Systems and Database Engineer | Database Services

Susquehanna International Group, LLP; Bala Cynwyd (PA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Susquehanna International Group, LLP is seeking an engineer with a strong foundation in database technologies and systems engineering. The role focuses on application database engineering for trading platforms in a high-performance, low-latency setting.

The ideal candidate will design and maintain scalable DB systems (MariaDB, MongoDB, InfluxDB, ClickHouse), optimize queries, and develop Python tooling to support operations and reliability in production.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field or equivalent experience.
• 1-5 years of experience in database engineering or systems engineering.
• Strong SQL proficiency and deep knowledge of relational databases (partitioning, replication, high availability).
• Solid Python development skills for production tooling.
• Good understanding of Kubernetes for deploying and debugging containerized workloads.
• Strong Linux fundamentals: shell scripting, monitoring, and core commands.
• Comfort in production environments and ownership of reliability.
• Familiarity with AI tooling for engineering workflows.

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, and maintain relational and non-relational databases at scale (hundreds of millions to billions of records).
• Optimize query performance with indexing, plan analysis, and schema design.
• Develop Python tooling to support database operations and system health.
• Ensure high availability via replication, failover design, and DR planning.
• Operate in production environments, diagnosing time-sensitive issues.

Skills

SQL

Python

Linux

Kubernetes

AI tooling

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/IS

Tools

MariaDB

MongoDB

InfluxDB

ClickHouse

Job description

Overview

Our Production Services Team is looking for a skilled engineer with a strong foundation in database technologies and systems engineering — not a traditional DBA, but someone who understands how databases fit into broader system architecture and can collaborate across disciplines to drive performance, reliability, and scalability.

This role is part of a front office support team, focused on application database engineering for trading platforms and directly supporting traders in a high-performance, low-latency environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, and maintain relational and non-relational database systems at scale (hundreds of millions to billions of records, TB-scale datasets), including MariaDB, MongoDB, InfluxDB, and ClickHouse.
• Optimize query performance through advanced indexing strategies, execution plan analysis, and schema design.
• Develop Python tooling and automation to support database operations, maintenance workflows, and system health.
• Ensure high availability and reliability through replication, failover design, and disaster recovery planning.
• Operate confidently in production environments — diagnosing and resolving time-sensitive issues with composure and precision.
• Manage and scale containerized database workloads using Kubernetes, including ClickHouse deployments.
• Monitor system health using observability tooling and proactively address performance degradation.
• Collaborate with developers, researchers, and platform engineers to support data-intensive applications.
• Apply AI tooling and best practices to accelerate engineering workflows.

What we’re looking for

Core Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field — or equivalent practical experience.
• 1-5 years of experience in database engineering, systems engineering, or a related discipline.
• Strong proficiency in SQL and deep working knowledge of relational databases — complex query manipulation, indexing, partitioning, replication, and high availability.
• Solid Python development skills — able to write production-quality scripts and tooling, not just one-off automation.
• Good understanding of Kubernetes — deploying, managing, and debugging containerized workloads.
• Strong Linux fundamentals — shell scripting, process management, system monitoring, and core command-line fluency.
• Comfort operating in a production environment — you handle pressure well and take ownership of reliability.
• Working knowledge of AI tools and best practices for engineering workflows.

Nice to Have

• Graph database experience (e.g., Neo4j or similar).
• Oracle database experience.
• ProxySQL configuration and routing experience.
• Infrastructure-as-code experience with Terraform.
• Familiarity with Prometheus and Grafana for observability and alerting.
• Prior experience in a production or trading environment.

About Susquehanna

Susquehanna is a global quantitative trading firm powered by scientific rigor, curiosity, and innovation. Our culture is intellectually driven and highly collaborative, bringing together researchers, engineers, and traders to design and deploy impactful strategies in our systematic trading environment. To meet the unique challenges of global markets, Susquehanna applies machine learning and advanced quantitative research to vast datasets in order to uncover actionable insights and build effective strategies. By uniting deep market expertise with cutting-edge technology, we excel in solving complex problems and pushing boundaries together.

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