Senior Data Platform Engineer

We are seeking a Senior Backend / Data Platform Engineer to design and build large-scale databases and APIs that power commercial customer-facing products. This role focuses on system architecture, data modeling, and performance at scale, with deployments running in Kubernetes-based environments.

You will work closely with product, research, and infrastructure teams to translate customer requirements into reliable, scalable, and secure backend systems. This is a hands-on engineering role with ownership over core platform components.

Location
Atlanta, GA Preferred

Committment
Full-Time

Work style
Remote

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and operate large-scale databases (OLTP and analytical workloads)
• Architect and develop high-performance APIs (REST and/or gRPC) for commercial customers
• Design data models optimized for scale, reliability, and long-term maintainability
• Deploy and operate backend services in Kubernetes environments
• Optimize database performance, query efficiency, and API latency under high load
• Define and enforce API contracts, schemas, and versioning strategies
• Partner with DevOps and platform teams on: Kubernetes deployment patterns, CI/CD pipelines, Observability (metrics, logging, tracing)
• Implement security best practices including authentication, authorization, and data protection
• Troubleshoot and resolve production issues in distributed systems
• Provide technical leadership through design reviews, documentation, and mentorship

Required Qualifications

• Strong experience designing and operating large-scale databases, such as:
• Distributed or analytical systems (e.g., ClickHouse, Elasticsearch, BigQuery, Snowflake, etc.)
• Strong backend development experience in one or more languages:
• Python, Go, Java, or similar
• Solid understanding of: Data modeling, Indexing strategies, Transactional vs analytical workloads
• Experience deploying and running services on Kubernetes
• Familiarity with containerization (Docker) and cloud environments (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
• Must be a US citizen

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience operating databases on Kubernetes (StatefulSets, Operators, persistent volumes)
• Experience with high-throughput or high-volume data systems
• Knowledge of: API gateways and service meshes, gRPC, OpenAPI, or GraphQL
• Experience with infrastructure as code (Terraform, Helm, Crossplane)
• Experience supporting commercial customers with uptime, SLA, and performance requirements
• Familiarity with security-sensitive or regulated environments

What Success Looks Like in This Role

• Databases that scale reliably as customer usage grows
• APIs that are stable, well-documented, and easy for customers to integrate
• Kubernetes deployments that are observable, resilient, and maintainable
• Clear architectural documentation and design rationale
• Strong collaboration across engineering, product, and operations

Why Join Us

• Work on real production systems at meaningful scale
• Own core architecture decisions that directly impact customers
• Collaborate with senior engineers, researchers, and product leaders
• Build systems that value correctness, performance, and maintainability