Sr. Database Reliability Engineer II

Disclaimer: Please be advised that the most accurate and up-to-date information about our open roles—including job descriptions, compensation, and benefits—can only be guaranteed on our official job board. For the latest listings and details, please visit: .JOIN US ON OUR MISSION TO BECOME THE #1 RETAIL TRADING PLATFORM IN THE WORLDWelcome to the dynamic world of NinjaTrader! As an industry-leading trading platform and futures broker, we're empowering traders to take control of their financial destiny. How do we do it? We provide cutting-edge products and services that enhance the trading journey. Whether a seasoned pro or just starting out, NinjaTrader equips traders with award-winning software and brokerage services to navigate the world's leading financial markets with confidence. Our growth story is nothing short of exhilarating. Since 2003, NinjaTrader has been dedicated to understanding and supporting traders on their journey toward trading triumph. Through those efforts, our user base has grown to over 2 million users and we have become the number one rated futures brokerage worldwide. But we're not stopping there. We're constantly evolving, pushing boundaries, and modernizing the futures industry. Our commitment to innovation means users will always have access to dynamic tools, real-time support, and a community of like-minded traders. So, why work at NinjaTrader? Here, you're not just part of a team; you're part of a movement. We empower employees to reach new heights in their careers by providing a dynamic culture focused on social connection, professional development, and employee recognition initiatives. Sounds too good to be true? Take it from our employees. Join us as we redefine what's possible in trading, advocate for our customers, and continue our journey toward becoming the world's top retail-focused trading platform in the world. What you'll do:As a Sr. Database Reliability Engineer II, you will help architect, evolve, and optimize the data platform powering NinjaTrader's core trading applications. This is not a traditional Database Administrator (DBA) role. We're looking for a software engineer with deep MySQL/Postgres expertise who enjoys solving complex data challenges while remaining actively involved in software development.You'll partner closely with software engineers, architects, and platform teams to improve database performance, evolve our data architecture, build developer tooling, and establish engineering best practices that enable our platform to continue scaling. You'll play a key role in shaping the future direction of our data platform by driving initiatives that improve scalability, resiliency, developer productivity, and operational excellence.This role is ideal for someone who has spent their career building production software and naturally became the database expert responsible for solving performance bottlenecks, designing scalable schemas, and improving application reliability.In this role you will:Design and evolve MySQL schemas supporting high-volume transactional workloadsDefine and drive improvements to NinjaTrader's data platform architecture, including online schema changes, zero/low-downtime database migrations, blue/green deployments, and scalability initiatives that support long-term platform growth.Analyze and optimize SQL queries, indexes, and execution plans to improve application performanceDevelop production-quality software that improves our persistence layer, developer tooling, and data platform capabilitiesDesign scalable data models that balance performance, maintainability, and long-term growthBuild reusable libraries, frameworks, and tooling that simplify data access and improve developer productivity across engineering teamsLead database performance tuning initiatives across applications and servicesDrive modernization initiatives for database architecture, deployment processes, and operational reliabilityDesign and implement safe, repeatable database migration strategies supporting continuous deliveryInvestigate and resolve complex production issues involving application performance, database behavior, locking, concurrency, and data integrityEstablish engineering standards and best practices for schema design, indexing, SQL development, database migrations, and data access patternsPartner with Platform Engineering to improve database monitoring, backup strategies, disaster recovery, and operational resilienceLeverage Google Cloud Platform services, including Cloud SQL, Cloud Monitoring, Cloud Logging, and related tooling, to improve the reliability, scalability, and observability of our data platformMentor engineers on data modeling, SQL optimization, MySQL best practices, and application performance optimizationLead technical design discussions and architecture reviews related to database-backed applicationsEvaluate emerging technologies and recommend solutions that improve platform scalability, maintainability, and engineering efficiencyServe as a technical leader and trusted advisor for database architecture, application performance, and data platform best practicesWhat you'll need:Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience8+ years of professional software engineering experienceStrong experience building backend applications using Java, C#, Go, Python, Kotlin, Scala, or similar modern programming languagesExpert-level experience with MySQL in large-scale production environmentsDeep understanding of:SQL optimizationQuery execution plansIndexing strategiesTransactions and isolation levelsLocking and concurrencySchema design and normalizationReplication and high availabilityExperience designing scalable database schemas for high-volume transactional applicationsExperience troubleshooting complex application and database performance issuesExperience implementing database migration strategies supporting continuous deliveryStrong understanding of software architecture, distributed systems, and engineering best practicesExperience leading technical initiatives and influencing architectural decisions across engineering teamsExcellent collaboration and communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to engineers and cross-functional stakeholdersPassion for improving developer productivity by building automation, developer tooling, database testing frameworks, performance benchmarking harnesses, and engineering best practices.Bonus points for:Experience building and operating applications on Google Cloud Platform (GCP)Experience with Cloud SQL for MySQLExperience using Google Cloud services such as Cloud Monitoring, Cloud Logging, Pub/Sub, Cloud Storage, Secret Manager, Cloud Build, or Cloud DeployExperience supporting financial services, trading platforms, or other high-throughput transactional systemsExperience working in startup or high-growth engineering environments where engineers owned both application development and database performanceExperience improving developer productivity through tooling and automationExperience designing highly available, fault-tolerant distributed systemsExperience implementing observability solutions, performance monitoring, and database telemetryExperience leveraging AI/ML tools or technologies to improve software development, operational efficiency, or engineering productivityCompensation:The salary range for this role will be $130,000.00 - $180,000.00 USD. In addition, this position will also receive an annual target bonus of 10%. Bonus pay at NinjaTrader is based on individual performance (50%) as well as company/team performance (50%).Salary and bonus earnings are only two components of the total compensation package offered by NinjaTrader. NinjaTrader offers a 401K plan through ADP under which the company will match up to 3.5% of employee contributions. Annual paid time off allowance accrues at a rate of 18 days per year plus seven paid holidays.All offered compensation will be based on assessed experience and is subject to change at the offer stage.Location:This role is based in Chicago, IL. *There may be remote flexibility for exceptional candidates in the following states: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, Wisconsin.Hybrid:For Chicago-based employees, we follow a hybrid work schedule: In-office Tuesday through Thursday, with remote work on Mondays and Fridays. In addition to these weekly remote days, we offer:20 additional flex remote days annually5 Company Wide Office-Optional weeks tied to major holidaysOur Core Benefits Include:Generous PTO7 Paid Holidays Annually + 5 Conditional Holidays Annually1 Service Day Annually401k with 3.5% Company MatchPaid Parental Bonding LeaveHealth, Vision, Dental CoverageLife and Disability Insurance Covered 100% by NinjaTraderWe are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, or veteran status. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.