Principal Software Developer - Databases

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Principal Software Developer - Databases based in Canada.

This senior technical role sits at the core of a large-scale cloud data platform, responsible for shaping how structured data is stored, accessed, and governed across distributed systems. You will define and evolve the architecture of database fleets operating at scale, ensuring reliability, performance, and consistency across production environments. The role combines deep systems engineering with platform leadership, influencing how engineering teams build on top of shared storage infrastructure. You will drive initiatives spanning event streaming, schema lifecycle management, and database automation, while setting best practices across multiple teams. Operating with high autonomy, you will play a key role in reducing operational complexity and improving data reliability across the organization. This is a high-impact position suited for a strong technical leader passionate about large-scale data systems and cloud-native architectures.

• Lead the design and implementation of core platform capabilities across distributed database systems, including event streaming integrations (Kafka), schema automation, and structured data access layers
• Define technical direction for database platform architecture, establishing standards, conducting design reviews, and improving engineering practices across teams
• Own and optimize fleet-wide database operations, including performance tuning, capacity planning, monitoring, alerting, replication, and workload optimization
• Drive reliability engineering practices, including incident response, on-call support, root cause analysis, and operational playbooks
• Develop and enforce best practices for database governance, schema lifecycle management, and data consistency across large-scale environments
• Partner with cross-functional engineering teams to align on storage strategy, migration planning, and platform evolution priorities
• Mentor engineers and provide technical leadership through code reviews, architectural guidance, and knowledge sharing initiatives
• Represent database platform requirements in cross-organizational architecture and leadership forums

Requirements

• 6+ years of software engineering experience in platform, infrastructure, or data engineering environments
• Strong expertise in large-scale distributed systems and cloud data platforms
• 5+ years of hands-on Kubernetes experience in production environments
• 7+ years of Terraform and infrastructure-as-code experience
• Deep experience with cloud databases such as PostgreSQL and/or DynamoDB at fleet scale
• Proven experience designing and operating event-driven architectures and streaming systems (Kafka, CDC pipelines preferred)
• Strong knowledge of AWS services including IAM, RDS/Aurora, DynamoDB, EKS/ECS, and multi-region architectures
• Experience building or extending platform-level data tooling (schema management, ORM frameworks, or data contracts)
• Ability to lead complex technical initiatives from architecture through production delivery
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence cross-team technical decisions
• Experience with observability, incident management, and production reliability practices
• Nice to have: experience with GitOps tooling, schema migration tools, API gateway systems, or regulated cloud environments

Benefits

• Competitive annual base salary in Canada, typically ranging from approximately 131,000 to 191,400 CAD depending on experience and location
• Annual performance bonus and potential equity or stock-based compensation
• Comprehensive health coverage including medical, dental, and vision plans
• Flexible remote work arrangement across Canada
• Strong focus on work-life balance and employee wellbeing
• Professional development support, learning resources, and career growth opportunities
• Exposure to large-scale distributed systems and enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure
• Collaborative engineering culture with strong emphasis on technical excellence and innovation