Manager of Database Reliability Engineering

About the Role

Our Infrastructure and Database Reliability functions have grown together under one manager, and grown fast. As the team scales to support live, high-traffic events year-round, we're splitting that org into two focused disciplines so each can go deeper: Infrastructure Engineering, and Database Reliability Engineering - this role.

You'll own database infrastructure, data lifecycle and management strategy, and live-event operational readiness. You'll partner closely with the Infrastructure Manager on shared systems and help develop the database team's next generation of technical leaders — we are looking for someone focused on supporting and growing the team around them.

What You'll Do

• Own cloud database infrastructure - AlloyDB, Redis, Kafka and others, capacity planning, and database vendor management, including commitment/CUD strategy and spend accountability.
• Support our identity and access modernization - an inclusive, workflow-aware migration to a modern identity platform, with appropriate limits on high-risk access and a break-glass mechanism for emergencies.
• Own data lifecycle and strategy - build a set of data services that enables data aging, archiving, and retention over a multi-year cycle.
• Contribute to creating a database observability framework; logging, metrics, and alerting that produces clear, actionable signals instead of noise.
• Lead high-availability operations for our biggest live moments: on-call design, war-room readiness, staffing plans, and vendor escalation coordination for season kickoffs, the Super Bowl, and other peak-traffic events.
• Own the data side of our business continuity and disaster recovery planning and execution.
• Partner closely with the Infrastructure team on shared infrastructure surfaces, caching, messaging/queues, and the boundary between application and data infrastructure.
• Maintain database security and compliance: vulnerability remediation, edge security, access controls, and support for compliance and audit processes.
• Manage vendor relationships and contracts across the database portfolio, including budget ownership and negotiation.
• Build and grow the team; identify and develop technical leads, delegate real ownership, and build a bench so critical work never depends on a single person.
• Represent DBRE in cross-functional planning (feature launches, load testing, migrations).
• Balance KTLO (Keeping the Lights On) work against forward-looking productivity investments; scope and prioritize a multi-quarter infra roadmap.

What You Have

• 5+ years managing database, DevOps, or SRE teams, ideally for a consumer product with real-time, high-concurrency, or seasonal/event-driven traffic patterns.
• Deep hands-on background in cloud infrastructure (GCP strongly preferred; AWS or similar also relevant), relational and non-relational databases (AlloyDB, PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB), and infrastructure-as-code (Crossplane, Cuelang, Terraform, Ansible, or similar).
• Experience running identity/access management programs and modern observability/monitoring stacks, and building incident management practices that hold up under real pressure.
• A track record of managing cloud cost and vendor relationships, committed-use/reserved capacity strategy, contract negotiation, budget ownership.
• Solid grounding in security best practices and compliance requirements relevant to a fast-moving consumer platform.
• A demonstrated ability to mentor technical leads and delegate effectively.
• Excellent communication skills and the judgment to flag risk early rather than let it surface as a surprise.
• Experience in a technology startup environment is a strong plus.
• Relevant DevOps, Cloud, or SRE certifications are a plus.