Software Engineer III (Database Engineer)

 We’re looking for a Transactional Database Engineer to own the reliability, performance, cost efficiency, and compliance of our production database systems.

This role supports high-availability OLTP systems (MySQL, PostgreSQL, DynamoDB) and ensures safe integration with downstream ELT/ETL pipelines, Kafka streams, and replication architectures.

You’ll work closely with backend, data, and infrastructure teams to protect hot-path systems while enabling scalable data movement.

COMPENSATION: The anticipated annual base salary for this position is $175,000. Actual compensation may vary based on work experience, education, and skill level.  

What You'll Do:

• Operate and optimize production MySQL, PostgreSQL, Elastic, and DynamoDB
• Design and manage binlog and logical replication strategies
• Support safe ELT / ETL pipelines and CDC workflows
• Integrate transactional systems with Kafka streams
• Optimize performance (queries, indexing, locking, scaling)
• Manage backups, failover, and disaster recovery (PITR)
• Monitor and reduce infrastructure costs
• Enforce data integrity, security, and compliance standards
• Lead database-related incident response

Technical Environment:

• Databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, Elastic, Redis
• Streaming: Kafka (CDC, event streaming)
• Cloud: AWS (RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB)
• Monitoring: Datadog, CloudWatch
• Tooling: Go, Python, Bash

Data Movement: ELT / ETL pipelines 

• 5+ years of database engineering experience
• Deep production experience with MySQL and/or PostgreSQL
• Experience with binlog or logical replication
• Experience integrating OLTP systems with Kafka
• Experience supporting ELT / ETL pipelines safely
• Strong understanding of ACID and isolation levels
• Experience debugging locking, replication lag, and indexing issues
• Familiarity with AWS-managed database services
• Ability to balance performance, cost, and compliance

Nice to Have:

• CDC implementation experience
• Large-scale database migrations
• OLTP vs OLAP workload separation experience
• Infrastructure-as-code (Terraform)
• Experience in high-volume transactional environments

Expectations at Level III:

• Independently owns production database health
• Designs safe replication and streaming architectures
• Protects transactional systems from downstream risk
• Anticipates scaling and cost challenges
• Establishes guardrails across engineering teams

About DMS:

Digital Media Solutions (DMS) is a performance-driven digital marketing company that connects consumers and brands through data, technology, and proprietary media solutions. Operating in high-volume, transaction-intensive markets, DMS manages multiple revenue streams, variable margins, and complex unit economics across its portfolio of offerings.

The company partners closely with clients to deliver measurable outcomes, leveraging analytics, optimization, and disciplined execution in dynamic market conditions.