Core Database Engineer

Sophia AI GmbH; Germany (OH); On-site; USD 102,762 - 148,435; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Significant equity

Onsite work in Freiburg

Job summary

Sophia AI GmbH in Freiburg is seeking a database-minded engineer to own the core data platform. You will design and build database services that ingest operational data, preserve history, and expose it to AI agents.

You will optimize queries, ensure reliability, and work with application and AI engineers to shape the roadmap from design to production.

This role is on-site in Freiburg with significant equity and the chance to influence a fast-growing European AI startup.

Qualifications

• Deep experience with PostgreSQL or other relational databases and how choices affect engine performance.
• Ability to debug performance and correctness across queries, services, distributed systems, and infrastructure.
• Pragmatic and curious, balancing foundational engineering with shipping tangible features.
• Willingness to be on-site in Freiburg to collaborate closely with the team.

Responsibilities

• Design and build the database services at the heart of Sophia: ingest operational data, preserve history, expose to agents, and remain reliable as customer workloads grow.
• Build schemas, storage abstractions, migrations, and services for complex manufacturing data.
• Develop secure mechanisms for AI systems to retrieve, connect, and act on operational data with full traceability.
• Own query performance, observability, backups, tenant isolation, and graceful failure across customer workloads.

Skills

PostgreSQL

Relational databases

Performance debugging

Systems thinking

Tools

Python

FastAPI

SQL

Job description

The Mission: A Data Engine Manufacturing Can Trust

Manufacturing SMBs are currently drowning in complexity. Every day, critical data is lost in a flood of emails, phone calls, and manual spreadsheets that try to bridge the gap between accounting, supply chain, and production.

Sophia builds the platform that ends this chaos. We don't just digitize processes; we automate them, driving immediate improvements in revenue and efficiency.

Why is this hard?

Manufacturing data is fragmented, inconsistent, and deeply connected. Our agents must reason over orders, inventory, suppliers, production events, and financial records without compromising correctness, isolation, or auditability. We are building a data layer that makes this operational context safely available to AI systems in real time.

The destination is clear: Autonomous Manufacturing Operations.

Your Role: Own the Core Data Platform

You will design and build the database services at the heart of Sophia: the systems that ingest operational data, preserve its history, expose it to agents, and remain reliable as customer workloads grow.

Build the Data Foundation

Design schemas, storage abstractions, migrations, and services for complex manufacturing data.

Make Data Available to Agents

Develop secure mechanisms for AI systems to retrieve, connect, and act on operational data with full traceability.

Performance & Reliability

Own query performance, observability, backups, tenant isolation, and graceful failure across customer workloads.

Ownership

Work closely with application and AI engineers, shape the roadmap, and take systems from design through production operations.

The Stack

We value tools that allow for speed and type safety.

Database

Python, FastAPI, SQL

Cloud

AI & Data

Who You Are

We care about depth, judgment, and what you have built—not a specific number of years.

Database-minded Builder

You have worked deeply with PostgreSQL or another relational database and understand how application choices affect the engine underneath.

Systems Thinker

You are comfortable debugging performance and correctness across queries, services, distributed systems, and infrastructure.

Pragmatic & Curious

You can balance foundational engineering with shipping, and you are excited to explore how databases should serve agentic applications.

Freiburg & at Customer On‑Site

We work in tight loops. Being in the room together matters at this stage.

Why Sophia?

High Upside

Significant equity in a VC‑backed, high‑growth AI startup.

Every line of code you write will be used by real customers within hours.

AI-First

We don't just "use" AI; we are at the bleeding edge of agentic workflows.

European Backbone

Help the European manufacturing sector stay competitive globally.

About the Founder

I have spent the last 12 years operating at the intersection of manufacturing and technology. My path hasn't been linear — it ranges from co‑founding Knusperreich (a pioneer in D2C food) to running a traditional family‑owned precision casting firm serving the aerospace and medical sectors.

That deep dive into the 'Mittelstand' revealed massive friction in industrial procurement, inspiring me to launch KREATIZE. There, we helped machinery companies automate sourcing, backed by €20m in funding from Tier‑1 VCs like Atlantic and Earlybird.

While I navigated the startup rollercoaster over the last decade, I often felt I was too early or too young to fully capitalize on major tech waves. With AI, that changes. I am convinced the next generation of value belongs to the application layer — solving unsexy, complex problems for real industries. That is the mission behind Sophia.

• Sequence Matters: We will not scale the organization until we have undeniable Product‑Market Fit. We solve the pain point first; we scale second.
• Talent Density: We hire fewer people, but better people. A small team of A‑players outperforms a large army of average performers.
• Speed is the Moat: We operate with extreme urgency to iterate, learn, and ship faster than the incumbents.
• Builders Only: Everyone contributes directly to product or revenue. We avoid pure "management" layers entirely in the early stage.
• Brand as Leverage: We invest in brand early to lower CAC and attract top talent, treating it as a compounding asset.

The Interview Process

We move fast. Everywhere. We want to go from first chat to offer in 5 days.

The Vibe Check (30 min)

Chat with Simon about the vision and your background.

Product & Tech Deep Dive (45 min)

We'll walk through a real problem we're facing and see how you think.

Technical Challenge (60 min)

A hands‑on coding session (no LeetCode; think systems and agents).

Onsite Co‑Work

Spend half a day with us in Freiburg. We'll build and ship a real feature together.

Just send us an email with your details.