Database Reliability Engineer

Get to Know Us

Horizon3.ai is a fast-growing, remote cybersecurity company dedicated to the mission of enabling organizations to proactively find and fix and verify exploitable attack vectors before criminals exploit them. Our flagship product, the NodeZeroTM platform, delivers production-safe autonomous pentests and other key assessment operations that scale across the largest internal, external, cloud, and hybrid cloud environments. NodeZero has been adopted by organizations of all sizes, from small educational institutions to government agencies and Global 100 enterprises. It is used by ITOps/SecOps teams, consulting pentesters, and MSSPs and MSPs. 

We are a fusion of former U.S. Special Operations cyber operators, startup engineers, and formerly frustrated cybersecurity practitioners. We're committed to helping solve our common security problems: ineffective security tools, false positives resulting in alert fatigue, blind spots, "checkbox” security culture, cybersecurity skills shortage, and the long lead time and expense of hiring outside consultants. Collectively, we are a team of learn it alls, committed to a culture of respect, collaboration, ownership, and results.

Summary/Overview

We are seeking a Database Reliability Engineer (DBRE) to ensure the availability, performance, scalability, and security of our mission-critical databases across multiple environments. You will design, optimize, and maintain database infrastructure—primarily in AWS—while collaborating closely with application, platform, and security teams. Your expertise in database architecture, performance tuning, automation, and reliability engineering will help deliver a resilient, self-healing data ecosystem that enables innovation and scale.

Essential Functions

• Architect, deploy, and maintain highly available, secure, and performant database systems across multiple AWS regions. (PostgreSQL and NoSQL)

• Implement automation for database provisioning, scaling, backups, failover, and patch management using Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Crossplane).

• Establish database observability: design and maintain telemetry for query performance, replication lag, disk I/O, and capacity forecasting.

• Partner with development teams to review schema changes, query plans, and application database interactions for efficiency and scalability.

• Drive incident response for database-related outages, including root cause analysis, remediation, and prevention.

• Maintain compliance with industry standards and security frameworks (encryption, access controls, audit logging).

• Collaborate on disaster recovery planning and ensure tested, reliable backup and restore processes.

• Maintain detailed and accurate technical documentation and operational runbooks.

• Evaluate emerging database technologies and patterns; recommend and implement improvements.

Competencies

• 5+ years of experience in database administration, site reliability engineering, or related roles.

• Proven track record in managing mission-critical database environments in production.

• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.

• Strong communication and collaboration across engineering, product, and security teams.

• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver in a fast-paced environment.

Tools (5+ years with each is ideal):

Relational Databases:

• PostgreSQL (Aurora, RDS)

• Query tuning, indexing, and partitioning strategies

• High availability & replication (logical, streaming, multi-region)

NoSQL & Streaming:

• Redis, DynamoDB, Kafka

Infrastructure & Automation:

• Terraform, Crossplane

• Kubernetes Operators for databases

• CI/CD pipelines (GitLab CI/CD)

Monitoring & Observability:

• Datadog, OpenSearch

Cloud Technologies:

• AWS (EC2, S3, EBS, Lambda)

• Networking (VPC, Subnets, Route53, VPC Peering)

• Security (IAM, KMS, Secrets Manager, Vault)

Education:

• Bachelors in Computer Science or STEM or equivalent experience

• MS in Computer Science a plus

Citizenship/Clearance

• US Citizen or GreenCard Holder

Nice to Haves

• Experience in FedRAMP, CC SRG, NIST 800-53, or Authority to Operate (ATO) process.

• Familiarity with AI/ML data pipelines and large-scale analytics workloads.
  

Other duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Travel Required

We are a fully remote company, and this job may require up to 5% of travel to be successful. Job-related travel expenses are reviewed and must be approved by your manager.

Perks of Horizon3.ai

• Inclusive Team: We value diversity and promote an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive.

• Growth Opportunities: Be part of a dynamic and growing team with numerous career development opportunities.

• Innovative Culture: Work in a collaborative environment that encourages creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.

• Remote Work: We are a 100% remote company. Enjoy the convenience and work-life balance that comes with remote work. 

• Competitive Compensation: We offer competitive salary and benefits which includes health, vision & dental care for you and your family, a flexible vacation policy, and generous parental leave. 

You Belong Here

Horizon3 is not just an equal opportunity employer - we are a community that values diversity, equity, and inclusion as fundamental principles of our culture and success. We are dedicated to fostering a workplace where everyone feels welcome and respected, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, or any other legally protected status by law.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion means we strive to attract, develop, and retain a workforce that reflects the varied communities we serve. We believe that diverse perspectives drive innovation and strengthen our ability to create cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions. At Horizon3, every team member is valued and supported in an environment that encourages personal and professional growth.

We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and experiences, and we encourage all qualified individuals to apply. Come be a part of Horizon3, where your unique contributions are recognized, and your potential is limitless.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.