THE OPPORTUNITY We're hiring a Database Reliability Engineer to own the performance, availability, and automation of our databases on Google Cloud Platform (GCP). You'll bring deep PostgreSQL and SQL Server expertise and the engineering habits of a platform team: infrastructure as code, automated pipelines, and observability built in from the start.
This is a hands-on role. You'll tune the queries and design the indexes, and you'll also build the automation so that backups, failover, and schema changes run reliably without manual effort. You'll work closely with engineering teams to keep our data layer fast, resilient, and ready to scale.
WHAT YOU'LL OWN
- Manage and optimize PostgreSQL and SQL Server databases on GCP (Cloud SQL)
- Analyze and tune queries using execution plans, and design and maintain indexing strategies
- Provision and manage database infrastructure as code with Terraform
- Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines for database changes, including automated schema migrations and rollbacks
- Automate routine maintenance (index maintenance, statistics updates, backups) and regularly test restores
- Design, implement, and validate high availability (HA), replication, and disaster recovery setups
- Build monitoring, alerting, and dashboards for database health and performance, and lead troubleshooting when issues arise
- Partner with software engineers on data modeling, query design, and database best practices
- Apply access controls, IAM, and security best practices across the database environment
- Document runbooks and share knowledge so the team can operate independently
WHAT YOU BRING
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, or a related field, and 3+ years of experience in database engineering, database reliability, DevOps, or platform engineering
- Strong, hands-on experience with PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL Server
- Advanced SQL skills, including joins, subqueries, CTEs, and window functions
- Proven ability to read execution plans and tune queries and indexes for performance at scale
- Hands-on experience with GCP, especially Cloud SQL, plus working knowledge of compute, networking, and IAM
- Experience with infrastructure as code (Terraform preferred)
- Experience building or maintaining CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or similar)
- Scripting proficiency in Python, Bash, or PowerShell
- Working knowledge of HA, replication, backup, and disaster recovery in cloud environments
- Experience with database monitoring and observability tools
- Comfort working in Linux and/or Windows environments
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, and a habit of automating repeatable work
- This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship
PREFERRED
- Experience with Kubernetes (GKE) and containerized workloads
- Experience with database schema migration tools (such as Liquibase or Flyway)
- Experience with other GCP services (BigQuery, Pub/Sub, Cloud Storage, Cloud Monitoring)
- Experience with non-relational databases such as MongoDB, Elasticsearch, or Redis
- Experience with on-call rotations and incident response
- Knowledge of database security, auditing, and compliance practices
The expected base compensation range for this role is $120,000–$135,000, commensurate with demonstrated skills and experience. Compensation at Black Kite extends well beyond base pay — our total rewards program includes performance-based bonuses, equity, flexible healthcare options, paid time off, and retirement savings. This range reflects a nationwide market spectrum and will vary based on qualifications, role scope, complexity, and location.