PayNearMe · 1 month ago
Sr. Database Performance Engineer - Remote
United States
Full-time
Remote
Senior Level
$175K/yr - $190K/yr
6+ years expPayNearMe is on a mission to simplify payments through innovative technology. They are seeking a Sr. Database Performance Engineer to identify and resolve slow MySQL queries, enhance application responsiveness, and improve overall system performance across their payment platform.
Financial ServicesFinTechMobile PaymentsPayments
Responsibilities
Work hands-on to identify, analyze, and resolve slow ActiveRecord queries across the Rails monolith
Optimize query performance through indexing, query rewriting, and schema improvements
Collaborate with DBAs and other technical teams to diagnose and remediate database bottlenecks
Validate all performance improvements through testing, and performance measurement at high load
Use Datadog to analyze query performance and identify high-impact optimization opportunities
Implement selective caching in Redis where appropriate to reduce database load
Document findings and share best practices for performant query design
Contribute to long-term performance and scalability efforts across MySQL, TiDB, Elasticache, and Opensearch
Qualification
Required
Deep expertise with Ruby on Rails, able to craft elegant and minimal solutions to complex problems
Deep expertise with ActiveRecord MySQL query optimization — must go way beyond standard ActiveRecord use
Strong understanding of SQL execution and query optimization at the engine level
6–10+ years of professional experience (senior level)
Proven ability to read, understand, and improve complex application code across large systems
Experience tuning queries, adding indexes, and interpreting execution plans
Comfortable partnering with DBAs and other technical teams to debug and resolve performance issues
Clear communicator who's unafraid to ask questions or seek domain input when needed
Bachelor's degree (BA or BS) or equivalent experience
Preferred
Familiarity with alternative database technologies such as TiDB, Elasticache, Opensearch, or DynamoDB
Direct experience moving a Rails application to TiDB would be a huge plus
Opinions and practical experience regarding when to choose one database technology over another
Experience with query analysis and performance tooling (e.g., Datadog, Looker, K6)
Experience with large-scale data migrations, and tools for doing this (e.g. gh-ost)
Familiarity with the AWS ecosystem
Benefits
Competitive salary and benefits with growth-company options grant
Stock options with standard startup vesting - 1 year cliff; 4 years total
$50 monthly communication expense stipend to go towards your phone/internet bill
$250 stipend to enhance your WFH setup
Reimbursement for peripheral equipment: monitor (up to $400), keyboard and mouse (up to $200)
Premium medical benefits including vision and dental (100% coverage for employees)
Company-sponsored life and disability insurance
Paid parental bonding leave
Paid sick leave, jury duty, bereavement
401k plan
Flexible Time Off (our team members typically take off ~3-4 weeks per year)
Volunteer Time Off
13 scheduled holidays
Company
PayNearMe
PayNearMe provides a web and mobile-based cash payments platform designed to facilitate online purchases and bill payments.
201-500 employees
H1B Sponsorship
PayNearMe has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (3)
2024 (3)
2023 (4)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$168.2MKey Investors
AVPQueensland Investment CorporationGSV Ventures
2025-09-16Series E· $50M
2023-06-01Series D· $45M
2020-01-01Debt Financing· $12.5M
Leadership Team
Tim Murphy
VP, Head of Risk
Lee-Anne Farley
Chief People Officer
Recent News
Crowdfund Insider
2025-10-28
2025-10-23
Help Net Security
2025-10-20
Company data provided by crunchbase