ZipRecruiter

Log In

1

Principal Database Architect Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Hop

Principal AI Architect

San Francisco, CA · On-site

... from 100+ labor databases. We are now building our Silicon Valley engineering team -- a small ... in a principal engineer or lead architect role. * Demonstrated history of building original AI ...

Hop

Principal AI Architect

San Francisco, CA · On-site

... from 100+ labor databases. We are now building our Silicon Valley engineering team - a small ... in a principal engineer or lead architect role. Demonstrated history of building original AI ...

Walmart

Principal, Data Architect

Sunnyvale, CA · Hybrid

The Mission As a Principal Data Architect, you are the visionary designer of Sam's Club's Cognitive ... Deep expertise in the "Context Stack"-including Vector Databases, Enterprise Knowledge Graphs, and ...

Sam's Club

Principal, Data Architect

Cupertino, CA · On-site

$143K - $286K/yr

The Mission As a Principal Data Architect, you are the visionary designer of Sam's Club's Cognitive ... Deep expertise in the "Context Stack"--including Vector Databases, Enterprise Knowledge Graphs, and ...

Sam's Club

Principal, Data Architect

Hayward, CA · On-site

$143K - $286K/yr

The Mission As a Principal Data Architect, you are the visionary designer of Sam's Club's Cognitive ... Deep expertise in the "Context Stack"--including Vector Databases, Enterprise Knowledge Graphs, and ...

Sam's Club

Principal, Data Architect

San Mateo, CA · On-site

$143K - $286K/yr

The Mission As a Principal Data Architect, you are the visionary designer of Sam's Club's Cognitive ... Deep expertise in the "Context Stack"--including Vector Databases, Enterprise Knowledge Graphs, and ...

Sam's Club

Principal, Data Architect

Mountain View, CA · On-site

$143K - $286K/yr

The Mission As a Principal Data Architect, you are the visionary designer of Sam's Club's Cognitive ... Deep expertise in the "Context Stack"--including Vector Databases, Enterprise Knowledge Graphs, and ...

Sam's Club

Principal, Data Architect

San Jose, CA · On-site

$143K - $286K/yr

The Mission As a Principal Data Architect, you are the visionary designer of Sam's Club's Cognitive ... Deep expertise in the "Context Stack"--including Vector Databases, Enterprise Knowledge Graphs, and ...

Sam's Club

Principal, Data Architect

Sunnyvale, CA · On-site

$143K - $286K/yr

The Mission As a Principal Data Architect, you are the visionary designer of Sam's Club's Cognitive ... Deep expertise in the "Context Stack"--including Vector Databases, Enterprise Knowledge Graphs, and ...

Delta Dental Ins.

Principal Data Architect

Oakland, CA · On-site

The Principal Data Architect is a leadership position responsible for developing the vision for AI ... database designs, message models and others. * Secure data and analytic assets: Aid in the analysis ...

next page

Showing results 1-20

All JobsPrincipal Database Architect JobsPrincipal Database Architect Jobs in California

Principal Database Architect information

See California salary details

$105.6K

$164.3K

$214.2K

How much do principal database architect jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 24, 2026, the average yearly pay for principal database architect in California is $164,321.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $139,600.00 and $189,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a principal database architect?

A Principal Database Architect is a senior-level professional responsible for designing, implementing, and managing complex database systems within an organization. They set the technical vision for database architecture, ensure data integrity and security, and guide teams in best practices for database development and maintenance. Principal Database Architects collaborate closely with other IT professionals and stakeholders to align database solutions with business needs, optimize performance, and plan for future scalability. They often mentor junior staff and lead large-scale infrastructure projects.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a principal database architect?

To thrive as a Principal Database Architect, you need expert knowledge in database design, data modeling, and performance optimization, typically supported by a degree in computer science and extensive experience with database technologies. Mastery of systems such as Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and cloud database platforms, along with certifications like AWS Certified Database – Specialty or Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate, is often required. Strong leadership, strategic thinking, and effective communication skills distinguish top performers in this role. These abilities are crucial for architecting scalable, secure, and efficient database solutions that support organizational goals.

What are some of the biggest challenges principal database architects face when designing scalable systems for large organizations?

Principal Database Architects often encounter challenges such as balancing system performance with reliability, managing complex data integrations from multiple sources, and ensuring database security at scale. Additionally, they must design architectures that can handle rapid growth in both data volume and user activity while minimizing downtime. Collaborating with cross-functional teams—including developers, DevOps, and business analysts—is essential to align data infrastructure with organizational goals and implement best practices for future scalability.

What is the difference between Principal Database Architect vs Database Administrator?

AspectPrincipal Database ArchitectDatabase Administrator
Required CredentialsBachelor's/Master's in Computer Science, certifications like Oracle Certified Professional, SQL Server certificationsBachelor's in Computer Science or related field, certifications like Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA)
Work EnvironmentDesigning database systems, developing architecture, collaborating with development teamsMaintaining, monitoring, and troubleshooting existing databases
Employer & Industry UsageUsed in large enterprises, tech companies, financial institutionsCommon across organizations of all sizes, especially in IT departments
Search & Comparison IntentUnderstanding strategic design roles, high-level architectureOperational management, database performance, and security

The Principal Database Architect focuses on designing and planning database systems at a strategic level, while the Database Administrator handles daily database operations, maintenance, and troubleshooting. Both roles require similar certifications and work in related environments, but their core responsibilities differ significantly.

What are the most commonly searched types of Principal Database Architect jobs in California?

The most popular types of Principal Database Architect jobs in California are:

What are popular job titles related to Principal Database Architect jobs in California?

For Principal Database Architect jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Principal Database Architect jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Principal Database Architect jobs in California are:

Principal Database Architect jobs near you
Infographic showing various Principal Database Architect job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 91% Full Time, 7% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 92% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 6% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $164,321 per year, or $79 per hour.

Principal Software Engineer - Roblox Database

Roblox

San Mateo, CA

Full-time

Re-posted 19 days ago

Job description

Roblox's database team develops the next-generation, multi-tenant database platform that elastically scales and underpins every online data workload at Roblox. As a principal engineer on the database team, you will shape the architecture, build and launch critical database capabilities that keep our services fast, reliable and efficient at global scale. You will report to the Technical Director for Storage. 

You will:

  • Design and implement new engine features-indexing, storage formats, WAL and replication protocols, sharding, and query-planner enhancements-that push latency, throughput, and availability boundaries.
  • Evolve the control plane to deliver elastic scaling, autonomous healing, and zero-downtime schema or tenant moves across global regions.
  • Profile and optimize critical code paths using kernel-level tracing and advanced performance tooling; drive systematic tail-latency reductions.
  • Establish engineering best practices by leading design reviews, performance benchmarks, failure drills, and post-incident retrospectives.
  • Automate everything: develop frameworks for testing, CI/CD, rollout safety, observability, and autoscaling so that the platform operates hands-off at scale.
  • Mentor and unblock engineers, fostering deep database craftsmanship and disseminating knowledge across Storage, Platform, and product teams.
  • Engage with the open-source community-upstreaming patches, presenting learnings, and influencing the future of Postgres, RocksDB and related ecosystems.

You have:

  • 8+ years of experience in software engineering or a relevant field
  • Deep experience with building and operating large-scale distributed databases or storage engines (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL/InnoDB, RocksDB, Spanner, Aurora, AlloyDB).
  • Deep expertise in database internals-B-trees, MVCC, WAL, query optimization, buffer management-and strong skills in C/C++, GO or Rust.
  • Hands-on experience with consensus algorithms (Raft, Paxos) and multi-region replication models that deliver strong consistency and high availability.
  • Proven success shipping high-QPS, low-latency services on container orchestration stacks (Kubernetes or Nomad) with comprehensive observability.
  • Ability to turn ambiguous product requirements into a clear technical roadmap and influence cross-functional stakeholders.
  • Passion for automation, rigorous testing, and data-driven decision-making that raises the reliability and efficiency bar.
  • Bonus: upstream contributions to PostgreSQL, RocksDB or other OSS databases; familiarity with disaggregated storage, HTAP workloads, or custom query languages.

Apply