Database Platform Engineer

G-Research; City Of London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading quantitative finance firm is seeking an experienced Database Platform Engineer to join their Data Services team. This role focuses on designing and running mission-critical database platforms. The ideal candidate has strong expertise in PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and automation skills in Python and Ansible. A competitive compensation package and an inclusive work environment are offered.

Benefits

Highly competitive compensation

Annual discretionary bonus

30 days' annual leave

9% company pension contributions

Comprehensive healthcare

Cycle-to-work scheme

Qualifications

• Strong experience with relational database platforms.
• Good understanding of database internals, including query execution.
• Hands-on experience running databases at scale.

Responsibilities

• Building, operating and scaling distributed database services.
• Supporting large-scale deployments of various database platforms.
• Contributing to automation for database provisioning and monitoring.

Skills

PostgreSQL

Microsoft SQL Server

MySQL

CockroachDB

Python

Linux

Terraform

Ansible

Kubernetes

Job description

We tackle the most complex problems in quantitative finance, by bringing scientific clarity to financial complexity.

From our London HQ, we unite world-class researchers and engineers in an environment that values deep exploration and methodical execution - because the best ideas take time to evolve. Together we're building a world-class platform to amplify our teams' most powerful ideas.

As part of our engineering team, you'll shape the platforms and tools that drive high-impact research - designing systems that scale, accelerate discovery and support innovation across the firm.

Take the next step in your career.

The role

G-Research is a fast-growing, software-driven organisation where data is at the heart of everything we do.

We are looking for an experienced Database Platform Engineer to join our Data Services team. In this role, you will help design, build and operate the mission-critical database platforms that underpin research, a global platform and business operations.

This role focuses on providing highly available, performant and secure data services. Our environment spans multiple database technologies - PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and CockroachDB - deployed across both on-premises infrastructure and the cloud (AWS).

The role is highly collaborative, working with research and engineering stakeholders to deliver performant, resilient and secure database services at scale. You will gain deep expertise in our database platforms, drive automation and operational excellence, and help evolve the platform to meet the growing needs of the business.

Responsibilities

• Building, operating and scaling distributed database services across on-premises and AWS environments
• Supporting large-scale deployments of PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL and CockroachDB, ensuring high availability, disaster recovery and performance
• Contributing to the design and implementation of automation for database provisioning, upgrades, replication and monitoring using Python, Ansible and Terraform
• Driving improvements in performance tuning, query optimisation, indexing strategies and storage design
• Collaborating with application and research teams to design and deliver database solutions that meet demanding scalability and latency requirements
• Participating in the out-of-hours rota to provide support for critical systems
• Staying up to date with industry trends and emerging database technologies, helping evaluate their applicability
• Defining SLAs, KPIs and monitoring strategies to ensure platform reliability, security and service excellence
• Proactively identifying and resolving stability, security and capacity issues across the platform

Qualifications

Who are we looking for?

We are seeking a Database Platform Engineer with strong technical expertise in database systems, automation skills and a passion for solving complex infrastructure problems at scale.

The ideal candidate will have the following skills and experience:

• Strong experience with relational database platforms, such as PostgreSQL, MSSQL Server, MySQL, CockroachDB or similar
• Good understanding of database internals, including query execution, concurrency, replication, indexing and partitioning
• Hands-on experience running databases at scale
• Strong proficiency with Linux and Python for automation
• Familiarity with infrastructure as code, including Terraform, Ansible, Jenkins, Dagger, ArgoCD or similar
• Experience deploying and running services in containerised or Kubernetes environments
• Understanding of AWS services relevant to data platforms, such as RDS, Aurora, S3, EC2 or EKS
• Familiarity with modern observability stacks, such as Prometheus, Grafana, Elk or OTel

Desirable Skills

• Experience with cloud-native and distributed SQL database, such as Aurora, YugabyteDB or TiDB
• Knowledge of data streaming and integration tools, including Kafka, Debezium and CDC pipelines
• Experience with security and compliance in database environments, for example covering encryption, auditing and RBAC
• Familiarity with DataOps practices and collaboration with Data Engineering teams

Why join us?

• Highly competitive compensation plus annual discretionary bonus
• Lunch provided (via Just Eat for Business) and dedicated barista bar
• 30 days' annual leave
• 9% company pension contributions
• Informal dress code and excellent work/life balance
• Comprehensive healthcare and life assurance
• Cycle-to-work scheme
• Monthly company events

G-Research is committed to cultivating and preserving an inclusive work environment. We are an ideas-driven business and we place great value on diversity of experience and opinions.

We want to ensure that applicants receive a recruitment experience that enables them to perform at their best. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation please let us know in the relevant section.