Software Engineer - Generalist

About MotherDuck

Don’t let the quirky name fool you: At MotherDuck, we’re on a mission to make data warehousing fun, frictionless, and ducking awesome for developers and data practitioners building blazing fast internal and customer-facing analytics experiences. We're building a cloud-hosted version of DuckDB, working hand-in-hand with the creators of the fastest-growing and fastest-improving query engine on the planet. Unlike other databases, MotherDuck was architected to unify local development with cloud operations to bridge the gap between software and data engineering workflows. Our team is a mix of thoughtful, passionate, and empathetic data industry veterans.

We’re shaking up assumptions on how data should be done! We empower and delight data practitioners using a novel cloud architecture. We believe in the power of single node databases, built on top of DuckDB, an open source foundation with a vibrant community.

Our engineering team comes from a wide mix of backgrounds, running the gamut from data experts to generalists, from big tech to start ups, and SaaS companies to government and finance.

But no matter where we’ve come from, we’re passionate, collaborative and customer-focused. We work together as a team from across our engineering hubs in Seattle, San Francisco, New York, and Amsterdam.

We’re looking for software engineers who thrive in a generalist role… engineers who enjoy solving meaningful problems across the stack and are comfortable navigating ambiguity to deliver durable solutions.

As a software engineer at MotherDuck, you’ll collaborate with teammates across frontend, backend, and infrastructure to design and build reliable systems, implement product features, improve performance, and create delightful developer and user experiences. You’ll help define not just what we build, but how we build it… shaping both the platform and the culture of our growing engineering organization.

What You’ll Do:

• Work across the stack to design, build, and maintain high-impact product features and internal tools
• Investigate and resolve complex technical issues that may span services, layers, or teams
• Contribute to system architecture and design decisions as we scale the platform
• Write clear, maintainable code in multiple languages including Go, C , Python, and TypeScript
• Collaborate with product, design, and other engineers to define and implement solutions that align with user needs
• Participate in code reviews, design discussions, and customer or production oncall rotations
  
  

What We’re Looking For:

• Proficiency in multiple programming languages and eagerness to learn new ones
• Experience building and operating production-grade systems
• Strong debugging skills and comfort navigating ambiguity
• Thoughtfulness in balancing short-term execution with long-term maintainability
• Curiosity, empathy, and a collaborative working style
  
  

Example Projects:

• Develop a crisp API for customers to manage their organization.
• Add a new component to our UI
• Improve our integration with dbt
• Develop secure user impersonation and role-based access control
• Optimize our internal metadata to improve performance
  
  

What people should be saying if you’re doing ducking awesome

• “They can jump into any part of the codebase and make an impact.”
• “They connect the dots between teams and make complex problems feel simpler.”
• “Every feature they ship works beautifully across the stack.”
• “They bring clarity when things feel ambiguous.”
  
  

What We Provide

• Feather-ruffling compensation – competitive salary and stock options so you have a stake in our flock’s success.
• Top-notch healthcare coverage – 100% paid medical, dental, and vision for employees, plus 80% coverage for dependents (because we care about your whole nest).
• Flexible PTO – take the time you need to recharge, explore, or just have a lazy day by the pond.
• 401k plan – because even ducks need to plan for the future.
• Legendary company events – we bring the whole flock together twice a year for unforgettable summits in fun locations, plus 1-2 team gatherings a year to keep our bonds strong.
• Hybrid work environment - spend most of the week in the office collaborating with the flock, and work from wherever you're most productive the rest of the time.
  
  

Our Process

• Round 1: Interview with our Talent Partner (30min)
• Round 2: Technical Screen with one of our Tech Leads (30min)
• Round 3: 4 meetings with members of the team (60min each)
• Round 4: Values interview with our CEO/Founder (45min)
  
  

Please Apply

Does this role sound appealing to you, but you’re missing some of the requirements or don’t quite think you’re qualified? Please apply anyway. Research has shown that underrepresented groups in technology often shy away from roles which aren’t a 100% match. We aim to build a diverse team and will strongly consider applicants who bring many of the requirements plus have other experiences which round out their qualifications.

MotherDuck is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. MotherDuck is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and mental disabilities.

Compensation Range: $140K - $250K