Data Platform Reliability Engineer - Postgres

ABOUT SUPABASE Supabase is the Postgres development platform, built by developers for developers. We provide a complete backend solution including Database, Auth, Storage, Edge Functions, Realtime, and Vector Search. All services are deeply integrated and designed for growth. ABOUT THE ROLE We're looking for an experienced Postgres DBA to join our Infra Data Platform team. This role is ideal for someone who lives and breathes Postgres, thrives in high-stakes production environments, and is passionate about operational excellence. You'll be responsible for the health, performance, and reliability of our platform database infrastructure running on AWS RDS, as well as managing customer-facing Postgres operations. WHAT YOU'LL OWN DATABASE OPERATIONS AT SCALE - You’ll be responsible for the health, performance, and reliability of our platform database infrastructure, including systems running on AWS RDS, as well as managing customer facing Postgres operations. - Design and execute strategies for low-downtime major version upgrades and database migrations. - Proactively identify and resolve database performance issues before they impact users. OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE - Build and maintain comprehensive monitoring, alerting, and observability for database systems. - Write detailed run books, technical documentation, and operational guides. - Identify reliability risks and implement preventative measures. - Participate in on-call rotation to support our global platform. PERFORMANCE TUNING AND OPTIMIZATION - Work with development teams to optimize database schema and query patterns. - Analyze and optimize slow queries, connection pooling, and resource utilization. - Tune Postgres configurations for different workload patterns. - Monitor and address database bloat, vacuum strategies, and WAL management. COLLABORATION WITH OTHER TEAMS - Partner with platform engineers, product teams, and SREs to deliver reliable database services. - Communicate database changes and maintenance windows clearly to stakeholders. - Share knowledge and mentor team members on Postgres best practices. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR POSTGRES EXPERTISE - Deep understanding of Postgres internals, architecture, and advanced features. - Production experience with replication (logical and physical), backups, and disaster recovery. - Strong command of query optimization, EXPLAIN plans, indexing strategies, and performance tuning. - Experience managing Postgres at scale in cloud environments. CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE EXPERIENCE - Hands-on experience with AWS RDS for platform infrastructure. - Familiarity with cloud infrastructure concepts, networking, and storage systems. - Understanding of IaC tools and automation approaches. - Experience with other cloud database services (GCP Cloud SQL, Azure Database) is a plus. PRODUCTION OPERATIONS MINDSET - Track record of maintaining high-availability database systems. - Obsessive about monitoring, observability, and measuring what matters. - Proactive approach to identifying and mitigating risks. - Experience with production troubleshooting and supporting live systems. STRONG WRITTEN COMMUNICATION - You write clear run books and technical documentation. - You're good at explaining complex database concepts to different audiences. - You record decisions and share knowledge effectively in async environments. OWNERSHIP MINDSET - You thrive operating independently with high-level guidance. - You see problems through to resolution, not just escalation. - You automate repetitive tasks and build tools to make the team more effective. NICE TO HAVES: - Proficiency in TypeScript or Go (we can teach these). - Experience with Postgres extensions and customization. - Contributions to Postgres or database-related open source projects. - Familiarity with backup tools like WAL-G, pgBackRest, or Barman. - Experience with database migration strategies and tooling. - Background in SRE or DevOps practices. WHAT WE OFFER - Fully Remote We hire globally. We believe you can do your best work from anywhere. There are no Supabase offices, but we provide a WeWork membership or co-working allowance you can use anywhere in the world. - ESOP Every team member receives ESOP (equity ownership) in the company. We want everyone to share in the upside of what we’re building together. - Tech Allowance Use this budget to set up your ideal work environment—laptop, monitor, headphones, or whatever helps you do your best work. - Health Benefits Supabase covers 100% of health insurance for employees and 80% for dependents, wherever you are. Your wellbeing and your family’s health are important to us. - Annual Off-Sites Once a year, the entire company gathers in a new city for a week of connection, collaboration, and fun. It’s a highlight of our year. - Flexible Work We operate asynchronously and trust you to manage your own time. You know what needs to be done and when. - Professional Development Every team member receives an annual education allowance to spend on learning—courses, books, conferences, or anything that supports your growth. ABOUT THE TEAM Supabase was born-remote and open-source-first. We believe our globally distributed team is our secret weapon in building tools developers love. - 180+ team members - 40+ countries - 15+ languages spoken - $496M raised - 430,000+ community members - 30,000+ memes posted (and counting) We move fast, build in public, and use what we ship. If it’s in your project, we probably use it in ours too. We believe deeply in the open-source ecosystem and strive to support—not replace—existing tools and communities. HIRING PROCESS We keep things simple, async-friendly, and respectful of your time: 1. Apply – Our team will review your application. 2. Intro Call – A short video chat to get to know each other. 3. Interviews – Up to four calls with: - Founders - Future teammates - Someone cross-functional from product, growth, or engineering (depending on the role) 4. Decision – We may follow up with a final question or go straight to offer. All communication is remote and we aim to move fast.