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Lead Database Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Harvey

Staff Database Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$190K - $286K/yr

Role Overview As a Staff Database Engineer on the Engineering team at Harvey, you will define how ... Lead database incident response and drive systemic improvements-triage production issues, run post ...

Acra Lending

Enterprise Database Engineer

Irvine, CA · On-site

$135K - $150K/yr

Lead database performance engineering efforts, including SQL query tuning, execution plan analysis, indexing strategy, and statistics maintenance; establish performance baselines, capacity planning ...

JBA International

Database Engineer

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

The Database Engineer, Senior will work closely with the engineering team members to design ... Challenge conventional practices and use creativity and information to lead, innovate, problem ...

Crunchyroll, LLC

Senior Database Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$124K - $169K/yr

As a Database Engineer for the Data Engineering team, you will be responsible for maintaining and ... We lead and evangelize the principle of 100% automation. Additionally, we define and document ...

Crunchyroll, LLC

Senior Database Engineer

San Francisco, CA

$124K - $169K/yr

As a Database Engineer for the Data Engineering team, you will be responsible for maintaining and ... We lead and evangelize the principle of 100% automation. Additionally, we define and document ...

SOHO Square Solutions

Teardata DBA

San Jose, CA · On-site

Lead database patch identification/application and upgrades * Escalate and follow-through on ... Provide database support to ETL and BI developers * Participate on 24X7 on-call rotation * Expert ...

LLNL

Database Reliability Engineer

Livermore, CA · On-site

$9.8K/wk

We have an opening for a Database Reliability Engineer . You will support the database ... Lead complex database reliability, automation, and modernization efforts. * Provide technical ...

LLNL

Database Reliability Engineer

Livermore, CA · On-site

We have an opening for a Database Reliability Engineer . You will support the database ... Lead complex database reliability, automation, and modernization efforts. * Provide technical ...

LLNL

Database Reliability Engineer

Livermore, CA

We have an opening for a Database Reliability Engineer . You will support the database ... Lead complex database reliability, automation, and modernization efforts. * Provide technical ...

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Showing results 1-20

All JobsLead Database Engineer JobsLead Database Engineer Jobs in California

Lead Database Engineer information

See California salary details

$59.7K

$120.5K

$165.3K

How much do lead database engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 6, 2026, the average yearly pay for lead database engineer in California is $120,513.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $98,200.00 and $138,200.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are Lead Database Engineers?

Lead Database Engineers are senior professionals responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining complex database systems within an organization. They oversee database architecture, ensure data security and integrity, and manage a team of database engineers or administrators. Their role often includes optimizing performance, troubleshooting issues, and collaborating with other IT departments to support business needs. Lead Database Engineers also play a key part in setting best practices and ensuring compliance with data regulations.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Lead Database Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Lead Database Engineer, you need deep expertise in database architecture, data modeling, performance tuning, and a strong background in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with major database management systems (such as Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server, or PostgreSQL), cloud platforms, and certifications like Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator are highly valuable. Leadership, problem-solving, and effective communication skills help drive team success and stakeholder collaboration. These skills and qualities are essential for ensuring database reliability, scalability, and alignment with organizational goals.

What is the difference between Lead Database Engineer vs Database Administrator?

AspectLead Database EngineerDatabase Administrator
CredentialsBS/MS in Computer Science or related field, certifications like Oracle Certified ProfessionalBS in Computer Science, certifications like Microsoft Certified Database Administrator
Work EnvironmentDesigning, developing, and optimizing database systems, often in collaborative teamsMaintaining, backing up, and securing databases, ensuring system stability
Industry UsageUsed in tech, finance, healthcare for database development and architectureCommon across industries for database maintenance and support
Search/Comparison IntentUnderstanding roles in database development and architectureFocus on database maintenance and operational support

The Lead Database Engineer primarily focuses on designing and developing database systems, while the Database Administrator manages and maintains existing databases. Both roles require similar credentials and are vital in database management, but they differ in scope and responsibilities within organizations.

How does a Lead Database Engineer typically collaborate with development and operations teams?

A Lead Database Engineer works closely with both development and operations teams to ensure databases are optimally designed, secure, and highly available. They often participate in architecture discussions, provide guidance on best practices for data modeling, and help troubleshoot performance issues during application development. Additionally, they coordinate with DevOps to automate database deployments and backups, ensure compliance with data governance policies, and facilitate smooth rollouts and migrations. This cross-functional collaboration is crucial for maintaining data integrity and supporting the scalability needs of the organization.
What are popular job titles related to Lead Database Engineer jobs in California? For Lead Database Engineer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Lead Database Engineer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Lead Database Engineer jobs in California are:
Lead Database Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Lead Database Engineer job openings in California as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 70% Full Time, 25% Part Time, 3% Temporary, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 92% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 6% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $120,513 per year, or $57.9 per hour.
Lead Database Reliability Engineer - 11606

Lead Database Reliability Engineer - 11606

Coupa Software, Inc.

San Francisco, CA • On-site, Remote

$142K - $198K/yr

Full-time

Posted 19 days ago

Job description

Coupa makes margins multiply through its community-generated AI and industry-leading total spend management platform for businesses large and small. Coupa AI is informed by trillions of dollars of direct and indirect spend data across a global network of 10M+ buyers and suppliers. We empower you with the ability to predict, prescribe, and automate smarter, more profitable business decisions to improve operating margins.
Why join Coupa?
Pioneering Technology: At Coupa, we're at the forefront of innovation, leveraging the latest technology to empower our customers with greater efficiency and visibility in their spend.
Collaborative Culture: We value collaboration and teamwork, and our culture is driven by transparency, openness, and a shared commitment to excellence.
Global Impact: Join a company where your work has a global, measurable impact on our clients, the business, and each other.
Learn more on Life at Coupa blog and hear from our employees about their experiences working at Coupa.
The Impact of a Lead Database Reliability Engineer at Coupa:
As a Lead Database Reliability Engineer, you will focus primarily on Cloud based MySQL environments. You will be responsible for designing, automating, and maintaining reliable database infrastructure that supports mission-critical applications.
As a senior member of the team, you'll be a hands-on technical leader-driving automation, mentoring engineers, and partnering with development and infrastructure teams to deliver resilient, secure, and performant data platforms.
What You'll Do
  • Lead database architecture and design initiatives, delivering scalable, high-performance, reliable solutions aligned with business needs and long-term strategic goals.
  • Leverage AI/ML technologies to improve database operations through performance optimization, capacity planning, anomaly detection, predictive maintenance, and automation.
  • Develop, maintain, and enhance database monitoring, alerting, backup, and disaster recovery systems to ensure system health, data integrity, and high availability.
  • Troubleshoot and resolve complex database issues, providing technical leadership, guidance, and operational support, including participation in on-call rotations.
  • Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and internal policies by conducting regular database audits, assessments, and governance reviews.
  • Collaborate effectively across cross-functional teams, mentor junior database engineers, stay current on emerging database technologies and best practices, and remain flexible to support global teams across multiple time zones.

What You Will Bring to Coupa
  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering, Science, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience) with 8+ years of hands-on database administration, management, and performance optimization experience.
  • Deep expertise in MySQL, including database design, implementation, configuration, security, troubleshooting, maintenance, backup/recovery, replication, and performance tuning.
  • Strong automation and cloud experience, including scripting with Bash, Python, or Ruby and managing large-scale AWS environments, with knowledge of cloud-native database services such as RDS and Aurora; Azure or GCP experience is a plus.
  • Experience building and maintaining database observability solutions, including monitoring, dashboards, and alerting using tools such as PMM, New Relic, VividCortex, or similar database management platforms.
  • Expertise in high-availability and disaster recovery solutions, including failover clustering, Orchestrator, and strategies that ensure database reliability, resilience, and business continuity.
  • Preferred qualifications include experience with PostgreSQL or MongoDB, configuration management tools (Chef/Puppet), Terraform, GitHub-based workflows, and relevant database administration or automation certifications.

$142,000 - $198,667 a year
The successful candidate's starting salary will be determined based on permissible, non-discriminatory factors such as skills, experience, and geographic location.
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Coupa complies with relevant laws and regulations regarding equal opportunity and offers a welcoming and inclusive work environment. Decisions related to hiring, compensation, training, or evaluating performance are made fairly, and we provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified candidates and employees.
Please be advised that inquiries or resumes from recruiters will not be accepted.
By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you have read Coupa's Privacy Policy and understand that Coupa receives/collects your application, including your personal data, for the purposes of managing Coupa's ongoing recruitment and placement activities, including for employment purposes in the event of a successful application and for notification of future job opportunities if you did not succeed the first time. You will find more details about how your application is processed, the purposes of processing, and how long we retain your application in our Privacy Policy.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

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