Senior Database Engineer

WHO WE ARE: MagicSchool is the premier generative AI platform for teachers. We're just over 2 years old, and more than 6 million teachers from all over the world have joined our platform. Join a top team at a fast growing company that is working towards real social impact. Make an account and try us out at our website and connect with our passionate community on our Wall of Love.

Responsibilities

• Application Database Design

  • Partner with application development teams to design optimal Postgres data models that support new features and scale with business growth

  • Review and optimize Postgres data structures and query patterns to ensure efficient performance

  • Collaborate on API design decisions that impact database structure and query efficiency

• Database Operations

  • Analyze database query load to find opportunities for efficiency gains, and implementing them practively

  • Implement and maintain database observability and monitoring systems

  • Manage database upgrades, backup strategies, and read replica configurations

  • Troubleshoot and resolve production database incidents as part of support rotation

  • Maintain and enhance adherence to devops principles in database operations.

• Data Integrity & User Privacy

  • Plan, review and execute application data migrations, collaborating with product development teams to coordinate releases

  • Implement and execute efficient large scale data migrations

  • Design and implement data security / privacy tooling

• Data Platform

  • Collaborate with development and platform team to architect large scale new data persistence systems and migrate production traffic to them

  • Develop and promote standards and best practices of database design and development

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on experience operating PostgreSQL in production environments

• 3+ years of hands-on experience asynchronously collaborating with development teams, either in application development or infrastructure as code.

• Strong SQL skills including complex queries, performance tuning, and data modeling

• Experience with database migrations, schema evolution, and zero-downtime deployment strategies

• Proficiency with database monitoring, performance analysis, and troubleshooting

• Understanding of database internals: indexing strategies, query planning, and execution optimization

• Experience working closely with application developers and understanding application data access patterns

• Strong communication and collaboration skills

• Comfort working in a fast paced growth-staged company

Additional Valued / Nice to Have Experience:

• Backend or full-stack engineering experience in a Typescript or Next.js environment

• Python application, data pipeline, or data warehouse engineering

• Experienced with infrastructure-as-code / devops practices and environments.

• Experience with non-relational database usage in a production environment

• Familiarity with the Supabase platform

Why Join Us?

• Work on cutting-edge AI technology that directly impacts educators and students.

• Join a mission-driven team passionate about making education more efficient and equitable.

• Flexibility of working from home, while fostering a unique culture built on relationships, trust, communication, and collaboration with our team - no matter where they live.

• Unlimited time off to empower our employees to manage their work-life balance. We work hard for our teachers and users, and encourage our employees to rest and take the time they need.

• Choice of employer-paid health insurance plans so that you can take care of yourself and your family. Dental and vision are also offered at very low premiums.

• Every employee is offered generous stock options, vested over 4 years.

• Plus a 401k match & monthly wellness stipend

Our Values:

• Educators are Magic:  Educators are the most important ingredient in the educational process - they are the magic, not the AI. Trust them, empower them, and put them at the center of leading change in service of students and families.

• Joy and Magic: Bring joy and magic into every learning experience - push the boundaries of what’s possible with AI.

• Community:  Foster community that supports one another during a time of rapid technological change. Listen to them and serve their needs.

• Innovation:  The education system is outdated and in need of innovation and change - AI is an opportunity to bring equity, access, and serve the individual needs of students better than we ever have before.

• Responsibility: Put responsibility and safety at the forefront of the technological change that AI is bringing to education.

• Diversity: Diversity of thought, perspectives, and backgrounds helps us serve the wide audience of educators and students around the world.

• Excellence:  Educators and students deserve the best - and we strive for the highest quality in everything we do.