Staff Database Reliability Engineer

The Company

PayPal has been revolutionizing commerce globally for more than 25 years. Creating innovative experiences that make moving money, selling, and shopping simple, personalized, and secure, PayPal empowers consumers and businesses in approximately 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy. 

We operate a global, two-sided network at scale that connects hundreds of millions of merchants and consumers. We help merchants and consumers connect, transact, and complete payments, whether they are online or in person. PayPal is more than a connection to third-party payment networks. We provide proprietary payment solutions accepted by merchants that enable the completion of payments on our platform on behalf of our customers.

We offer our customers the flexibility to use their accounts to purchase and receive payments for goods and services, as well as the ability to transfer and withdraw funds. We enable consumers to exchange funds more safely with merchants using a variety of funding sources, which may include a bank account, a PayPal or Venmo account balance, PayPal and Venmo branded credit products, a credit card, a debit card, certain cryptocurrencies, or other stored value products such as gift cards, and eligible credit card rewards.  Our PayPal, Venmo, and Xoom products also make it safer and simpler for friends and family to transfer funds to each other. We offer merchants an end-to-end payments solution that provides authorization and settlement capabilities, as well as instant access to funds and payouts. We also help merchants connect with their customers, process exchanges and returns, and manage risk. We enable consumers to engage in cross-border shopping and merchants to extend their global reach while reducing the complexity and friction involved in enabling cross-border trade. 

Our beliefs are the foundation for how we conduct business every day.  We live each day guided by our core values of Inclusion, Innovation, Collaboration, and Wellness. Together, our values ensure that we work together as one global team with our customers at the center of everything we do – and they push us to ensure we take care of ourselves, each other, and our communities.

Job Summary:

At PayPal, the Transaction Processing and Data Services (TPDS) team powers the backbone of our global payments platform, processing billions of transactions through our mission-critical OLTP database infrastructure. We're seeking an exceptional Database Reliability Engineer to join our Database SRE team in a role that combines technical expertise with incident management leadership.

As a Database SRE specializing in incident management, you'll be at the forefront of maintaining and improving the reliability of systems that millions of customers depend on daily. This role offers the opportunity to drive significant improvements in our incident response capabilities, with a particular focus on reducing Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time to Recover (MTTR) across our database platform.

You'll work with cutting-edge database technologies at scale, collaborate with best-in-class engineers, and have the autonomy to implement new solutions that enhance our platform's resilience. This position is ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment, enjoys solving complex technical challenges, and is passionate about building robust, reliable systems that operate at a global scale.

Job Description:

Roles and Responsibilities:

Incident & Problem Management

• Lead incident response activities for database-related issues, facilitate incident calls, and manage escalation procedures
• Orchestrate effective communication between technical teams, stakeholders, and executive leadership during incidents.
• Drive through post-incident reviews for all high-severity (P0/P1) incidents with stakeholders, ensuring comprehensive root cause analysis, extracting key learnings, and identifying improvement opportunities
• Define clear, actionable, and measurable corrective actions, establish timelines and ownership for each corrective action, and perform regular follow-ups on progress.
• Champion initiatives to strengthen security and operational resilience

Process Improvement

• Drive continuous improvement in incident management processes and tools
• Monitor and analyze incident trends to identify systemic issues
• Maintain reports for tracking incident metrics and corrective action status
• Establish regular reviews with leadership on the effectiveness of implemented solutions

Required Skills

• Strong experience in database technologies and distributed systems
• Proven track record in incident management and problem-solving
• Excellent communication skills, particularly during high-pressure situations with ability to articulate complex technical issues clearly to various stakeholders
• Experience with monitoring tools and observability platforms
• Strong analytical skills for complex root cause analysis
• Ability to influence and drive change across multiple teams
• Experience with infrastructure as code and automation practices

Basic Qualifications:

• 12 + years of experience with database technologies, building and managing highly scalable, highly available, and performant systems with an understanding of incident/problem management functions

Subsidiary:

PayPal

Travel Percent:

0

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PayPal is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices.

Actual Compensation is based on various factors including but not limited to work location, and relevant skills and experience.

The total compensation for this practice may include an annual performance bonus (or other incentive compensation, as applicable), equity, and medical, dental, vision, and other benefits. For more information, visit https://www.paypalbenefits.com.

The US national annual pay range for this role is $137,500 to $236,500

For the majority of employees, PayPal's balanced hybrid work model offers 3 days in the office for effective in-person collaboration and 2 days at your choice of either the PayPal office or your home workspace, ensuring that you equally have the benefits and conveniences of both locations.

Our Benefits:

At PayPal, we’re committed to building an equitable and inclusive global economy. And we can’t do this without our most important asset—you. That’s why we offer benefits to help you thrive in every stage of life. We champion your financial, physical, and mental health by offering valuable benefits and resources to help you care for the whole you.

We have great benefits including a flexible work environment, employee shares options, health and life insurance and more. To learn more about our benefits please visit https://www.paypalbenefits.com.

Who We Are:

Click Here to learn more about our culture and community.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion 

PayPal provides equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.  In addition, PayPal will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.  If you are unable to submit an application because of incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at talentaccommodations@paypal.com.

Belonging at PayPal: 

Our employees are central to advancing our mission, and we strive to create an environment where everyone can do their best work with a sense of purpose and belonging. Belonging at PayPal means creating a workplace with a sense of acceptance and security where all employees feel included and valued. We are proud to have a diverse workforce reflective of the merchants, consumers, and communities that we serve, and we continue to take tangible actions to cultivate inclusivity and belonging at PayPal.

Any general requests for consideration of your skills, please Join our Talent Community.

We know the confidence gap and imposter syndrome can get in the way of meeting spectacular candidates. Please don’t hesitate to apply.