Database Platform Engineer

Join Proton and build a better internet where privacy is the default

Proton was founded in 2014 by scientists from CERN on a simple truth: privacy is a fundamental human right. Since then, we've built the world's largest encrypted email service (Proton Mail) and expanded into Proton VPN, Proton Drive, Proton Pass, and Proton Calendar - tools used by millions globally to protect their freedom, fight censorship, and keep their data safe. In some situations, Proton has literally helped save lives.

We are profitable, independent (no VC control), and selectively hire from the top ~1% of applicants. Our 700+ team members across 50+ countries come from leading organizations and elite academic backgrounds. We move fast, keep hierarchy light, and prioritize impact over optics. If you want to do meaningful work with exceptionally high-caliber people, this is it. Check our open-source projects here.

The Database Platform Team

The Database team owns the backbone of every Proton product - a web-scale fleet of mission-critical MySQL databases serving hundreds of millions of users worldwide. We sit within the Infrastructure department and are responsible for making these databases available, performant, and secure as Proton's product surface keeps expanding. We treat manual toil as a bug: automation is how we scale, not headcount. You'll be joining at a critical phase - we're actively raising our automation ceiling, evaluating distributed database systems, and building the platform that will carry Proton through its next decade of growth. If you want narrow scope and a clean backlog, this isn't the right fit.

Tech Stack and Tools

• Database: MySQL, ProxySQL
• Automation / Config management: Ansible, Puppet
• Observability: Prometheus, Grafana, Loki, PMM, Icinga
• OS / Infrastructure: Linux, bare-metal on-premise data centers
• Distributed DB (exploratory): CockroachDB, YugabyteDB

What You'll Do

• Own the administration and reliability of Proton's web-scale MySQL fleet, accessed via ProxySQL, including participating in a 24/7 on-call rotation
• Design and implement automation that eliminates manual operational toil and measurably improves platform reliability
• Write code and tooling to improve how we manage, monitor, and scale the database platform - treating infrastructure as software
• Own performance tuning across the full stack - hardware, OS, storage, network, and query level - and resolve bottlenecks before they become incidents
• Drive database best practices into product design reviews, providing clear guidance on architecture, data modeling, scalability, and system integration
• Lead the planning and execution of database version upgrades and full stack updates with minimal service disruption
• Shape Proton's long-term database strategy - evaluating emerging technologies like distributed databases and influencing cross-company engineering standards

Who You Are

• 3+ years of hands-on experience operating highly available MySQL databases at scale in production
• Deep MySQL expertise: replication, query optimization, indexing, schema design, and performance tuning at the OS and application layers
• Solid experience with ProxySQL and Linux in production environments
• Strong automation background - you've meaningfully reduced operational toil through scripting or custom tooling (Python, Go, Bash, or equivalent)
• Comfortable with observability stacks (Prometheus, Grafana, or comparable) and using data to diagnose and resolve complex infrastructure issues
• Experience running databases on bare-metal or on-premise infrastructure (not cloud-managed DB services)

Nice to Have

• Hands-on experience with distributed databases such as CockroachDB or YugabyteDB
• Experience with Puppet or comparable configuration management systems
• Prior exposure to high-traffic, multi-tenant ProxySQL deployments

What We Offer

• Work that Matters: Millions of people trust Proton with their privacy. We answer only to our users - not advertisers, not investors with conflicting agendas, not governments.
• A Great Team: Diverse, collaborative, and tight-knit, with people from MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, Cambridge, ETH, and more.
• Technology: The right hardware and software to do your best work.
• Learning & Development: We invest in your growth. Proton is one of the fastest ways to accelerate your career - real challenges, real ownership, from day one.
• Employee Benefits: Strong health coverage, solid retirement options, generous leave, and wellness support.
• Stock Options: From day one, you have a real stake in what we're building. When Proton wins, you win.
• Salary Range: Paris - 50,000€ to 76,000€ - Final compensation will be determined based on the candidate's qualifications, skills, and previous experience.
• In-Person Collaboration: Offices across Geneva, Zürich, Barcelona, London, Paris, and more. You'll spend most of your time collaborating face-to-face, with up to 30% remote flexibility.
• Food: Lunch and snacks on us every day in the office.
• Transport: We cover public transport, bike allowances, or parking - whichever works for you.
• Flexible Working: You own your schedule. Outcomes matter more than clock-in times

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Proton, we believe diversity drives innovation and strengthens our mission to provide privacy as a default for all. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all individuals - regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical ability, or socio-economic background - feel valued and empowered.

If you need any extra support or reasonable adjustments during the hiring process, please let your talent partner know.

Candidate Privacy Notice

When you apply for a position at Proton Technologies AG, your information is stored in Greenhouse in accordance with its Service Privacy Policy. This information is used to evaluate your suitability for the posted position and may be retained for future roles.

If we no longer have a legitimate business need to process your information, we will either delete or anonymise it. For questions about your data, contact: [email protected]

Proton does not accept unsolicited CVs from any sources other than directly from candidates.