Staff Platform Engineer – Database Systems at Quizlet

About Quizlet:At Quizlet our mission is to help every learner achieve their outcomes in the most effective and delightful way. Our $1B learning platform serves tens of millions of students every month including two-thirds of U.S. high schoolers and half of U.S. college students powering over 2 billion learning interactions monthly.We blend cognitive science with machine learning to personalize and enhance the learning experience for students professionals and lifelong learners alike. Were energized by the potential to power more learners through multiple approaches and various tools.Lets Build the Future of LearningJoin us to design and deliver AI-powered learning tools that scale across the world and unlock human potential.About the Role:Were hiring a Staff Platform Engineer Database Systems to be a core member of our Platform Engineering team. Youll contribute across the full infrastructure stack while bringing deep expertise in database systems performance optimization and data reliability. This role reports to the Senior Director of Technical Infrastructure.Were happy to share that this is an onsite position in our San Francisco office. To help foster team collaboration we require that employees be in the office a minimum of three days per week: Monday Wednesday and Thursday and as needed by your manager or the company. We believe that this working environment facilitates increased work efficiency team partnership and supports growth as an employee and organization.In this role you will:Platform Reliability & System Resilience: Develop test and implement infrastructure automation and tooling to maintain 99.95% availability under peak load. Build self-healing capabilities optimize resource utilization across Kubernetes clusters (GKE) and contribute to platform-wide resilience initiativesDatabase Performance & Operations: Serve as the teams database expert diagnosing and resolving performance issues across Cloud Spanner PlanetScale MySQL and BigQuery. Conduct query analysis implement indexing strategies and optimize connection pooling to maintain sub-100ms p99 latencyCaching & Data Access Layer: Design and implement caching strategies using Memorystore (Redis/Memcached). Build high-volume connection management systems (in Go or Python) that efficiently handle database and cache access patterns under sustained loadInfrastructure as Code & Automation: Manage platform infrastructure using Terraform and Kubernetes. Build automation that improves developer velocity reduces MTTR and enables safe self-service infrastructure operationsObservability & Operational Excellence: Design and deploy instrumentation within Datadog for monitoring databases caches and platform services. Use post-incident analyses (e.g. Jeli) to reduce operational toil and improve service reliabilityArchitectural Consulting & Standards: Partner with Product Engineering teams to review designs define SLOs optimize data access patterns and ensure new services are resilient and operable before production deploymentWhat you bring to the table:Strong software engineering foundation you write production-quality code design scalable systems and can reason about distributed systems tradeoffs58 years of hands-on database engineering experience in production environments handling significant scale (thousands of RPS or more).Deep MySQL expertise (replication sharding query optimization connection management); PlanetScale experience a plusMulti-database proficiency with Cloud Spanner Postgres and/or BigQueryProduction experience with in-memory caches (Redis Memcached or Valkey)Kubernetes (GKE preferred) and Terraform experience for infrastructure as codeStrong coding skills in Python or Go for automation tooling and platform servicesHands-on experience with GCP database services (Cloud Spanner Cloud SQL Memorystore BigQuery) and monitoring platforms like DatadogStrong understanding of backup/recovery HA patterns and incident responseBonus points if you have:Experience with Vitess or PlanetScale MySQLKnowledge of Istio service mesh and database connection management patternsExperience with data streaming platforms (Kafka Pub/Sub)Compensation Benefits & PerksQuizlet is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Salary transparency helps to mitigate unfair hiring practices when it comes to discrimination and pay gaps. Total compensation for this role is market competitive including a starting base salary of $196320 $268100 depending on location and experience as well as company stock optionsCollaborate with your manager and team to create a healthy work-life balance20 vacation days that we expect you to take!Competitive health dental and vision insurance (100% employee and 75% dependent PPO Dental VSP Choice)Employer-sponsored 401(k) plan with company matchAccess to LinkedIn Learning and other resources to support professional growthPaid Family Leave FSA HSA Commuter benefits and Wellness benefits40 hours of annual paid time off to participate in volunteer programs of choiceWhy Join Quizlet Massive reach: 60M users 1B interactions per week Cutting-edge tech: Generative AI adaptive learning cognitive science Strong momentum: Top-tier investors sustainable business real traction Mission-first: Work that makes a difference in peoples lives Inclusive culture: Committed to equity diversity and belongingWe strive to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome!We work to create a holistic interview process where both Quizlet and candidates have an opportunity to view what it would be like to work together in exploring a mutually beneficial partnership.We provide a transparent setting that gives a comprehensive view of who we are!In Closing:At Quizlet were excited about passionate people joining our teameven if you dont check every box on the requirements list. We value unique perspectives and believe everyone has something meaningful to contribute. Our culture is all about taking initiative learning through challenges and striving for high-quality work while staying curious and open to new ideas. We believe in honest respectful communication thoughtful collaboration and creating a supportive space where everyone can grow and succeed together.Quizlets success as an online learning community depends on a strong commitment to diversity equity and inclusion.As an equal opportunity employer and a tech company committed to societal change we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Women people of color members of the LGBTQ community individuals with disabilities and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. Come join us!To All Recruiters and Placement Agencies:At this time Quizlet does not accept unsolicited agency resumes and/or profiles.Please do not forward unsolicited agency resumes to our website or to any Quizlet employee. Quizlet will not pay fees to any third-party agency or firm nor will it be responsible for any agency fees associated with unsolicited resumes. All unsolicited resumes received will be considered the property of Quizlet.#LI-FTWe may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process such as reviewing applications analyzing resumes or assessing responses. 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.Required Experience:Staff IC Key Skills Computer Science,Docker,Kubernetes,Python,VMware,C/C++,Go,System Architecture,gRPC,OS Kernels,Perl,Distributed Systems Employment Type : Full-Time Experience: years Vacancy: 1 Monthly Salary Salary: 196320 - 268100