Staff Software Engineer, Database Platform

Horizon3.ai

. Set the technical direction for Horizon3's database systems, including schema design, data modeling, indexing strategies, and query contracts .

Posted 10/23/2026full-timeRemote • United StatesLead💰 $229,500 - $260,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expert-level proficiency in PostgreSQL and a deep understanding of database systems, including schema design, data modeling, and performance tuning. Capable of mentoring engineers and driving database architecture decisions in high-volume production environments.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Expert-Level PostgreSQL ProficiencyDatabase Schema DesignZero-Downtime Migration WorkflowsGraph Databases ExperienceProduction Code Writing

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Database SystemsData InfrastructureQuery Performance TuningNormalization and DenormalizationIndexing StrategiesReplication ManagementKubernetesGo ProgrammingPython ProgrammingTime-Series Stores

Soft Skills

Mentoring EngineersTechnical PairingClear Communication

Tools & Technologies

PostgreSQLNeo4jClickHouseTimescaleDBRDSCloud SQL

Industry Keywords

Database Reliability EngineeringProduction EnvironmentsIncident ResponseCapacity PlanningArchitecture Documentation

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

CloudKubernetesNeo4jPostgresPythonSQLGo

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Set the technical direction for Horizon3's database systems, including schema design, data modeling, indexing strategies, and query contracts
Own query performance by identifying slow queries, analyzing execution plans, implementing fixes, and designing regression observability
Own reliability engineering for data stores, including replication, failover, backup validation, capacity planning, and incident response
Design and own safe production schema-migration infrastructure, including zero-downtime migrations, reversible changes, and migration testing standards
Review application teams' schemas, query patterns, and ORM usage
Set database access patterns that prevent production issues
Mentor engineers through design reviews, code reviews, and technical pairing
Write production code, create architecture designs, and make performance and reliability decisions
Support database architecture and reliability across PostgreSQL, graph databases, and time-series stores

Requirements

What you’ll need

8+ years of professional software engineering experience with deep specialization in database systems and data infrastructure
Expert-level PostgreSQL proficiency, including production query-plan tuning, replication topology management, and debugging vacuum and locking issues
Deep understanding of normalization vs. denormalization, partial/composite/covering indexes, partitioning, and connection pooling at scale
Experience designing zero-downtime migration workflows in high-volume production environments
Experience with graph databases such as Neo4j or equivalent
Proficiency with time-series or columnar stores such as ClickHouse or TimescaleDB, or equivalent
Experience running database systems in Kubernetes or cloud-managed environments such as RDS or Cloud SQL at production scale
Proficiency in Go or Python
Track record of setting engineering standards adopted by other engineers
Ability to produce clear architecture documents and drive database design decisions across team boundaries
Experience mentoring mid-level engineers through database design and code review
Minimum 25Mbps consumer-grade broadband connection
Authorization to work in the United States is requested in the application form

Benefits

Comp & perks

Equity package in the form of stock options may be available
Health, vision and dental care for you and your family
Flexible vacation policy
Generous parental leave
100% remote work flexibility
Career development opportunities
Inclusive and collaborative work culture
Up to 5% travel may be required