Database Reliability Engineer

Workday, Inc.; Auckland; Hybrid; NZD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Workday, Inc. is seeking a Database Site Reliability Engineer to manage large-scale MySQL and open-source database environments across production and development systems.

You will participate in an on-call rotation, drive automation to improve availability and scalability, and help architect both existing and new database services in our production environment. Ideal candidates will have hands-on experience with MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB or similar databases, and with cloud databases like AWS

Qualifications

• Strong experience with multiple DB technologies (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB)
• Experience with at least one managed cloud DB platform (AWS Aurora, Google Cloud SQL)
• Linux, Kubernetes, Docker in production environments
• Scripting in Shell/Python/Ruby or similar
• DB architecture, replication, high availability, DR
• BS/MS with years of experience in CS

Responsibilities

• Manage large-scale MySQL and open-source DB environments in production and development
• Participate in an on-call rotation for critical production issues
• Drive automation to improve availability and scalability
• Architect existing and new database services in production environments
• Ensure high availability, security, performance, and scalability of database systems

Skills

MySQL

PostgreSQL

Cloud databases

Linux

Scripting (Shell/Python)

Kubernetes

Docker

GitHub

JIRA

Confluence

Automation tools (Chef/Ansible/Terra​f

Observability

Education

BS in Computer Science or related fields

MS in Computer Science

Tools

Ceph Storage

Gluster

Orchestrator for MySQL

Percona MHA

Percona Galera

Vitess

Pure Storage

Job description

About Workday

Your work days are brighter here. We’re obsessed with making hard work pay off, for our people, our customers, and the world around us. As a Fortune 500 company and a leading AI platform for managing people, money, and agents, we’re shaping the future of work so teams can reach their potential and focus on what matters most. The minute you join, you’ll feel it. Not just in the products we build, but in how we show up for each other. Our culture is rooted in integrity, empathy, and shared enthusiasm. We’re in this together, tackling big challenges with bold ideas and genuine care. We look for curious minds and courageous collaborators who bring sun‑drenched optimism and drive. Whether you're building smarter solutions, supporting customers, or creating a space where everyone belongs, you’ll do meaningful work with Workmates who’ve got your back. In return, we’ll give you the trust to take risks, the tools to grow, the skills to develop and the support of a company invested in you for the long haul. So, if you want to inspire a brighter work day for everyone, including yourself, you’ve found a match in Workday, and we hope to be a match for you too.

About the Team

At Workday, we help some of the world’s largest organizations prepare for what’s next by bringing finance, HR, and planning together in a single enterprise cloud platform. We work hard and take our mission seriously, but we also believe in having fun along the way. We put people first, celebrate diversity, drive innovation, and make a positive impact in the communities where we live and work.

About the Role

Do you enjoy solving complex, large-scale database challenges? If so, read on. Workday is looking for a SRE Database Engineer with experience in open‑source database technologies such as PostgreSQL and MySQL, as well as cloud‑native database technologies. The ideal candidate will have hands‑on experience designing, developing, and managing enterprise‑scale database systems with complex interdependencies. This role requires a strong focus on high availability, clustering, security, performance, scalability, and operational excellence.

About the Role (continued)

Do you want to work for a company that works hard, has fun, and continues to experience significant growth? Do you want to be part of an organization where your contributions directly help scale and sustain that growth? At Workday, we are looking for a Database Site Reliability Engineer who thrives in a fast‑paced, challenging environment and enjoys solving complex technical problems at scale. The Environments Data Services team is a distributed team responsible for providing 24/7 operational support for customer environments. The team also evaluates, adopts, and deploys new technologies and services into live production environments, ensuring they are reliable, scalable, secure, and production‑ready.

In this role, you will support large‑scale MySQL and open‑source database environments across production and development systems, participate in an on‑call rotation for critical production issues, drive automation to improve availability and scalability, and help architect both existing and new database services in our production environment.

About You

Basic Qualifications:

• Strong hands‑on experience as a database engineer, database reliability engineer, or database architect working with multiple database technologies, such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB or similar platforms.
• Hands‑on experience with at least one managed cloud database platform, such as AWS Aurora or Google Cloud SQL.
• Experience running clustered, highly available database services on Linux‑based environments.
• Strong scripting experience in one or more languages such as Shell, Python, Ruby, or similar.
• Proven experience working with Linux, Kubernetes, Docker, and containerised environments.
• Hands‑on experience supporting mission‑critical production workloads on MySQL or other open‑source databases.
• Experience with database architecture, design, replication, clustering, high availability, disaster recovery, backup, and restore strategies.
• BS in Computer Science or related fields with 5+ years of experience (or) MS in Computer Science with 3+ years of experience.

Other Qualifications:

• Recognized as an authority or subject matter expert in database technologies and database operations.
• Strong experience with automation and configuration management tools such as Chef, Ansible, Terraform, or similar.
• Good working knowledge of GitHub, JIRA, and Confluence.
• Excellent communication skills, including formal presentations, whiteboarding, technical documentation, and cross‑functional collaboration.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Experience with database reliability engineering practices, including observability, incident response, performance tuning, capacity planning, and operational automation.
• Familiarity with tools and technologies such as Ceph Storage, Gluster, Orchestrator for MySQL, Percona MHA, Percona Galera, Vitess, and Pure Storage.

Our Approach to Flexible Work

With Flex Work, we’re combining the best of both worlds: in‑person time and remote. Our approach enables our teams to deepen connections, maintain a strong community, and do their best work. We know that flexibility can take shape in many ways, so rather than a number of required days in‑office each week, we simply spend at least half (50%) of our time each quarter in the office or in the field with our customers, prospects, and partners (depending on role). This means you'll have the freedom to create a flexible schedule that caters to your business, team, and personal needs, while being intentional to make the most of time spent together. Those in our remote "home office" roles also have the opportunity to come together in our offices for important moments that matter.

Workday is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals during our application process, in order to perform one or more essential functions of their job, as well as regarding the use of AI tools for employment decision‑making to any degree.

Please see below for more details including how to request an accommodation as a qualified veteran, due to a disability or for religious reasons, or as otherwise provided under applicable law.

Workday prohibits taking adverse action against any candidate or employee for reporting a possible violation of this policy, requesting one or more work accommodations, exercising a privacy right, or cooperating in an investigation in accordance with applicable law. Any employee who retaliates against a candidate or employee for doing so may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment, to the fullest extent allowable under applicable law. If you require a reasonable accommodation, you may email [e-mail], as far in advance as possible.

Are you being referred to one of our roles? If so, ask your connection at Workday about our Employee Referral process!

Workday is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Workday are considered without regards to age, ancestry, color, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, national origin, protected family care or medical leave status, race, religion (including beliefs and practices or the absence thereof), sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Further, pursuant to applicable local ordinances, Workday will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. We do not accept resumes from headhunters, placement agencies, or other suppliers that have not signed a formal agreement with us.

You may view the Workday's Pay Transparency Policy, and Know Your Rights Notice, by clicking on their corresponding links.

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