SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.

SR. DATABASE RELIABILITY ENGINEER

SpaceX is looking for an experienced Database Reliability Engineer with expert-level technical knowledge and broad hands-on experience in Oracle and PostrgreSQL database technologies. This employee will be in the IT Engineering organization and join a team of database administrators and engineers responsible for all database technologies used throughout SpaceX. The ideal candidate will be flexible, flourish in a fast paced and challenging environment and have an insatiable desire to learn.  They should be a self-starter, self-motivator, and possess ingenuity to excel at this position.  This individual will need to demonstrate strong knowledge in Linux, server/storage infrastructure, and troubleshooting skills.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Ownership of the health, uptime and performance of all Oracle and PostgreSQL databases
  • Partner with internal customer to understand current challenges, plan/communicate improvements and anticipate future needs
  • Develop code for automation of routine tasks by leveraging Python, bash, or a similar scripting language
  • Engineer, deploy, maintain, and own all aspects of database monitoring
  • Provide comprehensive and fully vetted backup restore solutions
  • Engineer, implement, and routinely test disaster recovery (DR) strategies
  • Identify and optimize abusive queries to increase system efficiency
  • Design and standardize detailed test conditions and test cases to ensure quality of queries and reports
  • Research and troubleshoot data questions and provide support to our software developer teams
  • Collaborate on problem resolution, team decisions, and project planning
  • Develop strong documentation and support runbooks
  • Document actions taken on and all configurations applied to database systems
  • Support and foster the professional growth of other database engineering and administration staff via cross-training, coaching, and responsibility sharing
  • Participate in an on-call rotation
  • Act as a database design, optimization, and maintenance subject matter expert for various teams as they build out and troubleshoot their applications
  • Automate database administration and implementation tasks and provide self-service solutions for customers

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

  • Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, or engineering discipline and 8+ years if experience in IT; OR 10+ years of professional experience with database reliability or DevOps in lieu of a degree 
  • 8+ years experience in optimizing SQL queries and data replication
  • 8+ years experience in developing monitoring tools and tuning databases

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

  • Expertise in at least two database technologies (i.e. mysql, postgres, oracle, etc.)
  • Strong attention to detail, high degree of accuracy, excellent oral and written communication skills, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to meet deadlines
  • Experience with highly available solutions and clustered environments
  • Ability to participate in and contribute to conversations regarding planning, status updates, root cause analysis, and other collaborations
  • Knowledge of configuration management automation and limiting the amount of manual toil
  • Knowledge of data structure design and modeling
  • Understanding of infrastructure such that you can assist in determining where in the infrastructure a problem originates (whether from a database issue or other)
  • Good knowledge of development cycle to interface well with developers
  • Experience with Oracle RAC, RMAN, Barman, PGhero and similar backup/troubleshooting technologies
  • Experience working with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems
  • Have a working knowledge and provide basic support for MS SQL and Windows Server
  • Experience with GIT and Python
  • Machine learning experience
  • Big Data experience

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: 

  • Must be able to work extended hours and weekends as needed 

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay Range:
Database Reliability Engineer/Senior: $135,000.00 - $180,000.00/per year

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock, stock options, or long-term cash awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short & long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation & will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Exempt employees are eligible for 5 days of sick leave per year.

ITAR REQUIREMENTS:

  • To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.  

SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should notify the Human Resources Department at (310) 363-6000.

Apply for this Job

* Required
resume chosen  
(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)
Cancel
When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review
+ Add another education

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in SpaceX’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.

Enter the verification code sent to to confirm you are not a robot, then submit your application.

This application was flagged as potential bot traffic. To resubmit your application, turn off any VPNs, clear the browser's cache and cookies, or try another browser. If you still can't submit it, contact our support team through the help center.