Software Engineer III, Infrastructure, Spanner, Core Query Processing
Google · Kirkland, WA
$147,000–$211,000from the description
Jul 16, 2026
Kirkland, WA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
This role focuses on extending and maintaining the query processing infrastructure within Google's Spanner distributed database. Day-to-day work involves writing and reviewing code, participating in design reviews, debugging system issues, and collaborating with specialists in storage and transaction processing. It suits engineers with a background in large-scale distributed systems and hands-on experience designing relational database query processors or optimizers.
Senior level · 2+ years · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA · Bachelor's required · Full-time
Advertised as Mid, but the requirements read as Senior.
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
Posted 2 times — it's one opening, so apply once.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 3,500 people in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 1,450–5,200
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $170,959 (middle half $135,720–$216,519). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (6)
The posting is titled 'Software Engineer III' and Google frames it as a 'Mid' level role, but the actual requirements — designing and developing relational databases, query processors, and query plan optimizers, plus 2 years of large-scale infrastructure experience — reflect Senior-level scope and depth. The pool is sized at Senior accordingly.
The C++ requirement allows 1 year with an advanced degree; 2 years is the baseline minimum used here.
The degree requirement is Bachelor's or equivalent practical experience; because equivalent experience is explicitly accepted, the degree requirement is set to None — however, a Master's or PhD is listed as a preferred qualification.
OLTP and OLAP appear together under a single preferred qualification bullet ('transaction processing systems (OLTP) or larger scale analytics (OLAP)') and are treated as interchangeable alternatives for that preferred signal.
Compensation is $147,000–$211,000/year plus a 15% bonus target and equity, as stated in the posting.
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): query plan optimization.
Read the full posting
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