Senior Platform Engineer, Data Persistence

Are you a platform engineer who thrives on designing scalable, resilient data systems that support real-world, enterprise workloads?
Do you enjoy owning complex persistence challenges—balancing performance, reliability, and cost—while enabling product teams to move faster with confidence?
Are you excited to shape the foundation of a cloud-native SaaS platform by building durable, high-availability data architectures that stand up to growth and change?
If so, we invite you to be a part of our innovative team.

As a Senior Platform Engineer on the Data Persistence team, you will play a critical role in designing, building, and optimizing the data systems that power Ridgeline’s enterprise SaaS platform. You’ll lead the evolution of our cloud-native, distributed data architecture—solving challenges around scale, performance, availability, and cost—while delivering a best-in-class developer experience. In this role, you will collaborate closely with application and infrastructure teams to develop efficient, resilient, and high-performance data solutions that directly support customer-facing workloads. You’ll leverage cutting-edge technologies—including AI tools like GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT—to enhance productivity, accelerate problem-solving, and continuously improve how we design and operate our data platforms.

At Ridgeline, how we work matters as much as what we build. Ridgeliners act like owners, choose growth over comfort, and communicate with transparency. We assume positive intent, bias toward action, and bring solutions—not just problems. We celebrate wins, learn from setbacks, and thrive in a resilient, collaborative, high-performing culture. If this excites you, we’d love to meet you!

You must be work authorized in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship.

The impact you will have:

• Design and develop cloud-native data storage solutions that deliver scalable, reliable, and performant persistence across a multi-tenant SaaS platform
• Optimize data access patterns and collaborate with application teams to improve end-to-end performance at the application layer
• Drive RPO and RTO improvements by establishing high-availability architectures, failover strategies, and disaster recovery plans
• Support high-throughput, low-latency workloads through effective data partitioning, caching, and indexing strategies
• Improve observability by investing in database monitoring, automation, and performance telemetry
• Balance performance and efficiency by identifying and implementing cost optimizations across database infrastructure
• Collaborate transparently with cross-functional teams to solve complex data challenges and share best practices
• Mentor engineers, foster technical growth, and contribute to a resilient, inclusive culture of engineering excellence
• Take ownership of critical systems, acting with accountability and a long-term mindset aligned with Ridgeline’s values

What we look for:

• 5+ years of experience in software or infrastructure engineering, with deep expertise in data persistence, distributed systems, or database engineering
• Proven experience building and operating distributed, multi-writer OLTP SQL systems (e.g., SingleStore, CockroachDB) and single-writer systems (e.g., Postgres), with a strong understanding of replication, sharding, and consistency tradeoffs
• Hands-on experience with OLAP or analytical data stores such as ClickHouse and/or Apache Iceberg on S3
• Strong background in high availability and disaster recovery strategies, including cross-region replication, backups and point-in-time recovery, and clearly defined RPO/RTO targets
• Solid experience with AWS services such as Aurora RDS, S3, ECS, Lambda, and related infrastructure
• Proficiency in at least one programming language such as Kotlin, Java, or TypeScript
• Experience using Datadog or similar tooling for database and storage observability
• Proficiency with AI-assisted development tools such as Cursor, Claude, or GitHub Copilot
• Strong problem-solving skills, clear communication, and a genuine interest in learning and continuous improvement

Bonus:

• Experience designing and operating high-throughput JVM services and data-access libraries, with deep knowledge of threading, connection pooling, and saturation behavior (e.g., HikariCP)
• Background in event-driven architectures using Kafka or Pub/Sub, including familiarity with Debezium, Kafka Connect, schema registries, or CDC workflows
• Experience in fintech, investment management, or other highly regulated data environments

About Ridgeline

Ridgeline is the first front-to-back system of record for investment managers. Founded by visionary entrepreneur Dave Duffield (co-founder of both PeopleSoft and Workday), the company was created to modernize an industry held back by outdated, disconnected technology. Powered by a single, real-time data set and embedded AI, Ridgeline helps firms automate complexity, accelerate collaboration, and deliver tailored client experiences at scale, without added headcount or risk. Ridgeline is headquartered in Lake Tahoe, with offices in New York, Reno, and the Bay Area, and is recognized by Fast Company as a “Best Workplace for Innovators,” by Frost & Sullivan as a “Technology Innovation Leader,” and by The Software Report as a “Top 100 Software Company.”

Ridgeline is proud to be a community-minded, discrimination-free equal opportunity workplace.

Ridgeline processes the information you submit in connection with your application in accordance with the Ridgeline Applicant Privacy Statement. Please review the Ridgeline Applicant Privacy Statement in full to understand our privacy practices and contact us with any questions..

Compensation and Benefits 

The typical starting salary range for new hires in this role is targeted at $146,000 - $172,000. Final compensation amounts are determined by multiple factors, including candidate experience and expertise, and may vary from the amount listed above. 

As an employee at Ridgeline, you’ll have many opportunities for advancement in your career and can make a true impact on the product. 

In addition to the base salary, Ridgeline employees can participate in our Company Stock Plan subject to the applicable Stock Option Agreement. We also offer rich benefits that reflect the kind of organization we want to be: one in which our employees feel valued and are inspired to bring their best selves to work. These include unlimited vacation, educational and wellness reimbursements, and $0 cost employee insurance plans. Please check out our Careers page for a more comprehensive overview of our perks and benefits.

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