Senior Engineer, Database Reliability

Location: Americas

Hello!

We're looking for a Senior Database Reliability Engineer (DBRE) to join our team in the Americas! As we continue to expand our product and grow our team, we're looking for experienced database-focused engineers to take care of Zapier's databases. We're looking for engineers who can help plan our overall data infrastructure but aren't scared to roll up their sleeves and deal with challenging operational issues.

With significant expertise in relational databases and PostgreSQL, you will support our ongoing efforts in database performance and reliability. Simultaneously, as Zapier expands the diversity of its product offerings and delivers database-like tools to our customers (Tables, Transfer), you will assist us in addressing operational difficulties and providing direct support in developing new products. You will have a hand in pioneering our best practices in regards to automation, performance, reliability, and disaster recovery.

We understand that applying for and beginning a new job at any company requires a leap of faith. We want the application process at Zapier to be exciting and welcoming. Here are a few resources, including the job description, which can provide you an inside look at life at Zapier. We hope you will apply.

Zapier is honored to be an equal opportunity workplace dedicated to the pursuit and hiring of a diverse workforce.

About You

• You're an experienced database technologist with a background in PostgreSQL. You have a minimum of 7 years experience in systems administration, systems engineering, or software development, with at least 4 years of experience building and maintaining data services on PostgreSQL. You’re well versed in PostgreSQL ecosystem of extensions and third-party tools, and have utilized them to build production systems.

• You're familiar with the cloud. You've designed and maintained highly available cloud-based database systems in AWS or another cloud platform. We use tools like Postgres, MySQL, and Redis.

• You're proficient in coding. You're comfortable with automating solutions and creating tools that eliminate repetitive tasks. You're not afraid to investigate into application code to fix a bug or to start a backend service to fill a gap in our data management strategy.

• You can solve complex system challenges. You take ownership of difficult problems, understand how to enhance performance, and can identify opportunities for improvement. You've worked on issues where adding more hardware was not sufficient for the system to scale.

• You're an excellent communicator. You're proficient in sharing your knowledge with the team and recording things well so they can be understood asynchronously (a frequent practice in our remote company). You also know how to communicate effectively with software and support teams.

• You value our values. At Zapier, our values underpin how we work together and how we think about our customers. In our remote environment, they foster trust and ensure we work together to democratize automation. You understand how these values can facilitate meaningful work, you thrive in a collaborative setting, you're eager to keep growing, and you're enthusiastic to be a part of the team.

Responsibilities

• Identifying and implementing strategies to improve performance and reliability. Our application is constantly growing and we need your help to continue scaling.
• Collaborating with development teams to make architectural decisions about new services and technologies. Many of our new services use Postgres and teams need your expertise to best utilize it.
• Streamlining the process for developers to have a scalable, performant, and secure database, so they can focus on building great services.
• Monitoring the utilization of our data layer and advising teams on how to use storage effectively and in a scalable manner.
• Serving as a point of escalation for data-layer issues during production incidents.
• And more!

Recent Accomplishments

• Installed new monitoring tools across our fleet of RDS databases for enhanced observability;
• Rebuilt our connection pooling to our main production database to facilitate faster and easier deployment of config changes;
• Removed unnecessary code and tables from our system, reducing database traffic by 15%;
• Migrated segments of a shared EAV datastore into our relational databases, eliminating a single point of failure across numerous services;
• Assisted a team developing a crucial new service to ensure their database could scale with their projected traffic.

Zapier Compensation Guiding Principles

We believe that all Zapiens should be compensated competitively and fairly, using practices that are simple and transparent. This philosophy enables us to discover, cultivate, and retain remarkable individuals from a wide range of backgrounds. Here’s how we define our compensation principles:

• Competitive: Zapier offers competitive pay in the technology sector.

• Equitable: Consistent pay practices; competency-based pay.

• Simple: Pay is easily understood, and pay practices are built for scalability.

• Transparent: Zapiens know how their pay works and how it's determined.

The salary ranges for this role are:

Location: United States $167,400-209,200-251,000 USD

Location: Canada $167,400-209,200-251,000 CAD

A candidate's compensation package is finalized once the interview process is complete and factors in experience, competencies (job knowledge, skills, and abilities), and internal equity. We use a competency-based approach to base pay which means we set pay for all Zapier employees based on their competency and skill set demonstrated in their role. In line with this philosophy, the upper half of a pay range is typically reserved for those who have consistently demonstrated a high level of job knowledge and skills in their current role and level while at Zapier.

For more information on Zapier’s Total Rewards, please click .

How to Apply

At Zapier, we believe that various perspectives and experiences enhance us which is why we have a unique application process designed to promote inclusion and equity. We're searching for the best fit for each role, regardless of the type of education or companies in your background, so we encourage you to apply even if your skills and experiences don’t exactly match the job description. All we ask is that you answer a few comprehensive questions in our application, typically asked at the start of an interview process. This accelerates the process by letting us get to know you and your skillset better right away. Please make sure to answer each question; the resume and CV fields are optional.

After your application, you will hear back from us - even if we don’t immediately find you a fit for our team. Throughout the process, we aim to never go more than seven days without updating you on your application status. We acknowledge that we'll occasionally make mistakes, so if you ever have questions about your standing or the process, just ask your recruiter!

Zapier is an equal-opportunity employer and we're keen to work with talented and empathetic individuals of all identities. Zapier does not discriminate based on anyone's identity in any aspect of employment as required by law and in accordance with our commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Equity. Our code of conduct offers a guideline for the type of company we aim to be and celebrating our differences is what allows us to create a product that serves a global user base. Zapier will consider all qualified candidates, including those with criminal histories, in line with applicable laws.

Zapier is committed to inclusivity. As part of this commitment, Zapier welcomes applications from individuals with disabilities and will strive to provide reasonable accommodations. If any reasonable accommodations are required to participate in the job application or interview process, please reach out to [email protected].

Even though we're an all-remote company, we still need to be mindful of where our Zapiens are working. Have a look at this for a list of countries where we currently cannot have Zapiens permanently working.