Staff Database Platform Engineer

Job description

Introduction to Demandbase: Demandbase is the only pipeline AI platform that empowers GTM teams to automate growth at scale. With a unified view of data, insights, actions, and outcomes, B2B enterprises can seamlessly align and execute their account-based GTM strategies with confidence. Thousands of businesses trust Demandbase to maximize revenue, minimize waste, and consolidate their data and tech stacks – all in one platform. As a company, we’re as committed to growing careers as we are to building world-class technology. We invest heavily in people, our culture, and the community around us. We have also continuously been recognized as One of The Best Places To Work in the San Francisco Bay Area by Fortune, and One of The 60 Best Companies To Sell For by Selling Power. Our offices are located in San Francisco, New York, Austin, Seattle, India, and the United Kingdom. ABOUT THE ROLE As a Staff Database Platform Engineer, you will design, build, and evolve scalable database platforms that power Demandbase’s cloud-native applications. You will play a key role in defining the future of database reliability by embedding automation, observability, and compliance into how teams provision, operate, and scale databases across AWS environments. This is a senior individual contributor role with strong technical ownership and cross-team influence. You will provide leadership to a global DBRE organization, partner closely with product and platform teams, and modernize legacy database systems while enabling a shift toward service-owned, self-service models. The base compensation range for this position are for candidates based in San Francisco, CA. For all other locations, the base compensation range is based on the primary work location of the candidate as our ranges are location specific. Actual compensation packages are based on a wide array of factors unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skillset, years of experience, and depth of experience. RESPONSIBILITIES CORE ENGINEERING - Design and implement self-service database platforms that enable provisioning, scaling, and secure operations across AWS (RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB) and other cloud-native stores. - Develop Infrastructure-as-Code solutions (Terraform, Helm, GitLab CI/CD, Kubernetes Operators) to eliminate manual database operations and improve reliability. - Establish architectural standards and best practices for service-level databases in microservices environments (Postgres, MySQL, DynamoDB, etc.). - Evaluate and guide database architecture decisions for analytical and ETL workloads, balancing performance, scalability, and cost across technologies (RDS/Aurora, BigQuery, Iceberg, and other cloud-native solutions). - Build and maintain observability frameworks (Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, OpenSearch) to ensure database health and operational excellence at scale. - Enhance system reliability through proactive monitoring, performance tuning, automation, and documentation. LEADERSHIP & BUSINESS ACUMEN - Define and drive the technical roadmap for database platform modernization aligned with broader engineering strategy. - Lead initiatives to reduce operational risk, cost, and complexity across legacy and monolithic database systems. - Guide architectural transitions from shared monolithic databases to decentralized, service-owned database models. - Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to ensure database architecture supports product scalability and business growth. - Balance innovation with operational stability to maintain high availability for mission-critical systems. COLLABORATION & MENTORSHIP - Collaborate with product and platform teams on schema design, query optimization, and database best practices. - Provide tooling, documentation, and onboarding frameworks that empower engineering teams to safely manage their own databases. - Mentor DBREs in evolving from traditional DBA practices toward platform engineering and automation-first approaches. - Participate in incident response and postmortems, driving continuous improvement across database operations. - Foster a culture of shift-left ownership, reliability engineering, and engineering excellence. QUALIFICATIONS - 10+ years of experience in database reliability engineering, platform engineering, or cloud infrastructure roles. - Strong expertise in Infrastructure-as-Code and automation tools such as Terraform, Helm, GitLab CI/CD, and Kubernetes Operators. - Hands-on experience with cloud-managed relational databases (PostgreSQL/MySQL on RDS/Aurora) and cloud-native databases (DynamoDB). - Deep knowledge of performance tuning, query optimization, indexing strategies, and schema design. - Experience modernizing and migrating legacy databases into scalable, fit-for-purpose systems in partnership with data engineering teams. - Strong Linux fundamentals and scripting experience (Python, Shell). - Hands-on experience with observability and monitoring stacks (Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, OpenSearch, or similar). - Demonstrated ability to mentor DBREs/DBAs and influence engineering culture toward automation and service ownership. - Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively across product, platform, DBRE, and data teams. BENEFITS Our benefits include options for up to 100% paid Medical and Vision premiums for employees, a flexible PTO policy, paid holidays, and access to mental health and wellness resources. We also provide a 401(k) with pre-tax, after tax, and roth options, as well as short-term/long-term disability, life insurance, and other great benefits. Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Demandbase At Demandbase, we believe in creating a workplace culture that values and celebrates diversity in all its forms. We recognize that everyone brings unique experiences, perspectives, and identities to the table, and we are committed to building a community where everyone feels valued, respected, and supported. Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated, and we strive to ensure that every individual has an equal opportunity to succeed and grow, regardless of their gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, race, ethnicity, background, marital status, genetic information, education level, veteran status, national origin, or any other protected status. We do not automatically disqualify applicants with criminal records and will consider each applicant on a case-by-case basis. We recognize that not all candidates will have every skill or qualification listed in this job description. If you feel you have the level of experience to be successful in the role, we encourage you to apply! We acknowledge that true diversity and inclusion requires ongoing effort, and we are committed to doing the work required to make our workplace a safe and equitable space for all. Join us in building a community where we can learn from each other, celebrate our differences, and work together. Unsolicited Submissions At Demandbase, we value thoughtful partnerships and direct connections with candidates. We’re not accepting unsolicited resumes or outreach from third-party recruiting agencies. Any unsolicited submissions will not be reviewed, and no fees will be paid.