Senior Staff Platform Engineer - Database

Quizlet • Full-time • Hybrid in San Francisco, California, United States • $258,000 - $314,000 / year • 2w ago

Fast Facts

Join Quizlet as a Senior Staff Platform Engineer focusing on Database Systems, where you will lead the architecture and evolution of their data infrastructure to ensure high performance and scalability.

Responsibilities: You will architect Quizlet's database ecosystem, drive platform-wide resilience, mentor engineers in best practices, and collaborate with product teams to define SLOs.

Skills: Deep expertise in MySQL and PlanetScale, strong proficiency with Cloud Spanner, experience in platform automation using Terraform and Kubernetes, and expertise in observability for distributed data systems.

Qualifications: 10+ years of backend engineering experience with 5+ focused on database systems; knowledge of Vitess, Kafka or service mesh management is a plus.

Location: San Francisco, CA; onsite position with a minimum of three days per week required.

Compensation: $258000 - $314000 / Annually

About Quizlet:

At Quizlet, our mission is to help every learner achieve their outcomes in the most effective and delightful way. Our $1B+ learning platform serves tens of millions of students every month, including two-thirds of U.S. high schoolers and half of U.S. college students, powering over 2 billion learning interactions monthly.

We blend cognitive science with machine learning to personalize and enhance the learning experience for students, professionals, and lifelong learners alike. We’re energized by the potential to power more learners through multiple approaches and various tools.

Let’s Build the Future of Learning

Join us to design and deliver AI-powered learning tools that scale across the world and unlock human potential.

About the Role

We’re hiring a Senior Staff Platform Engineer – Database Systems to lead the design, strategy, and evolution of Quizlet’s database and data infrastructure. You’ll architect large-scale systems that power Quizlet’s most critical services — ensuring reliability, performance, and scalability across millions of global learners. You’ll partner closely with other platform and product engineering teams, setting the technical direction for database systems, caching, and data access layers across the company.

This role reports to the Senior Director of Technical Infrastructure and is an onsite position in our San Francisco office. Employees are required to be onsite a minimum of three days per week: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

In this role, you will

Architect and evolve Quizlet’s database ecosystem, including Cloud Spanner, PlanetScale MySQL, BigQuery, and Redis, ensuring low latency, strong consistency, and high availability.
Set technical direction for database reliability, observability, and disaster recovery patterns across all product teams.
Lead large-scale modernization initiatives, including performance tuning, connection management optimization, and query efficiency improvements.
Drive platform-wide resilience, building self-healing, automated systems that maintain 99.95% availability across critical services.
Mentor and guide engineers in best practices for database design, caching, and operational excellence.
Partner with leadership to define SLOs, shape roadmap priorities, and align platform strategy with Quizlet’s product and AI initiatives.
Contribute to architecture reviews and company-wide infrastructure standards for data storage, access, and security.

What you bring to the table

10+ years of backend or platform engineering experience, with 5+ focused on large-scale database systems.
Proven experience architecting high-throughput, low-latency database infrastructures in production environments.
Deep expertise in MySQL and PlanetScale; strong proficiency with Cloud Spanner, Postgres, or BigQuery.
Experience building and leading platform-level automation and self-service tooling using Terraform, Kubernetes (GKE), and Python or Go.
Expertise in observability, monitoring, and incident management for distributed data systems.
Ability to collaborate cross-functionally with engineering, SRE, and product leadership.
Passion for building systems that are secure, resilient, and developer-friendly.

Bonus points if you have:

Experience running multi-tenant or hybrid database architectures at global scale.
Knowledge of Vitess, Kafka, or Pub/Sub for distributed data access.
Familiarity with service mesh (Istio) or database proxy management.

Compensation, Benefits & Perks

Quizlet is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Salary transparency helps to mitigate unfair hiring practices when it comes to discrimination and pay gaps.
Total compensation for this role is market competitive, including a starting base salary of $258,000 – $314,000, depending on location and experience, as well as company stock options.
Collaborate with your manager and team to create a healthy work-life balance
20 vacation days that we expect you to take!
Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance (100% employee and 75% dependent PPO, Dental, VSP Choice)
Employer-sponsored 401(k) plan with company match
Access to LinkedIn Learning and other resources to support professional growth
Paid Family Leave, FSA, HSA, Commuter benefits, and Wellness benefits
40 hours of annual paid time off to participate in volunteer programs of choice

Why Join Quizlet?

🌎 Massive reach: 60M+ users, 1B+ interactions per week

🧠 Cutting-edge tech: Generative AI, adaptive learning, cognitive science

📈 Strong momentum: Top-tier investors, sustainable business, real traction

🎯 Mission-first: Work that makes a difference in people’s lives

🤝 Inclusive culture: Committed to equity, diversity, and belonging

We strive to make everyone feel comfortable and welcome!

We work to create a holistic interview process, where both Quizlet and candidates have an opportunity to view what it would be like to work together, in exploring a mutually beneficial partnership.

We provide a transparent setting that gives a comprehensive view of who we are!

In Closing:

At Quizlet, we’re excited about passionate people joining our team—even if you don’t check every box on the requirements list. We value unique perspectives and believe everyone has something meaningful to contribute. Our culture is all about taking initiative, learning through challenges, and striving for high-quality work while staying curious and open to new ideas. We believe in honest, respectful communication, thoughtful collaboration, and creating a supportive space where everyone can grow and succeed together.”

Quizlet’s success as an online learning community depends on a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

As an equal opportunity employer and a tech company committed to societal change, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. Come join us!

To All Recruiters and Placement Agencies:

At this time, Quizlet does not accept unsolicited agency resumes and/or profiles.

Please do not forward unsolicited agency resumes to our website or to any Quizlet employee. Quizlet will not pay fees to any third-party agency or firm nor will it be responsible for any agency fees associated with unsolicited resumes. All unsolicited resumes received will be considered the property of Quizlet.

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