Database & Systems Engineer
Engineers in this role design and operate the database and storage systems that underpin AI infrastructure at massive scale, handling everything from query optimization and transaction management to distributed storage architecture. They work deeply with storage engines, cache layers, and multi-database topologies, making critical tradeoffs between consistency, performance, and resilience as their systems support billions of requests and exabyte-scale workloads. Unlike query optimization or distributed systems specialists, these engineers own the full vertical of how data is stored, retrieved, and scaled—partnering with infrastructure and product teams to ensure databases reliably serve both transactional product workloads and compute-intensive AI training pipelines. They typically sit within platform or infrastructure organizations alongside teams building query engines, replication systems, and cloud infrastructure.
Skills
What companies are looking for in this role.
Designing and implementing distributed database systems with focus on scalability and fault tolerance
Developing systems programming expertise with strong proficiency in data structures, algorithms, and software architecture
Optimizing query execution engines and improving database performance through algorithm design and system tuning
Building and maintaining storage engines with emphasis on transactional correctness, durability, and concurrent access management
Managing and scaling database infrastructure to support massive data volumes and millions of concurrent requests
Diagnosing and resolving complex performance issues through monitoring, telemetry analysis, and root cause investigation
Implementing data replication, partitioning, and sharding strategies for distributed systems
Designing schemas, indexes, and query optimization strategies for high-volume transactional and analytical workloads
Building automated tools for database management, monitoring, and operational observability
Architecting multi-cloud database solutions that work seamlessly across different cloud providers and deployment models
Designing stream processing architectures and event-driven systems for real-time data pipelines
Building vector databases and search infrastructure to support AI and machine learning applications
Optimizing storage systems for AI workloads including GPU-accelerated storage and direct memory access patterns
Implementing incremental data capture and change data capture mechanisms for minimal production impact
Leading technical decision-making and setting architectural direction for database infrastructure teams
Mentoring engineers and fostering collaborative development practices within large codebases
Communicating technical concepts clearly to cross-functional teams and stakeholders with varying technical backgrounds
Partnering with product management and customer operations to translate requirements into technical solutions
Managing project complexity assessments and delivering realistic timelines while coordinating with other teams
Leading incident response and postmortem processes to drive continuous improvement
Technology
The tools and technologies that define this role.
Open Jobs
34 open Database & Systems Engineer jobs across 14 companies.
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