data. Discuss specific aspects of the field that excite you, such as technical challenges, the impact of data on decision-making, or the role of data in emerging technologies.