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Sr 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 ...

New

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 ...

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All JobsSr Database Engineer JobsSr Database Engineer Jobs in California

Sr Database Engineer information

See California salary details

$79.9K

$124.7K

$172.7K

How much do sr database engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 4, 2026, the average yearly pay for sr 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 Sr database engineer?

Sr Database Engineers are experienced professionals responsible for designing, implementing, maintaining, and optimizing complex database systems for organizations. They ensure data integrity, security, and availability, often working with large-scale databases and advanced technologies. Their role includes troubleshooting performance issues, developing backup and recovery strategies, and collaborating with developers and IT teams to support data-driven applications. Sr Database Engineers also help define best practices and mentor junior staff.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Sr database engineer?

To thrive as a Sr Database Engineer, you need advanced knowledge of database design, optimization, and management, typically supported by a degree in computer science or a related field and several years of experience. Expertise in database platforms (like SQL Server, Oracle, or MySQL), proficiency with scripting languages, and certifications such as Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate or Oracle Certified Professional are highly valuable. Strong analytical thinking, problem-solving, and effective communication skills help you collaborate with stakeholders and address complex data challenges. These skills ensure the reliability, security, and scalability of critical data systems that support business operations.

What are some common challenges Sr database engineers face when managing large-scale database systems?

Sr Database Engineers often encounter challenges such as ensuring data integrity and security across complex, distributed systems, optimizing database performance under heavy workloads, and planning for scalability as data volumes grow. They must also manage regular backups, disaster recovery plans, and stay updated with evolving database technologies. Collaboration with development, DevOps, and security teams is essential to address these challenges and maintain seamless data operations.

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

AspectSr Database EngineerDatabase Administrator
CredentialsBachelor's/Master's in CS, SQL certificationsBachelor's in CS or related, SQL certifications
Work EnvironmentDesign, develop, optimize databases, often in development teamsMaintain, monitor, and troubleshoot databases in production
Industry UsageUsed across tech, finance, healthcare for database developmentCommon in enterprise, IT departments for database management
Search/Comparison IntentFocus on database design and development skillsFocus on database maintenance and support skills

The Sr Database Engineer primarily focuses on designing and developing databases, ensuring optimal performance and scalability. In contrast, a Database Administrator manages and maintains existing databases, ensuring their security, availability, and integrity. Both roles require similar credentials and are vital in organizations that rely heavily on data management.

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

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

Sr Database Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Sr 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 15 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.

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