ZipRecruiter

Log In

1

Senior Database Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Neshent Technologies

We are seeking a Senior Database Reliability Engineer (DBRE) to design, operate, and improve reliable, scalable, secure, and highly available database and data platforms. The role combines database ...

Neshent Technologies

We are seeking a Senior Database Reliability Engineer (DBRE) to design, operate, and improve reliable, scalable, secure, and highly available database and data platforms. The role combines database ...

IMG LIVE

Senior Data Engineer

Beverly Hills, CA · On-site

$127.50 - $170/hr

The role manages and supports the databases behind the custom product and engineering applications ... with the Senior DBA on the database estate -- developing toward broader database ownership ...

SAIC

$120K - $160K/yr

ORA_ON_SITE Description SAIC is looking for a Database Engineer to support the Electronic Warfare Data Systems (EWDS) program for the Airborne Electronic Attack Integrated Product Team (AEA IPT ...

QuidelOrtho

Senior Database Design Engineer

San Diego, CA · On-site

$112K - $152K/yr

Join our mission as our next Senior Database Design Engineer to join our R&D Instrument Platforms organization. This role serves as the subject matter expert for relational database design and tuning ...

E*Pro, Inc.

Senior DataBase developer

Culver City, CA · On-site

Senior DB developer Job Location: Culver City (Los Angeles), California Job Length: Full Time Relevant Experience (Yrs) :7-8 years Necessary Skills : * Strong Oracle Database knowledge (PL SQL/Data ...

previous page

Showing results 41-60

All JobsDatabase Engineer JobsSenior Database Engineer JobsSenior Database Engineer Jobs in California

Senior Database Engineer information

See California salary details

$79.9K

$124.7K

$172.7K

How much do senior database engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 5, 2026, the average yearly pay for senior database engineer in California is $124,674.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $104,600.00 and $142,100.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a senior database engineer?

A Senior Database Engineer is an experienced IT professional responsible for designing, implementing, maintaining, and optimizing database systems within an organization. They ensure databases are secure, reliable, and perform efficiently to meet business needs. Senior Database Engineers often lead projects, mentor junior staff, and collaborate with developers and system administrators to support data-driven applications. Their expertise is crucial for data integrity, scalability, and disaster recovery planning.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a senior database engineer, and why are they important?

A Senior Database Engineer needs advanced knowledge of database architecture, SQL, performance tuning, and a degree in computer science or a related field. Expertise in tools like Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, database clustering, and relevant certifications such as Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate are typical requirements. Strong problem-solving, analytical thinking, and effective communication skills help them excel in managing complex data environments and collaborating with development teams. These capabilities are crucial for ensuring robust, scalable, and secure data solutions that meet organizational needs.

What are some common challenges senior database engineers face when managing large-scale databases, and how are they typically addressed?

Senior Database Engineers often encounter challenges such as ensuring database performance under heavy loads, maintaining data integrity during migrations, and optimizing queries for efficiency. Addressing these issues usually involves proactive monitoring, implementing indexing strategies, and collaborating closely with development teams to design scalable database schemas. Regularly updating skills to keep up with new database technologies and security best practices is also essential for tackling these challenges effectively.

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

AspectSenior Database EngineerDatabase Administrator
Primary FocusDesigning, developing, and optimizing database systemsMaintaining, backing up, and securing databases
Skills & CertificationsSQL, database architecture, performance tuning, certifications like Oracle or Microsoft SQL ServerDatabase management, backup/recovery, security, certifications like Oracle DBA or Microsoft Certified Database Administrator
Work EnvironmentDevelopment teams, data engineering projects, system designOperational teams, system maintenance, troubleshooting
Industry UsageUsed across tech, finance, healthcare for database developmentCommon in enterprise IT, government, and large organizations for database upkeep

While both roles work closely with databases, a Senior Database Engineer primarily focuses on designing and optimizing database systems, whereas a Database Administrator handles daily maintenance, security, and backups. The roles complement each other but differ in scope and responsibilities.

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

The most popular types of Database Engineer jobs in California are:

What are popular job titles related to Senior Database Engineer jobs in California?

For Senior Database Engineer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Senior Database Engineer jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Senior Database Engineer jobs in California are:

What cities in California are hiring for Senior Database Engineer jobs?

Cities in California with the most Senior Database Engineer job openings:

What are popular job titles related to Senior Database Engineer jobs in CA?

For Senior Database Engineer jobs in CA, the most frequently searched job titles are:

Senior Database Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Senior Database Engineer job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 87% Full Time, 8% Part Time, and 5% Contract. Highlights an 85% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 10% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $124,674 per year, or $59.9 per hour.

Senior Database Reliability Engineer

Neshent Technologies

Los Gatos, CA • On-site

Full-time

Posted 17 days ago

Key responsibilities

  • Design, administer, maintain, and secure PostgreSQL environments in production and cloud environments.

  • Perform database administration activities including installation, upgrades, patching, backup/recovery, monitoring, capacity planning, and performance tuning.

  • Build and automate database and infrastructure operations using tools such as Terraform, Ansible, Chef, or Puppet.

Job description

We are seeking a Senior Database Reliability Engineer (DBRE) to design, operate, and improve reliable, scalable, secure, and highly available database and data platforms. The role combines database engineering, site reliability engineering, Linux systems administration, and infrastructure automation.

The ideal candidate will have strong production experience with PostgreSQL, AWS, Kubernetes, infrastructure as code, and distributed data systems and will work closely with SRE, application, security, and infrastructure teams.

Roles & Responsibilities
  • Design, administer, maintain, and secure PostgreSQL environments in production and cloud environments.
  • Manage PostgreSQL deployments on Kubernetes and Amazon RDS.
  • Perform database administration activities including installation, upgrades, patching, backup/recovery, monitoring, capacity planning, and performance tuning.
  • Troubleshoot production issues across application, database, operating system, storage, and network layers.
  • Design and maintain ETL pipelines and develop scripts and procedures for data migration.
  • Build and automate database and infrastructure operations using Terraform, Ansible, Chef, or Puppet.
  • Develop operational tooling and automation using Python, Bash, Go, Ruby, or Perl.
  • Monitor database health, performance, availability, and capacity and implement improvements.
  • Participate in on-call rotations, incident response, alerting, and post-incident reviews.
  • Improve reliability practices through SLOs, disaster recovery, backup validation, and failover testing.
  • Build database platform tooling and self-service workflows that enable application teams to use data services safely and efficiently.
  • Operate and support distributed data systems such as Kafka/MSK, ClickHouse, Redis, MySQL, Cassandra, or Elasticsearch.
  • Collaborate with SRE, application engineering, security, and infrastructure teams to drive reliable architectural changes.
  • Create technical documentation and design proposals and communicate solutions effectively to engineering stakeholders.
Required Qualifications
  • 5+ years of experience designing, operating, and troubleshooting PostgreSQL in production environments.
  • 5+ years managing production databases or distributed data systems across application, database, OS, storage, and network layers.
  • Hands-on experience with AWS, Amazon RDS, Kubernetes, Terraform, service discovery, and secrets management.
  • 3+ years of Linux systems engineering experience, including performance tuning, memory management, I/O tuning, security, configuration, and networking.
  • Experience automating infrastructure or database operations using Terraform, Ansible, Chef, or Puppet.
  • 2+ years of scripting or programming experience with Python, Bash, Go, Ruby, or Perl.
  • Experience working with at least one non-PostgreSQL data platform such as Kafka/MSK, ClickHouse, Redis, MySQL, Cassandra, or Elasticsearch.
  • Strong understanding of PostgreSQL internals, including replication, concurrency, transactions, indexing, maintenance, backup/recovery, and query performance.
  • Strong troubleshooting, problem-solving, communication, and documentation skills.
Preferred Skills
  • Experience building database platform tooling, self-service workflows, and standardized operational processes.
  • Experience operating Kafka/MSK, ClickHouse, or Redis at scale, including clustering, replication, partitioning/sharding, retention, capacity planning, and workload tuning.
  • Experience defining and improving reliability practices for production data systems.
  • Strong knowledge of SLOs, disaster recovery, backup validation, failover, and resilience testing.
  • Experience with cloud-native database architectures and distributed systems.
  • Ability to create technical design documents and communicate complex database and reliability concepts effectively.
  • Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, collaborative engineering environment.

Apply