About this role.
Supabase is seeking a senior-level Postgres Engineer to strengthen the reliability, performance, and functionality of its globally distributed managed PostgreSQL platform. The role centers on developing PostgreSQL extensions in C and Rust, working deeply with core internals such as the parser, planner, WAL, MVCC, background workers, shared memory, and hooks. The engineer will diagnose complex production issues, manage extension compatibility and upgrades, and own safe deployment pipelines across thousands of database instances. This is a highly autonomous remote role requiring close collaboration with customers and internal engineering, product, support, and success teams. Success depends on strong production operations judgment alongside advanced database systems expertise.
Role DNA
A quick view of the complexity, pace, ownership and collaboration implied by the job description.
Job Complexity
5/5Pace & Pressure
5/5Autonomy Level
5/5Communication Load
4/5Salary analysis
Estimated compensation compared with the broader US market for similar roles.
Core skills
Skills and capabilities most closely associated with this opportunity.
Sample interview questions
I would first establish scope and timing, compare extension and PostgreSQL versions, and collect query plans, wait events, database metrics, and relevant logs. I would reproduce the behavior in an isolated environment using representative data where possible, identify whether the cause is planner behavior, locking, resource contention, or extension code, then prepare a mitigated rollback or targeted fix with a staged rollout plan.
The primary risks are version skew, dependency ordering, failed or partially applied migrations, incompatibilities with core PostgreSQL versions, and tenant-specific workload effects. I would use idempotent migrations, explicit preflight checks, observability, canary deployments, rollback paths, and progressive rollout gates to make deployments safe and recoverable.
An extension must respect transaction visibility, concurrency, crash recovery, and replication semantics. I would ensure changes are transactionally correct, understand whether operations generate WAL appropriately, avoid unsafe shared-state assumptions, and test behavior under concurrent transactions, failover, and recovery scenarios.
I would preserve the core file and matching binaries, inspect stack traces with debugging symbols, identify the extension code path and PostgreSQL server state, and correlate the crash with logs and workload events. After isolating a minimal reproduction, I would fix the unsafe behavior, add regression coverage, and validate the patch under stress and upgrade conditions before release.
I would apply defense in depth through correct role and grant design, Row Level Security where appropriate, strict ownership boundaries, secure defaults in extension code, and thorough testing for privilege escalation paths. I would also audit operational tooling and deployment processes so administrative actions cannot inadvertently cross tenant boundaries.
Supabase is the Postgres development platform, built by developers for developers. We provide a complete backend solution including Database, Auth, Storage, Edge Functions, Realtime, and Vector Search. All services are deeply integrated and designed for growth.
About the Role
We’re looking for a Senior Postgres Engineer to join our Postgres Team and help maintain and expand the stability and functionality of our hosted Postgres offering . You’ll work closely with customers, partners, product, engineering, support and success, helping us maintain a secure, stable, performant, and functional Postgres foundation.
This role is ideal for someone who thrives in async, fast-paced environments and is excited about building developer tools that scale to millions.
What you’ll own:
Build and maintain PostgreSQL extensions in C and Rust, with a deep understanding of internals — parser, planner, WAL mechanics, and MVCC
Diagnose and resolve issues in managed PostgreSQL deployments, including custom extension failures, core dump analysis, and performance bottlenecks
Own idempotent deployment pipelines across thousands of running PostgreSQL instances, including testing and rollout strategies
Manage complex extension ecosystems — compatibility, upgrade paths, and conflict resolution
Work with PostgreSQL’s background worker framework, shared memory management, and hook system to build reliable, scalable functionality
Collaborate closely with customers, partners, product, engineering, support, and success teams to maintain a secure, stable, and performant Postgres foundation
What you bring:
Deep expertise in PostgreSQL internals – query planner, executor, and storage engine mechanics
Proven experience building PostgreSQL extensions in both C and Rust
Strong knowledge of PostgreSQL’s permission model: RLS, roles, and grant systems
Experience troubleshooting production issues in managed PostgreSQL environments, including custom extension issues, performance bottlenecks, and resource contention
Comfortable building, testing, and owning idempotent deployments across thousands of running Postgres instances
Ability to read and navigate PostgreSQL source code confidently
Experience with multi-tenant database architectures
Experience running PostgreSQL at scale
What We Offer
Fully Remote
We hire globally. We believe you can do your best work from anywhere. There are no Supabase offices, but we provide a WeWork membership or co-working allowance you can use anywhere in the world.
ESOP
Every team member receives ESOP (equity ownership) in the company. We want everyone to share in the upside of what we’re building together.
Tech Allowance
Use this budget to set up your ideal work environment—laptop, monitor, headphones, or whatever helps you do your best work.
Health Benefits
Supabase covers 100% of health insurance for employees and 80% for dependents, wherever you are. Your wellbeing and your family’s health are important to us.
Annual Off-Sites
Once a year, the entire company gathers in a new city for a week of connection, collaboration, and fun. It’s a highlight of our year.
Flexible Work
We operate asynchronously and trust you to manage your own time. You know what needs to be done and when.
Professional Development
Every team member receives an annual education allowance to spend on learning—courses, books, conferences, or anything that supports your growth.
About the Team
Supabase was born-remote and open-source-first. We believe our globally distributed team is our secret weapon in building tools developers love.
~400 team members
60+ countries
20+ languages spoken
Over $1B raised (including our $500M Series F)
540,000+ community members
We move fast, build in public, and use what we ship. If it’s in your project, we probably use it in ours too. We believe deeply in the open-source ecosystem and strive to support—not replace—existing tools and communities.
Annual salary information is not provided for this position. Explore salary ranges for similar roles in our Salary Directory ›
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