# Software Engineer - Sharded Postgres (Neki)

**Company:** [PlanetScale](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/planetscale)
**Location:** San Francisco, CA
**Role:** Backend Engineering
**Salary:** $120k – $290k/yr
**Experience:** 5+ years
**Skills:** Go, Postgres, MySQL, Distributed Systems, Query Optimization, Database Internals, Python, C++, AWS, GCP
**Posted:** 2026-05-20

> Software Engineer building PlanetScale's sharded PostgreSQL platform (Neki) from scratch. Focus on distributed systems, database engines, and high-scale query performance with strong Go and backend experience.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Design and build critical systems that power PlanetScale's sharded PostgreSQL platform (Neki)
- Serve millions of queries per second for some of the world's largest applications
- Collaborate with expert engineers to solve complex distributed systems challenges
- Work independently to solve engineering and business problems with high autonomy
- Work directly with customers to understand their needs and translate them into robust technical solutions

## Requirements
- 5+ years of software engineering experience with a focus on backend systems, database engines, query planners
- Strong proficiency in Go, with experience in other languages like Python or C++
- Experience developing PostgreSQL, MySQL or other databases (not just operating)
- Experience building and operating distributed systems at scale

## Nice-to-Haves
- Experience with database internals, query optimization, or distributed consensus algorithms
- Contributions to open-source projects, especially in the database or infrastructure space
- Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)
- Knowledge of monitoring, observability, and debugging tools
- Previous experience at a high-growth technology company

## Compensation & Benefits
- Base salary range: $120,000 - $290,000 USD
- Total compensation includes base salary + variable comp + benefits + equity

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