Senior Software Engineer, Backend (Database)

About the role

We are looking for a senior backend engineer who thinks about the database from the first line of code. You will design data models and write code that accesses the database efficiently, ensuring the platform scales to billions of documents and annotations.

Key responsibilities

• Design and implement high‑performance Elixir/Phoenix systems such as the Document Engine and Web Services API.
• Build features with efficient database usage: well‑designed schemas, lean queries, smart indexing, and batching.
• Identify and eliminate database bottlenecks by profiling queries, reading query plans, and reworking data access.
• Ensure the engine performs well for customers with massive document volumes, both in managed cloud and self‑hosted PostgreSQL.
• Design and execute zero‑downtime migrations as the product and data grow.
• Develop AI‑driven tools and workflows to accelerate performance investigations and automate repetitive tasks.
• Own architecture, tools, and services while contributing to product development and customer success.
• Collaborate with a small, remote‑first engineering team to ship features, debug hard problems, and improve reliability.

Required profile

• Strong experience in backend services and distributed systems.
• Deep, hands‑on PostgreSQL experience in production, including data modelling, query optimisation, indexing, transactions and concurrency.
• Proven track record of making applications use the database efficiently (e.g., fixing N+1 queries, redesigning access patterns).
• Experience with PostgreSQL at scale: large tables, partitioning, replication, live migrations and production incident troubleshooting.
• Familiarity with cloud environments (AWS) and containerised deployments; Kubernetes experience is a plus.
• Solid coding skills; Elixir/Phoenix knowledge is not required but will be taught.
• AI‑native work style: using agents for research and investigation while staying accountable for output.
• Pragmatic approach to code and a culture of direct feedback.

Required skills

• PostgreSQL
• AWS
• Kubernetes
• Elixir
• Phoenix

What we offer

• Real platform ownership over a managed cloud product.
• Modern end‑to‑end stack: Elixir/Phoenix, Kubernetes, Terraform, Helm, FluxCD.
• Fully remote, async‑first work environment with minimal meetings.
• Mission‑critical product trusted by 15%+ of the Global 500.
• Strong growth trajectory with ARR increasing from $28M to $49M.
• Equal opportunity workplace celebrating diversity.