Senior Data Platform Engineer

## About the role We are seeking a Senior Backend / Data Platform Engineer to design and build large-scale databases and APIs that power commercial customer-facing products. This role focuses on system architecture, data modeling, and performance at scale, with deployments running in Kubernetes-based environments. You will work closely with product, research, and infrastructure teams to translate customer requirements into reliable, scalable, and secure backend systems. This is a hands-on engineering role with ownership over core platform components. ## Responsibilities - Design, implement, and operate large-scale databases (OLTP and analytical workloads) - Architect and develop high-performance APIs (REST and/or gRPC) for commercial customers - Design data models optimized for scale, reliability, and long-term maintainability - Deploy and operate backend services in Kubernetes environments - Optimize database performance, query efficiency, and API latency under high load - Define and enforce API contracts, schemas, and versioning strategies - Partner with DevOps and platform teams on: Kubernetes deployment patterns, CI/CD pipelines, Observability (metrics, logging, tracing) - Implement security best practices including authentication, authorization, and data protection - Troubleshoot and resolve production issues in distributed systems - Provide technical leadership through design reviews, documentation, and mentorship ## Required Qualifications - Strong experience designing and operating large-scale databases, such as: - PostgreSQL / MySQL - Distributed or analytical systems (e.g., ClickHouse, Elasticsearch, BigQuery, Snowflake, etc.) - Strong backend development experience in one or more languages: - Python, Go, Java, or similar - Proven experience designing customer-facing APIs - Solid understanding of: Data modeling, Indexing strategies, Transactional vs analytical workloads - Experience deploying and running services on Kubernetes - Familiarity with containerization (Docker) and cloud environments (AWS, GCP, or Azure) - Strong debugging skills in distributed systems - Must be a US citizen ## Preferred Qualifications - Experience operating databases on Kubernetes (StatefulSets, Operators, persistent volumes) - Experience with high-throughput or high-volume data systems - Knowledge of: API gateways and service meshes, gRPC, OpenAPI, or GraphQL - Experience with infrastructure as code (Terraform, Helm, Crossplane) - Experience supporting commercial customers with uptime, SLA, and performance requirements - Familiarity with security-sensitive or regulated environments ## What Success Looks Like in This Role - Databases that scale reliably as customer usage grows - APIs that are stable, well-documented, and easy for customers to integrate - Kubernetes deployments that are observable, resilient, and maintainable - Clear architectural documentation and design rationale - Strong collaboration across engineering, product, and operations ## Why Join Us - Work on real production systems at meaningful scale - Own core architecture decisions that directly impact customers - Collaborate with senior engineers, researchers, and product leaders - Build systems that value correctness, performance, and maintainability