Senior Site Reliability Engineer

📍 Job Overview

• Job Title: Senior Site Reliability Engineer
• Company: ClickHouse
• Location: Germany (remote)
• Job Type: Full-time
• Category: DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering
• Date Posted: 2025-08-08
• Experience Level: 10+ years
• Remote Status: Remote (Any country ClickHouse has a hiring presence)

🚀 Role Summary

• Lead the development and implementation of scalable, secure, and highly available systems for ClickHouse Cloud, ensuring reliability, availability, scalability, and performance.
• Collaborate with various engineering teams to design and implement distributed systems, establish service level objectives (SLOs) and agreements (SLAs), and manage incident response processes.
• Enhance and refine incident response processes, post-mortem analysis, and continuous improvement of ClickHouse services, driving chaos initiatives and managing on-call processes.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role requires a strong background in Site Reliability Engineering, with a focus on cloud infrastructure, distributed databases, and incident management. The ideal candidate will have experience with ClickHouse in production and be comfortable working in a fast-paced, global environment.

💻 Primary Responsibilities

• System Design & Implementation: Lead the design and implementation of scalable, secure, and highly available systems for ClickHouse Cloud, ensuring reliability, availability, scalability, and performance.
• Collaboration & Guidance: Collaborate with different teams, such as Control Plane, Dataplane, Core, Security, Support, and Operations, to guide them in designing and implementing scalable, secure, highly available, and fault-tolerant distributed systems.
• Incident Management & Response: Establish and manage service level objectives (SLOs) and service level agreements (SLAs) for ClickHouse Cloud. Ensure all infrastructure components have monitoring and alerting in place for timely detection and resolution of incidents.
• Post-Mortem Analysis & Continuous Improvement: Enhance and refine incident response processes and post-mortem analysis for any outages in ClickHouse Cloud, working with the support team to communicate with impacted customers. Continuously improve the reliability and performance of ClickHouse services.
• Chaos Initiatives & On-Call Management: Plan, enable, and drive chaos initiatives across engineering teams based on internal priorities. Manage on-call processes to respond to performance and reliability issues, establishing best practices for coordinating escalation to resolve issues and minimize downtime.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science or a related field.

Experience: At least 8 years of experience in Site Reliability Engineering or a related field, with previous experience using ClickHouse in production.

Required Skills:

• Strong knowledge of cloud computing platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
• Excellent understanding of distributed databases and SQL, particularly ClickHouse.
• Hands-on experience with container orchestration tools such as Kubernetes or Docker Swarm.
• Strong experience with automation and configuration management tools such as Ansible, Terraform, or Puppet.
• Strong problem-solving skills and solid production debugging skills.
• Passion for efficiency, availability, scalability, and data governance.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Preferred Skills:

• Coding experience with Go and/or Python.
• Experience with chaos engineering and incident management tools.
• Familiarity with infrastructure as code (IaC) tools and practices.

📊 Web Portfolio & Project Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate your experience with Site Reliability Engineering, focusing on cloud infrastructure, distributed databases, and incident management.
• Showcase your problem-solving skills and ability to optimize system performance and reliability.
• Highlight your experience with automation and configuration management tools, and provide examples of your coding skills with Go and/or Python.

Technical Documentation:

• Prepare documentation demonstrating your understanding of ClickHouse, including your experience using it in production and any relevant projects you've worked on.
• Include examples of your incident management and post-mortem analysis processes, highlighting your ability to drive continuous improvement.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: For roles based in the United States, the typical starting salary range for this role is $180,000 - $250,000 per year, depending on your specific location. The positioning of offers within a certain range depends on various factors, including candidate experience, qualifications, skills, business requirements, and geographical location.

Benefits:

• Flexible work environment: ClickHouse is a globally distributed company and remote-friendly, currently operating in 20 countries.
• Healthcare: Employer contributions towards your healthcare.
• Equity in the company: Every new team member who joins ClickHouse receives stock options.
• Time off: Flexible time off in the US, generous entitlement in other countries.
• Home office setup: A $500 home office setup if you’re a remote employee.
• Global Gatherings: Opportunities to engage with colleagues at company-wide offsites.

📝 Enhancement Note: Salary ranges are based on market research and internal standards for similar roles in the United States. For international locations, research local salary standards and cost of living to provide a more accurate salary range.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: ClickHouse is a technology company specializing in open-source column-oriented database systems, driven by the vision of becoming the fastest OLAP database globally. It empowers users to generate real-time analytical reports through SQL queries, emphasizing speed in managing escalating data volumes.

Company Size: ClickHouse has a hiring presence in multiple countries, with a growing team of over 500 employees. As one of the first joiners to the Reliability Engineering Team at ClickHouse, you will be instrumental in shaping the company's culture.

Founded: ClickHouse was established in 2009, with a mission to lead the industry with its open-source column-oriented database system.

Team Structure:

• The Site Reliability Engineering team is responsible for building and leading processes to ensure the reliability, availability, scalability, and performance of ClickHouse Cloud.
• The team collaborates with various engineering teams, such as Control Plane, Dataplane, Core, Security, Support, and Operations, to design and implement scalable, secure, highly available, and fault-tolerant distributed systems.
• The team is expected to work cross-functionally with other teams, such as design, marketing, and business teams, to drive innovation and user-focused solutions.

Development Methodology:

• ClickHouse follows Agile methodologies, with a focus on continuous integration, continuous delivery, and continuous improvement.
• The team uses version control systems like Git and collaboration tools such as GitHub to manage code and facilitate teamwork.
• ClickHouse employs infrastructure as code (IaC) tools and practices to ensure consistency, version control, and automated deployment of its infrastructure.

Company Website: https://clickhouse.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: ClickHouse's culture values innovation, user focus, and continuous learning. The company encourages its employees to shape its culture and provides opportunities for growth and development.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Web Technology Career Level: Senior Site Reliability Engineer roles require a strong background in Site Reliability Engineering, with a focus on cloud infrastructure, distributed databases, and incident management. This role offers the opportunity to lead the development and implementation of scalable, secure, and highly available systems for ClickHouse Cloud, driving chaos initiatives and managing on-call processes.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Site Reliability Engineer reports directly to the Head of Site Reliability Engineering or a similar role, depending on the organization's structure. The role involves collaborating with various engineering teams, such as Control Plane, Dataplane, Core, Security, Support, and Operations, to design and implement scalable, secure, highly available, and fault-tolerant distributed systems.

Technical Impact: The Senior Site Reliability Engineer has a significant impact on the reliability, availability, scalability, and performance of ClickHouse Cloud. Their work ensures that the infrastructure components have monitoring and alerting in place for timely detection and resolution of incidents, enhancing and refining incident response processes, and driving chaos initiatives.

Growth Opportunities:

• Technical Growth: Expand your expertise in cloud infrastructure, distributed databases, and incident management, driving continuous improvement and innovation in ClickHouse services.
• Leadership Development: Develop your leadership skills by guiding and mentoring other team members, driving chaos initiatives, and managing on-call processes.
• Architecture Decision-Making: Contribute to architecture decisions that shape the future of ClickHouse Cloud, ensuring reliability, availability, scalability, and performance.

📝 Enhancement Note: ClickHouse offers growth opportunities for Senior Site Reliability Engineers to develop their technical and leadership skills, driving innovation and continuous improvement in ClickHouse services.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: ClickHouse is a globally distributed company with a remote-friendly work environment, operating in over 20 countries. The Senior Site Reliability Engineer role can be based remotely in any country ClickHouse has a hiring presence.

Office Location(s): ClickHouse has offices in various locations, including Moscow, Russia (HQ), and San Mateo, California, USA. However, the Senior Site Reliability Engineer role can be based remotely in any country ClickHouse has a hiring presence.

Workspace Context:

• Remote Work: As a remote employee, you will have the flexibility to work from home or any location with a reliable internet connection.
• Home Office Setup: ClickHouse provides a $500 home office setup for remote employees to ensure a comfortable and productive work environment.
• Collaboration Tools: ClickHouse uses collaboration tools such as Slack, Google Workspace, and GitHub to facilitate communication and teamwork among its global teams.

Work Schedule: ClickHouse offers flexible work hours, with a focus on delivering results and maintaining work-life balance. The Senior Site Reliability Engineer role may require on-call responsibilities to ensure the reliability and performance of ClickHouse Cloud.

📝 Enhancement Note: ClickHouse's remote-friendly work environment offers flexibility and autonomy, allowing Senior Site Reliability Engineers to balance their work and personal lives effectively.

📄 Application & Technical Interview Process

Interview Process:

• Screening: A brief phone or video call to assess your communication skills and cultural fit with ClickHouse.
• Technical Deep Dive: A technical interview focusing on your experience with cloud infrastructure, distributed databases, and incident management. You may be asked to discuss your approach to system design, architecture trade-offs, and problem-solving strategies.
• Final Interview: A conversation with the hiring manager or a senior team member to discuss your career aspirations, leadership potential, and cultural fit with ClickHouse.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Highlight your experience with Site Reliability Engineering, focusing on cloud infrastructure, distributed databases, and incident management.
• Showcase your problem-solving skills and ability to optimize system performance and reliability.
• Include examples of your incident management and post-mortem analysis processes, demonstrating your ability to drive continuous improvement.

Technical Challenge Preparation:

• Brush up on your knowledge of cloud computing platforms, distributed databases, and incident management tools.
• Review your experience with automation and configuration management tools, and be prepared to discuss your coding skills with Go and/or Python.
• Familiarize yourself with ClickHouse's open-source column-oriented database system and its use cases.

📝 Enhancement Note: ClickHouse's interview process focuses on assessing your technical expertise, problem-solving skills, and cultural fit with the company. Being prepared to discuss your experience with cloud infrastructure, distributed databases, and incident management is essential for success in the interview process.

🛠 Technology Stack & Web Infrastructure

Cloud Computing Platforms:

• AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform

Distributed Databases:

• ClickHouse (open-source column-oriented database system)
• Other distributed databases (e.g., Apache Cassandra, MongoDB, or CockroachDB)

Incident Management Tools:

• PagerDuty, OpsGenie, or similar incident management platforms
• Custom-built incident management tools (if applicable)

Automation & Configuration Management Tools:

• Ansible, Terraform, or Puppet
• Custom-built automation and configuration management tools (if applicable)

Container Orchestration Tools:

• Kubernetes or Docker Swarm

Monitoring & Alerting Tools:

• Prometheus, Grafana, or similar monitoring and alerting tools
• Custom-built monitoring and alerting tools (if applicable)

📝 Enhancement Note: ClickHouse's technology stack is designed to ensure the reliability, availability, scalability, and performance of ClickHouse Cloud. Familiarity with the listed tools and platforms is essential for success in the Senior Site Reliability Engineer role.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Web Development Values:

• User Focus: ClickHouse prioritizes user experience and user-focused solutions, ensuring that its services meet the needs of its customers.
• Innovation: ClickHouse encourages innovation and continuous learning, driving technological advancements in its open-source column-oriented database system.
• Performance Optimization: ClickHouse emphasizes speed and efficiency in managing escalating data volumes, ensuring that its services deliver real-time analytical reports through SQL queries.
• Collaboration: ClickHouse fosters a culture of collaboration, with cross-functional teams working together to drive innovation and user-focused solutions.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: ClickHouse encourages collaboration between its engineering, design, marketing, and business teams to drive innovation and user-focused solutions.
• Code Review Culture: ClickHouse values code review culture, with a focus on peer programming and knowledge sharing.
• Knowledge Sharing: ClickHouse promotes a culture of knowledge sharing, with regular team meetings, brown bag sessions, and technical presentations.

📝 Enhancement Note: ClickHouse's culture values innovation, user focus, and collaboration, with a strong emphasis on driving technological advancements in its open-source column-oriented database system.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Technical Challenges:

• Scalability & Performance: Ensure the reliability, availability, scalability, and performance of ClickHouse Cloud, managing escalating data volumes and user demand.
• Incident Management: Establish and manage service level objectives (SLOs) and service level agreements (SLAs) for ClickHouse Cloud, ensuring timely detection and resolution of incidents.
• Chaos Engineering: Plan, enable, and drive chaos initiatives across engineering teams based on internal priorities, ensuring the resilience of ClickHouse Cloud in the face of unexpected events.
• Distributed Systems: Design and implement scalable, secure, highly available, and fault-tolerant distributed systems for ClickHouse Cloud, collaborating with various engineering teams to ensure the reliability and performance of ClickHouse services.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Technical Skill Development: Expand your expertise in cloud infrastructure, distributed databases, and incident management, driving continuous improvement and innovation in ClickHouse services.
• Leadership Development: Develop your leadership skills by guiding and mentoring other team members, driving chaos initiatives, and managing on-call processes.
• Architecture Decision-Making: Contribute to architecture decisions that shape the future of ClickHouse Cloud, ensuring reliability, availability, scalability, and performance.

📝 Enhancement Note: ClickHouse offers technical challenges and growth opportunities for Senior Site Reliability Engineers to develop their skills, drive innovation, and ensure the reliability, availability, scalability, and performance of ClickHouse Cloud.

💡 Interview Preparation

Technical Questions:

• Cloud Infrastructure: Describe your experience with cloud computing platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform. How have you ensured the reliability, availability, scalability, and performance of cloud infrastructure in previous roles?
• Distributed Databases: Explain your understanding of distributed databases and SQL, particularly ClickHouse. How have you optimized the performance and reliability of distributed databases in previous roles?
• Incident Management: Discuss your approach to incident management and post-mortem analysis. How have you driven continuous improvement in incident response processes in previous roles?
• Problem-Solving: Present a challenging problem you've faced in a previous role and describe your approach to solving it. How did you ensure the reliability and performance of the system in the face of unexpected events?

Company & Culture Questions:

• Company Culture: How do you see yourself contributing to ClickHouse's culture, particularly in shaping its future as one of the first joiners to the Reliability Engineering Team?
• User Focus: Describe your experience with user-focused solutions and how you've ensured that your technical decisions align with user needs and business objectives.
• Innovation: Discuss your approach to driving innovation and continuous learning in previous roles. How do you stay up-to-date with emerging technologies and industry trends?

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Technical Deep Dive: Prepare a technical deep dive into your experience with Site Reliability Engineering, focusing on cloud infrastructure, distributed databases, and incident management. Highlight your problem-solving skills and ability to optimize system performance and reliability.
• Incident Management: Include examples of your incident management and post-mortem analysis processes, demonstrating your ability to drive continuous improvement.
• Chaos Engineering: Discuss your approach to chaos engineering and how you've ensured the resilience of systems in the face of unexpected events.

📝 Enhancement Note: ClickHouse's interview process focuses on assessing your technical expertise, problem-solving skills, and cultural fit with the company. Being prepared to discuss your experience with cloud infrastructure, distributed databases, and incident management is essential for success in the interview process.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Senior Site Reliability Engineer position:

1. Submit your application through the application link.
2. Customize your resume and portfolio to highlight your experience with cloud infrastructure, distributed databases, and incident management.
3. Prepare for the technical interview by brushing up on your knowledge of cloud computing platforms, distributed databases, and incident management tools.
4. Research ClickHouse's open-source column-oriented database system and its use cases to demonstrate your understanding of the company's products and services.
5. Familiarize yourself with ClickHouse's company culture, values, and growth opportunities to ensure a strong cultural fit and long-term career prospects.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and web technology industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.