Staff Database Engineer and AI Orchestrator

We exist to wow our customers. We know we’re doing the right thing when we hear our customers say, “How did we ever live without Coupang?” Born out of an obsession to make shopping, eating, and living easier than ever, we’re collectively disrupting the multi-billion-dollar e-commerce industry from the ground up. We are one of the fastest-growing e-commerce companies that established an unparalleled reputation for being a dominant and reliable force in South Korean commerce.   

We are proud to have the best of both worlds — a startup culture with the resources of a large global public company. This fuels us to continue our growth and launch new services at the speed we have been since our inception. We are all entrepreneurs surrounded by opportunities to drive new initiatives and innovations. At our core, we are bold and ambitious people that like to get our hands dirty and make a hands-on impact. At Coupang, you will see yourself, your colleagues, your team, and the company grow every day.   

Our mission to build the future of commerce is real. We push the boundaries of what’s possible to solve problems and break traditional tradeoffs. Join Coupang now to create an epic experience in this always-on, high-tech, and hyper-connected world.  

Role Overview

We are looking for a skilled and experienced Database Engineer with AI experience to join the Customer Success team at Coupang. The Customer Success team obsesses over the success of development and application teams by delivering high-quality storage infrastructure. In this role, you will be responsible for developing tools and automation (scripts, AI) for reliable operations of Aurora MySQL, Aurora PostgreSQL, DocumentDB, DynamoDB, Cassandra, and TiDB databases in a high-traffic, mission-critical e-commerce environment. You will work closely with development teams and application teams to ensure database reliability, performance, and availability while driving operational excellence through automation and best practices. 

At Coupang, we Aim High and Find a Way to solve impossible problems. You will be responsible for building a system that doesn't just meet industry standards but sets them, ensuring 5-6 nines availability while leveraging AI to automate complex system behaviors and self-healing capabilities

What You Will Do

• AI Automation
• Generate AI Skills and Context prompts to automate storage engine and code and configuration generation across storage technologies. 

Database Operations & Management 

• Manage and operate large-scale Amazon Aurora MySQL and Aurora PostgreSQL clusters in production environments. 
• Perform database maintenance tasks including version upgrades (minor/major), patching, and parameter tuning.
• Execute Blue/Green Deployment (BGD) based upgrades and migrations with minimal downtime. 

Performance Optimization 

• Monitor and analyze database performance using AWS CloudWatch, Performance Insights, and internal monitoring tools.
• Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks through query optimization, index tuning, and configuration adjustments.
• Conduct capacity planning and provide recommendations for scaling strategies. 

Reliability & Availability 

• Ensure high availability and reliability of database services through proactive monitoring and incident response.
• Participate in on-call rotations and respond to database-related incidents in a timely manner.
• Design and implement failover strategies and validate recovery procedures. 

Automation & Tooling 

• Develop and maintain automation scripts and tools (Python) for database operations, reducing manual intervention.
• Create and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all database operations.
• Contribute to internal tooling and operational frameworks. 

Collaboration 

• Partner with application development teams to provide database architecture guidance and support.
• Collaborate with infrastructure and security teams on database-related projects (e.g., SPIRE-based DB authentication).
• Participate in change management processes and conduct thorough reviews of database changes. 

Basic Qualifications 

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Electrical Engineering, Math, or a closely related field
• 6 years of experience in backend software development
• Proficiency in Java and the Spring Framework
• Experience working in cloud environments, particularly AWS
• Demonstrated experience in building and maintaining highly available, distributed systems

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience: 10+ years of hands-on experience as a Database Engineer. 

• AI Automation: 2+ years of creating AI Automation for your own or company workflows, storage, or code. 

• Aurora / RDS: 5+ years of experience managing Amazon Aurora MySQL and/or Aurora PostgreSQL in production environments. 

• MySQL: Strong expertise in MySQL 8.0+ including replication, InnoDB internals, query optimization, and troubleshooting. 

• PostgreSQL: Working knowledge of PostgreSQL including extensions, vacuuming, and major version upgrade procedures. 

• AWS: Proficiency with AWS database services (Aurora, RDS) and related services (CloudWatch, IAM, VPC, Parameter Groups). 

• Scripting: Proficiency in Python or similar scripting languages for automation. 

• Operations: Experience with database operations in large-scale, high-traffic environments (10,000+ TPS)

Pay & Benefits 

Our compensation reflects the cost of living across several US geographic markets. At Coupang, your base pay is one part of your total compensation. 

The base pay for this position ranges from $164,000/year to $282,000/year. Pay is based on several factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills and experience. 

General Description of All Benefits 

• Annual bonus is 0-20% of the base salary
• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life, AD&D insurance
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) & Health Savings Account (HAS)
• Long-term/Short-term Disability
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) program
• 401K Plan with Company Match
• 18-21 days of Paid Time Off (PTO) a year based on the tenure
• 12 Paid Holidays
• Paid Parental leave
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• MTV- [Free] Electric Car Charging Station 

General Description of Other Compensation 

“Other Compensation” includes, but is not limited to, bonuses, equity, or other forms of compensation that would be offered to the hired applicant in addition to their established salary or wage scale. 

Recruitment Process and Others  

Recruitment Process   

• Application Review - Phone Interview - Onsite (or Virtual Onsite) Interview – Offer 

• The exact nature of the recruitment process may vary according to the specific job and may be changed due to scheduling or other circumstances. 

• Interview schedules and the results will be informed to the applicant via the e-mail address submitted at the application stage. 

Details to Consider  

• This job posting may be closed prior to the stated end date for application if all openings are filled. 

• Coupang has the right to rescind an offer of employment if a candidate is found to have submitted false information as part of the application process. 

• Coupang does not discriminate against disabled applicants or those with veteran status. We are proud to offer equal opportunities for all applicants. 

 Privacy Notice   

• Your personal information will be collected and managed by Coupang as stated in the Application Privacy Notice located below: https://www.coupang.jobs/privacy-policy/  

Coupang is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or gender (including pregnancy, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, transgender status), national origin, age, disability, medical condition, HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C status, marital status, military or veteran status, use of a trained dog guide or service animal, political activities, or affiliations, citizenship, or any other characteristic or class protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation in the recruiting process due to a disability, please contact us at [email protected].