Distributed Systems Engineer Jobs

Distributed Systems Engineer jobs are open across cloud infrastructure, fintech, healthtech, and enterprise software, from new-grad to principal and staff engineer, with specializations in consensus protocols, fault-tolerant architectures, and large-scale data pipelines. Find a role that fits from the openings below and apply directly.

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Overview

Open roles109+
Top stateCalifornia
Top employerNetflix
Top citySan Francisco, CA
Work type52% On-site
Top industryTechnology

Showing 5 of 109+ Distributed Systems Engineer jobs

University of Texas at Austin
Distributed Systems Architect / Systems Engineering Lead (ES)
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University of Texas at Austin
Added 1d ago
Distributed Systems Architect / Systems Engineering Lead (ES)
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
Solutions Engineering & Architecture
Specialized Engineering
Systems Administration
Technical Program Management
Bachelor's degree in engineering
10,000+

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Microsoft
Senior Software Engineer, Distributed Systems
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Microsoft
Added 1d ago
Senior Software Engineer, Distributed Systems
Microsoft
Washington, District of Columbia
Software Engineering
Solutions Architecture
Technical Product & Program Management
$120k - $261k/yr
Master's degree
10,000+

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mLabs
Distributed Systems Engineer
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mLabs
Added 1d ago
Distributed Systems Engineer
mLabs
New York, New York
Business Strategy
Marketing
Product Management
$225k - $300k/yr
On-Site
2-10

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Amazon Web Services
Software Development Engineer II, AWS Transactional Services (Database & Distributed Systems)
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Amazon Web Services
Added 2d ago
Software Development Engineer II, AWS Transactional Services (Database & Distributed Systems)
Amazon Web Services
Seattle, Washington
Engineering (Non-Software)
Mechanical Engineering
Specialized Engineering
$144k - $194k/yr
Bachelor's degree

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State of Florida
Distributed Computer Systems Analyst - 73003389
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State of Florida
Added 2d ago
Distributed Computer Systems Analyst - 73003389
State of Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Compliance & Risk
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity Operations
Security & Protective Services
$49k.2 - $54k.64/yr
ITIL Certification
201-500

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Distributed Systems Engineer Job Market

Who's Hiring

Netflix
Netflix9 open roles
CVS Health
CVS Health8 open roles
Apple
Apple7 open roles

Top Industries Hiring

  • Technology & Software25
  • Media & Entertainment5
  • Electronics & Hardware4
  • Science & Research3
  • Consulting & Professional Services3

What Employers Look For

The qualifications that appear most often in distributed systems engineer jobs.

  • Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science or a related engineering field
  • Production experience designing and operating distributed systems at scale
  • Proficiency in Go, Java, C++, or Rust for systems-level programming
  • Hands-on experience with consensus protocols such as Raft or Paxos
  • Familiarity with distributed messaging platforms like Kafka or Pulsar
  • Experience with containerized infrastructure using Kubernetes and cloud platforms

Tips for Your Distributed Systems Engineer Job Search

Tailor your resume to system scale

Distributed systems roles care about the scale you've operated at. Quantify the size of clusters you've managed, the throughput of pipelines you've built, or the latency targets you've hit. Generic backend experience won't stand out without those specifics.

Highlight CAP theorem trade-off decisions

Hiring teams want evidence you've reasoned through consistency versus availability trade-offs in real production systems. Describe a specific decision you made and why. That signals engineering judgment, not just familiarity with distributed concepts.

Filter openings by stack before applying

Distributed systems roles vary widely by technology. A Kafka-heavy data-platform role and a Raft-based storage systems role need different preparation. Match your strongest stack to the job description before you apply, not after.

Apply early to roles that fit

Migrate Mate lists distributed systems engineer openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.

Prepare for distributed systems design interviews

Expect at least one open-ended system design question focused on failure modes, replication, and partition handling. Practice designing systems like distributed locks, leader election, or geo-replicated stores out loud, not just on paper.

Negotiate equity by evaluating vesting cliffs

Offers for distributed systems roles at growth-stage companies often front-load equity. Ask for the vesting schedule, cliff date, and whether the company has a refresh policy before comparing total compensation across offers.

Distributed Systems Engineer Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions

Which companies are hiring the most distributed systems engineers?

The companies hiring the most distributed systems engineers right now include Netflix, CVS Health, and Apple, with the largest share of openings in California, New York, and Texas, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. Demand is concentrated in companies running large-scale cloud infrastructure, fintech platforms, and real-time data systems.

How many distributed systems engineer jobs are remote?

About 48% of distributed systems engineer openings are fully remote or hybrid as of August 2026, reflecting strong demand for experienced engineers regardless of location. Sub-areas like distributed storage, consensus systems, and infrastructure platform engineering tend to skew most remote, while roles embedded in hardware-adjacent or low-latency trading environments more often require on-site presence.

How do you become a distributed systems engineer?

Start by building a strong foundation in operating systems, networking, and concurrent programming, then move into studying how distributed systems handle failures, replication, and consistency. Contribute to or build open-source distributed tools to develop practical experience. Progress from backend engineering roles that touch service-to-service communication, then take on larger-scope infrastructure projects that require you to reason about partition tolerance and fault recovery in production.

How do you get hired as a distributed systems engineer with little experience?

Focus on demonstrating systems thinking rather than just distributed systems credentials. Build and document a personal project that tackles a real distributed challenge, such as a replicated key-value store or a distributed job scheduler. Study how production systems at companies like Cockroach Labs or Confluent are designed, then speak to those patterns in interviews. Entry-level roles on infrastructure or platform teams are the most accessible starting point.

What does the distributed systems engineer interview process look like?

The process typically starts with a recruiter screen, followed by a technical phone interview covering fundamentals like consistency models and clock synchronization. On-site or virtual rounds usually include a distributed systems design session, one or two algorithm and concurrency coding problems, and a behavioral interview. Some companies add a take-home design document or architecture review, especially for senior and staff-level roles.

Where can I find and apply to distributed systems engineer jobs?

You can find and apply to distributed systems engineer jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Search the roles available, find the ones that match your background and target stack, and apply directly to each listing.

See All 109+ Distributed Systems Engineer Jobs

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