Senior Platform Engineer - Database Systems

Quizlet • Full-time • Hybrid in San Francisco, California, United States • $192,500 - $231,600 / year • 2w ago

Fast Facts

Join Quizlet as a Senior Platform Engineer focusing on database systems, where you will design, implement, and optimize large-scale database infrastructures that enhance learning experiences for millions of students.

Responsibilities: Design, implement, and maintain database systems, improve reliability and performance, collaborate with teams on architecture, build monitoring tools, and participate in on-call rotations.

Skills: 5+ years of experience in database engineering, hands-on management of MySQL (PlanetScale preferred), Cloud Spanner, or BigQuery, proficiency in Go or Python, and knowledge of Kubernetes and Terraform.

Qualifications: Strong background in performance tuning and high-availability design, excellent problem-solving abilities, and a collaborative mindset.

Location: Onsite position located in San Francisco, CA, with a requirement of at least three days per week in the office.

Compensation: $192500 - $231600 / 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

As a Senior Platform Engineer, you’ll play a key role in designing and maintaining Quizlet’s database infrastructure, ensuring our systems remain performant, scalable, and resilient as the platform grows. You’ll bring deep technical expertise to optimize query performance, automate operations, and guide best practices for reliability and observability across Quizlet’s data stack.

This is an onsite position in our San Francisco office, with a minimum of three days per week onsite: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

In this role, you will

Design, implement, and maintain large-scale database systems across Cloud Spanner, PlanetScale MySQL, and BigQuery.
Improve system reliability and performance through automation, observability, and query optimization.
Collaborate with product and infrastructure teams to ensure database architecture supports scalability and uptime targets.
Build tooling and monitoring dashboards in Datadog to detect, alert, and remediate performance issues.
Contribute to platform standards for caching, indexing, and connection management.
Participate in on-call rotations and drive post-incident improvements.

What you bring to the table

5+ years of experience in database engineering or platform infrastructure.
Hands-on experience managing MySQL (PlanetScale preferred), Cloud Spanner, or BigQuery in production.
Strong background in performance tuning, query optimization, and high-availability design.
Programming proficiency in Go or Python for automation and tooling.
Familiarity with Kubernetes (GKE) and Terraform (IaC).
Solid understanding of caching systems like Redis or Memcached.
Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to collaborate across teams.

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 $192,500 – $231,600, 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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