About the role
Job Application for Staff/Principal Database Engineer at Everlaw Back to jobs Staff/Principal Database Engineer Oakland, California, United States Apply Everlaw is looking for a Staff or Principal Database Engineer to serve as the technical cornerstone of our data infrastructure. As a mid-sized SaaS company experiencing rapid growth, our challenge isn't just storing data—it's ensuring that data is highly available, performant at scale, and ready to power the next generation of AI-driven features. In this role, you will be the in-house expert for our databases and storage layer, moving fluidly between low-level optimizations and high-level architectural design. You will have the autonomy to make high-stakes decisions and the resources to implement the latest advancements in data infrastructure. You will help to drive the work of a core squad of engineers, as well as provide technical guidance to engineers to level up their database expertise across the broader engineering organization. You’ll also collaborate with (and learn from) a community of other staff and principal engineers with industry-leading expertise in search, cloud infrastructure, full stack SaaS application design, data science, and performance. You’ll have regular visibility to, and interactions with, our Chief Technology Officer and other senior leaders at the company. Note: We value "applied" expertise. We are looking for someone who loves the theory but lives for the practice of keeping production systems running smoothly. At Everlaw, engineering is key to our mission. Our company culture is open and vibrant and we’re committed to the professional growth of our team members, offering an annual learning and development stipend and regular check-ins with managers regarding career goals. If you’re looking for a place that values passion, integrity, thinking big, and a desire to learn, we’d love to hear from you! Think you’re missing some of the skills and are hesitant to apply? We do not believe in the ‘perfect’ candidate and encourage you to apply if you feel you can bring value to our team. This is a full-time, exempt position located onsite (3 days/week in office) in Oakland, California. Getting started We want you to feel like part of the team early on! Our onboarding process will integrate you into the company with informative sessions on our product, policies, processes, and team structure and goals. We’re excited for you to learn, grow, and contribute right away! We trust that you’ll bring industry experience and knowledge that will uplift and uplevel the team, but we don’t expect you to know everything on Day 1. In your role, you'll... Design Everlaw’s database and storage strategy: Direct how our primary transactional databases interface with our coding architecture, caching layers, and analytics data store. Design for scalability, sharding, and replication: Lead the strategy for horizontal scaling, including logical partitioning and sharding, to support our growing SaaS environment. You’ll own the design of multi-region replication strategies and failover mechanisms to ensure high availability. You’ll build systems to monitor and mitigate replication lag and data consistency. Dive deep into database performance tuning: Analyze and optimize database internals, including memory management, disk I/O, and query execution plans. Plan for low-downtime migrations : Lead the design and execution of database migration strategies for SQL environments to ensure high availability and minimal business interruption. Put observability front and center in our approach: Build and maintain tooling to provide visibility into database health and bottleneck identification before they impact customers. Always be learning: Stay at the forefront of the industry, evaluating when to adopt emerging technologies versus optimizing our existing stack. You’ll bring back your learnings to the team and how you might apply these to our work. About you You have at least 10 years of experience in software engineering, with at least 6 years of experience in database engineering. You have a deep understanding of the storage engines and locking mechanisms of at least one major RDBMS (Postgres or MySQL preferred). You have experience with Distributed Systems: Proven track record of managing databases in a cloud environment (AWS, GCP, or Azure). You have a record of Leadership. You have demonstrated you can mentor senior engineers and influence the broader engineering organization’s data culture. Pluses You have practical experience with vector search , including databases such as Weaviate, Chroma, Pinecone, or pgvector) to support embeddings and RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) for our AI initiatives. Benefits The expected salary range for this role is between $228,000 - $340,000. The final offered salary will be dependent upon many factors including the candidate’s experience and skills. The base pay range is subject to change in the future. Equity program 401(k) retirement plan with company matching Health, dental, and vision Flexible Spending Accounts for health and dependent care expenses Paid parental leave and approximately 10 days (80 hours) per year of sick leave Seventeen paid vacation days plus 11 federal holidays Membership to Modern Health to help employees prioritize mental health and wellness Annual allocation for Learning & Development opportunities and applicable professional membership dues Company-sponsored life and disability insurance Find out more about our Benefits and Perks Perks Work in Downtown Oakland, just steps from the BART line and dozens of restaurants You will get a powerful Linux laptop and be able to customize your desk setup Bond over team lunches and out-of-the-box events Ranked “ #1 on G2 for Ediscovery Software and Momentum ” and we offer free eDiscovery resources to benefit the greater societal good with Everlaw for Good Time off for company-sponsored volunteer events and 4 paid hours per quarter to volunteer at a charitable organization of your choice Take advantage of learning and career development opportunities Ranked #9 on Glassdoor's Best Places to Work 2023 for US small and medium companies One of Wealthfront’s 2021 Career Launching Companies , and ranked #2 on the “ 2022 Bay Area Best Places to Work ” list by the San Francisco Business Times and the Silicon Valley Business Journal One of Fast Company’s World's Most Innovative Companies for 2022 and proud contributor of free ediscovery resources to benefit the greater good through “Everlaw for Good” #LI-EJ1 #LI-Hybrid Pursue Truth While Finding Yours At Everlaw, we are deeply invested in pursuing the truth, for our clients and for our employees. We know that when you’re empowered to pursue your passions, it is reflected in the work. That’s why we’re committed to the professional growth of all our team members, offering an annual learning and development stipend and regular career check-ins with managers. If you’re looking for a place that values passion, integrity, and a desire to learn, we’d love to hear from you! About Everlaw We help law firms, government agencies, and corporations sift through millions of documents of evidence in big lawsuits and investigations to find the proverbial smoking gun (or needle in the haystack -- pick your metaphor). It's a multi-billion dollar space typically dominated by service-oriented vendors, and we're coming at it with cutting-edge technology and elegant design. It's working, and we've been growing very rapidly: we host hundreds of terabytes of data and work with all 50 state Attorneys General and hundreds of law firms on some of the most high-profile cases litigated today. Everlaw is an equal opportunity employer. We pride ourselves on having a diverse workforce and we do not discriminate against any employee or applicant because of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition, or any other basis protected by law. We respect the gender, gender identity and gender expression of our applicants and employees, and we honor requests for pronouns. It is our policy to comply with all applicable national, state and local laws pertaining to nondiscrimination and equal opportunity, including the California Equal Pay Act . Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. We collect and process the personal information you provided along with your job application in accordance with our Applicants Privacy Notice and Notice at Collection . When preparing to engage with Everlaw as a candidate, you may use AI tools for research, polishing application materials, and interview prep. However, any assessments (unless explicitly stated), remote interviews or live interviews must be completed independently without AI support. By submitting your application, you agree to adhere to these rules. Here's the link to our full policy , and please reach out with any questions! We use Covey as part of our hiring and/or promotional processes. As part of the evaluation process, we provide Covey with job requirements and candidate-submitted applications. Certain features of the platform may qualify it as an Automated Employment Decision Tool (AEDT) under applicable regulations. For positions in New York City, our use of Covey complies with NYC Local Law 144. We began using Covey Scout for Inbound on the 9th of June, 2025. Create a Job Alert Interested in building your career at Everlaw? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email. Create alert Apply for this job * indicates a required field Autofill with MyGreenhouse First Name * Last Name * Email * Phone Country * Phone * Resume/CV * Attach Attach Dropbox Google Drive Enter manually Enter manually Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf Cover Letter Attach Attach Dropbox Google Drive Enter manually Enter manually Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf LinkedIn Profile Website What is your favorite programming language and why? Please confirm the city AND state you currently reside in: * Is there a nickname, preferred name, or chosen name we should call you by? Are you authorized to work in the United States without restrictions? * Select... Will you now or in the future require any type of sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g. H1-B status)?) * Select... Have you previously worked in the e-discovery or legal tech/services industry? * Select... Are you subject to a non-compete agreement, non-disclosure agreement, confidentiality agreement, or other similar restrictive covenant agreement that could prohibit your being able to perform the duties associated with the position you are applying for? * Select... I understand, affirm, and agree that I am strictly prohibited from taking, using, or disclosing any information, electronic or otherwise, that any current or former employer treats or characterizes as trade secret, confidential, or proprietary. This prohibition applies to all stages of my relationship with Everlaw, including the application process, the interview process, and if hired, throughout my employment. I further understand and agree that I am strictly prohibited from placing or storing any such information on any of Everlaw’s systems or devices, including but not limited to computers, cell phones, or cloud storage. * Select... By agreeing to the affirmations above, I acknowledge my continuing legal obligations to my current and former employers. If I am subject to any prior written agreements that may restrict my ability to perform the duties of the position for which I am applying, I will detail those restrictions in the “Additional Information” section below and provide copies of such agreements to Everlaw. * Select... Additional Information How did you hear about Everlaw? * Select... If you selected Other, Career Fair, or Agency, please specify here Voluntary Self-Identification For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file. As set forth in Everlaw’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law. Gender Select... Are you Hispanic/Latino? Select... Race & Ethnicity Definitions If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows: A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability. A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service. An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense. An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985. Veteran Status Select... Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability Form CC-305 Page 1 of 1 OMB Control Number 1250-0005 Expires 04/30/2026 Why are you being asked to complete this form? We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years. Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at . How do you know if you have a disability? A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to: Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally) Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS Blind or low vision Cancer (past or present) Cardiovascular or heart disease Celiac disease Cerebral palsy Deaf or serious difficulty hearing Diabetes Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders Epilepsy or other seizure disorder Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome Intellectual or developmental disability Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD Missing limbs or partially missing limbs Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS) Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities Partial or complete paralysis (any cause) Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema Short stature (dwarfism) Traumatic brain injury Disability Status Select... PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete. Submit application Powered by Greenhouse
