Senior Data Platform Engineer
Engineering – Senior Data Platform Engineer – Atlanta, GA Preferred – Full-Time
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
Atlanta, GA Preferred
Committment
Full-Time
Full-Time
Work style
Remote
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:
- PostgreSQL / MySQL
- 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
- Proven experience designing customer-facing APIs
- 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)
- Strong debugging skills in distributed systems
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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