Candidates must demonstrate expert-level (“can teach a class”) knowledge in all the following:
Performance tuning and optimization
Transactional ( PostgreSQL, MySQL, Aurora etc.,) Analytical(Redshift, Iceberg etc.,)
Query optimizers, execution plans, indexing, statistics, and transaction isolation
Designing and supporting database-backed APIs
Building automation and tooling to support database performance and reliability
Infrastructure as Code using Terraform
Leveraging AI to automatically identify bottlenecks
Cloud platforms: AWS, including managed database services
Performance monitoring, troubleshooting, and tuning in distributed systems
CI/CD pipelines and deployment automation
Capacity planning, workload modeling, and cost optimization
A proven track record of improving database performance at scale
A keen eye to spot when something isn’t right and the diligence to not stop until its resolved
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Ability to mentor engineers and influence architecture and design decisions
Comfortable operating as a technical authority across teams