Senior backend engineer building and operating distributed database infrastructure for Affirm’s buy-now-pay-later platform. Automating provisioning, migrations, failover, and Kubernetes storage networking.
Responsibilities
Build and operate the control plane for large-scale distributed SQL databases such as MySQL and TiDB
Automate database provisioning, failover, backups, and upgrades end to end
Design and execute reliability-focused schema and data migrations across multi-tenant database clusters with zero downtime
Own and optimize the Kubernetes networking stack connecting services to storage, including ProxySQL
Own and deliver quarterly team goals
Lead engineers through ambiguous, open-ended problems and support delivery
Collaborate with product management, design, and analytics on ideation, technical constraints, risks, and trade-offs
Identify and lead resolution of project, process, technology, and business issues
Create and monitor operational metrics, escalate issues, and support on-call efforts
Establish and improve code review and design standards
Advocate for quality standards through writing and tech talks
Develop team talent through feedback, guidance, and leading by example
Requirements
5+ years of experience as a software engineer
Experience designing, developing, and launching backend systems at scale using technologies such as Python, Kotlin, AWS, MySQL, Terraform, and Kubernetes
In-depth, hands-on experience with large-scale database deployments in production
Expertise in distributed databases and database technologies such as MySQL, TiDB, Postgres, Spanner, Vitess, and CockroachDB
Understanding of distributed database architecture, data modeling, and performance tuning
Expertise in SQL tuning and performance optimization techniques
Experience with database benchmarking, load testing, and capacity planning
Familiarity with connection poolers and proxies such as ProxySQL, RDS Proxy, PgBouncer, and PgDog
Experience building database control-plane or automation tooling, ideally on Kubernetes
Experience executing zero-downtime migrations and major version upgrades on production databases
Experience building CLI tooling or runbooks for repeatable database procedures
Understanding of Kubernetes networking, service discovery, and TLS
Experience defining technical plans for significant features or system components
Ability to write high-quality, understandable code
Proficiency making significant changes in large codebases
Strong verbal and written communication skills
Either equivalent practical experience or a Bachelor’s degree in a related field
Benefits
100% subsidized medical coverage for employees and dependents
Dental and vision coverage for employees and dependents
Monthly stipends for tech spending
Monthly stipends for health and wellness options
Flexible time off
Generous holiday calendars
Employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) with discounted Affirm stock
Inclusive interview process and accommodations for candidates with disabilities
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