Database Engineer

Wavelo is a SaaS business on a mission to make telecoms a breeze.

We provide flexible software that modernizes how communication service providers (CSPs) do business, helping them drive more value, focus on customer experience, and scale their operations faster.

As part of Tucows (NASDAQ:TCX, TSX:TC)—one of the world’s largest Internet services companies—Wavelo is backed by outstanding resources and talent. We embrace a people-first philosophy that is rooted in respect, trust, and flexibility. We believe that whatever works for our employees is what works best for us. It’s also why the majority of our roles are remote-first, meaning you can work from anywhere you can connect to the Internet!

The work we do genuinely changes lives. If this sounds exciting, we’d love to hear from you!

About the Opportunity We are looking for a highly skilled Database Reliability Engineer (DBRE) with deep expertise in PostgreSQL at scale.

In this role, you will design, operationalize, and optimize the data persistence layer that powers large-scale, mission-critical systems. You’ll work closely with SRE, Platform, and Engineering teams to ensure performance, reliability, automation, and operational excellence across the database environment.

This is a hands-on engineering role focused on building resilient data infrastructure—well beyond traditional database administration.

This role is a remote position open to applicants based in Canada.

What You’ll Do Architecture, Reliability & Performance

Design, implement, and operate highly available PostgreSQL clusters (physical/logical replication, sharding, partitioning, failover automation) Optimize query performance and indexing strategies Perform capacity planning, growth forecasting, and workload modeling

Own high-availability strategies, including

Automatic failover Multi-region deployments Disaster recovery

Automation & Tooling

Build and maintain automation for

Provisioning and configuration Backups and recovery Failovers Vacuum tuning Schema management

Use tools such as Terraform, Ansible/SaltStack, Bash, Python, etc. Develop monitoring and alerting systems for PostgreSQL clusters

Operations & Incident Response

Lead response during database incidents (e.g., performance regressions, replication lag, deadlocks, bloat, storage failures) Conduct root-cause analysis and implement long-term fixes

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Partner with software engineers to

Review SQL queries Optimize schemas Ensure effective use of PostgreSQL features

Provide guidance on

Database design patterns Migrations and version upgrades Best practices

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Deep understanding of PostgreSQL internals

MVCC, WAL processing, vacuum behavior, locking, query planning

Experience designing and operating highly available database clusters with automated failover Strong performance tuning skills (query optimization, indexing, workload tuning)

Ability to diagnose database and system issues

Query plans, I/O, memory usage, WAL growth, table/index bloat

Experience with backup and recovery strategies

Point-in-time recovery (PITR), durability planning

Familiarity with observability and monitoring

Metrics, alerting, and performance dashboards (Grafana)

Understanding of distributed systems concepts

Service discovery, consensus (e.g., Consul)

Strong Linux systems knowledge (performance tuning, resource management) Experience with scripting and infrastructure-as-code automation Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills in production environments

Knowledge of

Security, compliance, encryption, auditing, access control

Ability to work independently in high-availability, production-critical systems Familiarity with AI-assisted tools (e.g., Claude, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot)

Qualifications Required

7+ years of hands-on PostgreSQL experience in large-scale, high-volume production environments

Strong expertise in PostgreSQL internals

WAL, MVCC, vacuum tuning, query planner, indexing, logical replication

Advanced SQL and strong schema design and query optimization skills Solid experience with Linux systems and networking fundamentals Experience building automation using Go or Python

Experience with monitoring tools such as

Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, PMM, pg_stat_statements

Preferred (Nice to Have)

Experience with connection pooling and load balancing

PgBouncer, HAProxy

Experience with high-availability solutions

Patroni or similar tools

Exposure to event streaming and CDC

Kafka, Debezium

Experience supporting 24/7 production environments

Experience with PostgreSQL backup tools

Barman, pgBackRest, WAL-G

Familiarity with Traefik or similar infrastructure components

​​The base salary range for this position is $126,100 to $140,100. Range shown in $CAD for Canadian residents. Other countries will differ. Range may vary on a number of factors including, but not limited to: location, experience and qualifications. Tucows believes in a total rewards offering that includes fair compensation and generous benefits

Want to know more about what we stand for? At Wavelo and Tucows we care about protecting the open Internet, narrowing the digital divide, and supporting fairness and equality.

We also know that diversity drives innovation. We are committed to inclusion across race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability status. We celebrate multiple approaches and diverse points of view.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request an accommodation.

We use AI-enabled tools throughout our recruitment process to help us work more efficiently and consistently. These tools support our hiring teams by organizing and reviewing information, while final hiring decisions are always made by people.

Tucows and its subsidiaries participate in the E-verify program for all US employees.

Learn more about Tucows, our businesses, culture and employee benefits on our site here.