At a Glance
- Tasks: Ensure database reliability and architect automated strategies for seamless upgrades.
- Company: Join Starling, the UK's leading digital bank on a mission to transform banking.
- Benefits: Enjoy 25 days holiday, private medical insurance, and flexible working options.
- Other info: Diverse and inclusive workplace with excellent career growth opportunities.
- Why this job: Be part of a team that values innovation and collaboration in fintech.
- Qualifications: Expertise in PostgreSQL and Kubernetes, with a passion for coding.
The predicted salary is between 85500 - 104500 £ per year.
Starling is the UK's first and leading digital bank on a mission to fix banking! Our vision is fast technology, fair service, and honest values. All at the tap of a phone, all the time. We built a new kind of bank because we knew technology had the power to help people save, spend and manage their money in a new and transformative way. We're a fully licensed UK bank with the culture and spirit of a fast-moving, disruptive tech company. We're a bank, but better: fairer, easier to use and designed to demystify money for everyone. We employ more than 3,000 people across our London, Southampton, Cardiff and Manchester offices.
Our technologists are at the very heart of Starling and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment that is all about building things, creating new stuff, and disruptive technology that keeps us on the cutting edge of fintech. We operate a flat structure to empower you to make decisions regardless of what your primary responsibilities may be; innovation and collaboration will be at the core of everything you do. Help is never far away in our open culture; you will find support in your team and from across the business, we are in this together!
The way to thrive and shine within Starling is to be a self-driven individual and be able to take full ownership of everything around you: from building things, designing, discovering, to sharing knowledge with your colleagues and making sure all processes are efficient and productive to deliver the best possible results for our customers. Our purpose is underpinned by five Starling values: Listen, Keep It Simple, Do The Right Thing, Own It, and Aim For Greatness.
Hybrid Working
We have a Hybrid approach to working here at Starling - our preference is that you're located within a commutable distance of one of our offices so that we're able to interact and collaborate in person. In Technology, we're asking that you attend the office a minimum of 1 day per week.
Our Data Environment
Our Data teams are aligned to divisions covering the following Banking Services & Products, Customer Identity & Financial Crime and Data & ML Engineering. Our Data teams are excited about delivering meaningful and impactful insights to both the business and more importantly our customers.
What You'll Be Doing
- Modernize and Scale the RDS Fleet: Ensure the rock-solid reliability of our existing RDS footprint. You will architect automated strategies for seamless, multi-version upgrades and proactive performance tuning to minimize downtime across hundreds of instances.
- Architect Cross-Cloud Portability: Use CNPG and cloud-native patterns to ensure our database layer remains provider-agnostic, allowing seamless deployment across AWS and GCP.
- Evolve Observability & Monitoring: Build deep, proactive monitoring and alerting for our global database fleet. You will ensure we have the visibility to detect performance regressions and health issues before they impact our customers.
- Support Replication & Mobility: Support data streaming and 'Zero-Downtime' migration strategies, ensuring data consistency and availability.
- Fortify Business Continuity (BCP): Design and implement rigorous Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery strategies. You will build the automation that ensures data durability and rapid recovery across regions, guaranteeing that database remains resilient in the face of any failures.
Requirements
- PostgreSQL & Kubernetes Expert: You have extensive experience working with Postgres and a passion for running stateful workloads natively on Kubernetes.
- Systems Thinker: You have a natural 'reluctance for manual implementation.' You believe infrastructure should be managed entirely via code, using Terraform to provision the foundation and custom APIs to handle the orchestration.
- Distributed Systems Enthusiast: You are excited by the challenge of 'multi-everything' - multi-tenant, multi-region, and multi-cloud - while ensuring rigorous data integrity and mobility.
- A Security & Observability Mindset: You believe security is paramount. You focus on building deep observability (Prometheus/Grafana/OpenTelemetry/Humio) and automated guardrails so the fleet is secure by design without requiring manual intervention.
- Engineering via Code: While you are a systems expert, your primary delivery mechanism is code. You leverage Java to build the robust, testable backend services that orchestrate our data layer, taking pride in clean relational modeling and performant DDL.
Interview process
Interviewing is a two-way process and we want you to have the time and opportunity to get to know us, as much as we are getting to know you! Our interviews are conversational and we want to get the best from you, so come with questions and be curious. In general, you can expect the below, following a chat with one of our Talent Team:
- Stage 1 - 30 mins with one of the team
- Stage 2 - Take-home challenge
- Stage 3 - 60 mins technical interview with two team members
- Stage 4 - 45 min final with two data executives
Benefits
- 25 days holiday (plus take your public holiday allowance whenever works best for you)
- An extra day's holiday for your birthday
- Annual leave is increased with length of service, and you can choose to buy or sell up to five extra days off
- 16 hours paid volunteering time a year
- Salary sacrifice, company enhanced pension scheme
- Life insurance at 4x your salary & group income protection
- Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth including mental health support and cancer care. Partner benefits include discounts with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith and Peloton
- Generous family-friendly policies
- Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks
- Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work, Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships and Electric Vehicle (EV) leasing
About Us
You may be put off applying for a role because you don't tick every box. Forget that! While we can't accommodate every flexible working request, we're always open to discussion. So, if you're excited about working with us, but aren't sure if you're 100% there yet, get in touch anyway. We're on a mission to radically reshape banking - and that starts with our brilliant team. Whatever came before, we're proud to bring together people of all backgrounds and experiences who love working together to solve problems.
Starling Bank is an equal opportunity employer, and we're proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Starling Bank are considered without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Database Reliability Engineer employer: Starling
Starling Bank is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that blends the innovation of a tech company with the stability of a fully licensed bank. Employees benefit from a hybrid working model, generous leave policies, and a commitment to personal growth through continuous learning and collaboration. With a focus on diversity and inclusion, Starling fosters an environment where every team member can thrive and contribute to reshaping the future of banking.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Database Reliability Engineer
✨Tap into Local Tech Meetups
Get yourself to local tech meetups or database management conferences. It's a really great way to meet industry professionals and potentially uncover unadvertised full-time roles. When chatting with people, mention your skills and interests in database management; you never know who might be looking for someone just like you!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Diving into open-source projects can not only sharpen your database skills but also get you noticed by employers. Many companies look for candidates who actively contribute to projects – it shows initiative and a real passion for the field. Plus, it's a perfect excuse to connect with other developers and expand your professional network.
✨Utilise Professional Bodies
Sign up for professional bodies related to database management, like the British Computer Society. They often host events and networking opportunities that can lead directly to job openings in the full-time market. Plus, it adds a nice touch to your professional profile!
✨Showcase Your Skills in a Public Portfolio
As you’re on the hunt for that full-time role, make sure to have a public portfolio that displays your best database projects. This can easily set you apart from the competition. And when you apply for roles, definitely mention it – it shows employers you mean business and are proud of your work!
We think you need these skills to ace Database Reliability Engineer
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your database skills:When applying for a full-time role in database management, it’s super important to highlight your skills with specific database technologies like SQL, NoSQL, or any relevant data visualisation tools. We want to see how you've used these tools in real projects, so don't shy away from detailing your hands-on experience!
Tailor your CV for data:Make sure your CV is structured clearly, focusing on your previous experience in database management. Use specific metrics to demonstrate your impact, like how you improved data retrieval times or reduced errors. This isn't just about what you've done; it’s about what you’ve achieved with your skills!
Craft a compelling cover letter:In your cover letter, share what excites you about database management and how you can contribute to Starling. Mention any relevant projects where you tackled challenges or implemented new solutions. Let us know why you want to join our team and how your passion aligns with our goals.
Document your projects:If you've worked on interesting database projects—maybe during your studies or in previous roles—be sure to include those in your application. If you can, link to a portfolio or GitHub repo where we can see examples of your work. Having a tangible showcase of your skills will really make your application stand out!
How to prepare for a job interview at Starling
✨Brush Up on Database Tools
Make sure you're well-versed with popular database management systems like MySQL, PostgreSQL, or MongoDB. Incorporating real-world examples of how you've used these tools in past projects will show that you can put theory into practice, which is something Starling will definitely appreciate.
✨Know Your SQL Inside Out
Get ready for some technical questions focused on SQL queries and database design. We should anticipate coding challenges where you might need to optimise queries or design a database schema on the spot. Practising these problems will build our confidence to impress in the interview.
✨Demonstrate Problem-Solving Skills
Besides just technical know-how, be prepared to answer scenario-based questions that test your critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Think about how you would approach data integrity issues or handle performance bottlenecks — Starling will want to see your analytical side!
✨Show Your Collaboration Spirit
Since this is a full-time role, it's crucial to highlight how you've collaborated with cross-functional teams or contributed to team projects in the past. Emphasising our interpersonal skills will demonstrate that you’re not just a tech wizard, but also a team player who fits well with Starling's culture.
