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Staff Database Engineer

ServiceNow, Inc.

Santa Clara, CAJob$146–256K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$146–256K/yr
Location
Santa Clara, CA
Work Authorization
Not specified

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Job overview

ServiceNow’s SWAT team supports production stability for customer applications and infrastructure services. The Staff Database Engineer will troubleshoot production databases and instance performance, analyze Linux performance, lead incident root-cause analysis across multi-tenant PostgreSQL and MariaDB fleets, and develop observability and automation. The role also influences infrastructure decisions and collaborates with engineers across operations, support, and development, with on-call rotation responsibilities.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

AI IntegrationDistributed ApplicationsRelational DatabasesPostgreSQLMVCCTransaction ManagementVacuum MechanicsDatabase Performance TuningQuery Performance TuningBuffer ManagementWAL ArchitectureBackup and RestoreSaaSPaaSCloud InfrastructureUnixProblem SolvingAnalytical SkillsServiceNow PlatformServiceNow ScriptingServiceNow TuningServiceNow TroubleshootingShell ScriptingPythonJavaScriptAnsibleDatabase SchemasTablespacesIndexingDatabase Performance OptimizationCentOSRed HatKubernetesCI/CD Pipelines

Qualifications

5+ Years Related ExperienceBachelor's Degree or 3 Years and Master's or PhD or Equivalent Experience5+ Years Distributed Application Experience5+ Years Relational Database Experience5+ Years SaaS PaaS or Cloud Experience

Benefits

Medical Insurance
401(k) Match
Paid Time Off
Parental Leave

Full job description

It all started when engineer Fred Luddy wrote code that automated a tedious task for his coworker, Phyllis. She cried tears of joy. That moment inspired Fred to build a company that could do that for everyone—freeing people from busywork so they could focus on meaningful work. Today, ServiceNow is the AI control tower for business reinvention. Our ServiceNow AI platform brings together any AI, any data, and any workflow— helping 85% of the Fortune 500® work smarter, faster, and better. We're building an AI-native culture where technology and talent are unstoppable together. And we're just getting started.

Join us to put AI to work for people.

This role includes on-call rotation responsibilities.

Team:

Our SWAT (Software Action Team) ensures the production stability of our customer application(s) and infrastructure services from an operations perspective. Our engineers are responsible for production stability and "champions at all service levels” and act as the last level of support for our customers ( internal and external ).

The ideal candidate for this position is a software engineer with a strong background in database technologies, performance analysis, and strong troubleshooting skills. The candidate must have a passion for chasing issues of complex systems running under dynamic, real-world loads. You will work in a fast-paced, innovative environment that allows direct influence on the organization and all our customers. In this role you will support the infrastructure by learning the platform from end to end.

What you get to do in this role:

  • Become an SME in production database troubleshooting, ServiceNow instance performance issues and Linux performance analysis on prem and on Hyperscaler

  • Own complex incident RCA across multi-tenant PostgreSQL/MariaDB fleets at scale

  • Develop observability and automation to prevent recurrence of critical issues

  • Influence infrastructure decisions that shape our multi-tenant cloud platform

  • Mentor and collaborate with engineers across operations, support, and development

To be successful in this role you have:

  • Experience in leveraging or critically thinking about how to integrate AI into work processes, decision-making, or problem-solving. This may include using AI-powered tools, automating workflows, analyzing AI-driven insights, or exploring AI's potential impact on the function or industry.

  • 5 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree; or 3 years and a Master's degree; or a PhD without experience; or equivalent work experience.

  • 5+ years of experience supporting or testing large scale web-based distributed applications

  • 5+ years of experience on multiple relational databases (especially on Postgres database)

  • The database experience should include but not limited to MVCC, transaction management, vacuum mechanics, database and query performance tuning, buffer management, WAL architecture, backup/restore etc.

  • 5+ years of hands-on experience working on a SaaS, PaaS, or Cloud Infrastructure product/solution

  • Unix skills: including development, navigation, file manipulation, permissions, searching/finding files and text contents, and administrative actions

  • Strong problem-solving and analytical skills with an aptitude for learning new technologies

  • And most importantly, eagerness to learn everything about the ServiceNow Platform

**Desired Skills: **

  • Experience with ServiceNow platform, scripting, tuning, and troubleshooting is highly preferred.

  • Scripting: basic shell scripting, Python, Javascript, Ansible

  • Good understanding of schemas, table spaces, indexing, and database performance optimization

  • Familiarity or knowledge of CentOS/RedHat operating system

  • Formal experience on a DevOps(Kubernetes and CICD pipeline) or Performance or support team supporting a Web-Based application is desired.

For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $146,200 - $255,900 , plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.

Work Personas

We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here (https://careers.servicenow.com/life-at-servicenow#workpersonas) . To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.

Equal Opportunity Employer

ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements.

Accommodations

We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact [email protected] for assistance.

Export Control Regulations

For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities.

From Fortune. ©2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license.

How this job compares

Set against the 499 open Database Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 3, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$146–256K/yr
  • California median$158–250K/yr63 salary ranges
  • US median$126–230K/yr387 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $201K, is close to the California median midpoint ($200K) — in the middle half of Database Engineer salary ranges in California.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 82 open Database Engineer jobs in California and 499 across the US. 6% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in California
Experience
This posting asks for at least 5 years of experience; Database Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 7 years at the median (435 postings).
Education
140 of the 499 open Database Engineer jobs (28%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 3, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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