Couchbase Principal Product Manager - Core Database Engine 

United States, California 

206971598

As a Principal Product Manager for the Core Database Engine at Couchbase, you will drive the strategy, roadmap, and execution of features for our next-generation distributed database engine. This role is focused on innovation in query optimization, execution systems, and storage architecture to meet the evolving demands of enterprise workloads and cloud-native applications.

You will work closely with engineering teams to build and enhance the brains of a distributed document database by leading initiatives in SQL++, query execution, indexing, storage efficiency, transaction coordination, and resource management. You will leverage your deep understanding of database systems and distributed architectures to guide the design and implementation of world-class database features and performance optimizations.

• Define the Cloud and GenAI product vision and strategy for Couchbase’s core database engine focused on Query and Indexing, setting multi-year initiatives and delivering on incremental milestones.
• Drive innovation in query optimization, execution systems, cost-based optimization, planner efficiency, and transaction management by researching state-of-the-art techniques and building flexible schema databases.
• Work with engineering to design and implement features that enhance query performance, resource management, security, and scalability in distributed systems.
• Collaborate with engineering, data science, and cloud infrastructure teams to guide product development from concept to launch, ensuring performance, scalability, and differentiation in the market.
• Coordinate with marketing and sales teams to develop go-to-market strategies and produce key deliverables—including PRDs, white papers, blogs, and GTM plans—to empower data scientists, developers, and ML engineers to leverage Couchbase for advanced analytics, real-time search, and Gen AI applications.
• Engage with customers to understand their challenges, demonstrating customer obsession and a bias for action by incorporating feedback to ensure Couchbase’s features meet real-world business needs.

• A degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Physics or a related field ( PhD in databases or distributed systems is a plus.)
• 10+ years of proven experience in product management with a focus on database internals, query optimization, and distributed storage engines . Familiarity with distributed systems, data replication, and consistency models.
• Expertise in query engine performance and database technologies, with a focus on optimizing complex queries for databases, and a solid understanding of SQL, and Python or any other programming languages.
• Leadership and communication skills to drive cross-functional teams, collaborate with external partners, and influence internal stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to think from first principles, with strong written and oral communication skills. Proven ability to learn rapidly, adapt to new information, and collaborate effectively with experts.
• A self-starter attitude with a proven track record of independently driving initiatives in fast-paced and evolving environments.

Bonus Points for:

• Knowledge of Couchbase/NoSQL systems.
• Strong knowledge of database technologies such as OLTP ( SQL, PostgreSQL, or MySQL) and OLAP internals.
• You have built and shipped features related to Query Optimizer and/ or Execution Engine in the past as a Product Manager or an Engineer.
• Experience working with cloud providers like AWS, GCP, and Azure.