Senior Platform Infrastructure Engineer - MongoDB

As a Senior Platform Infrastructure Engineer specializing in MongoDB at Braze, your primary responsibilities will include designing and managing the MongoDB infrastructure deployed on Kubernetes. This involves building and optimizing MongoDB clusters for scalability, availability, and performance, as well as developing automation frameworks to streamline operations. You will collaborate across teams to ensure the reliability of our services and actively monitor system performance using advanced monitoring tools.

Braze is looking for candidates with at least 5 years of experience managing database platforms, with a minimum of 2 years focusing on MongoDB. Hands-on expertise in Kubernetes is essential, as well as familiarity with Infrastructure as Code tools like Terraform, Ansible, or Pulumi. Candidates should have a strong foundation in database internals, cloud services, and monitoring tools tailored for databases to be successful in this role.

At Braze, the reliability and performance of MongoDB systems are ensured through high-availability strategies, including automated failovers and proactive monitoring. The Senior Platform Infrastructure Engineer will work closely with database engineers to define Service Level Objectives (SLOs) and continuously monitor performance using tools like Prometheus and Grafana. Regular incident response drills and maintenance of incident response playbooks further reinforce resilience.

The Senior Platform Infrastructure Engineer at Braze collaborates with various teams, including database engineers, platform software engineers, and product teams, to enhance MongoDB integration as a self-service platform. By sharing their expertise through documentation, training, and mentorship, they foster an environment of operational excellence and ensure everyone is equipped to handle MongoDB operations effectively.

For candidates based in the United States, the expected pay range for a Senior Platform Infrastructure Engineer at Braze is between $154,800 and $275,400 per year, with an On Target Earnings (OTE) potential of $172,000 to $306,000 when including bonuses. Compensation is influenced by various factors including experience, job-related knowledge, and market location.

When answering this question, detail specific instances where you managed MongoDB, including the scale of the databases, any challenges faced, and resolutions implemented. Highlight your methodologies for ensuring performance and reliability, and mention any automation you implemented.

Showcase your understanding of design principles by discussing various strategies such as sharding, replica sets, and cluster management on Kubernetes. Include any relevant metrics you would consider, like latency and throughput, to demonstrate scalability.

Discuss specific tools such as Prometheus or Grafana, and explain how they provide insight into MongoDB performance. Share examples of metrics you track and how they inform your decisions for optimizations and incident responses.

Provide a structured response by outlining the incident, your approach to identifying the root cause, and the steps taken to resolve the issue. Emphasize your analytical skills and ability to implement preventive measures.

Discuss methods like automated failovers, replication, and backups. Explain how you would manage incident responses and your experience in setting up disaster recovery protocols.

Share how you engage with the tech community through forums, attending conferences, or reading industry publications. Mention any online courses or certifications relevant to emerging database technologies.

Illustrate your expertise with Kubernetes by sharing specific examples of deploying and managing MongoDB clusters, including handling StatefulSets and Persistent Volume Claims. Discuss challenges you faced and how you overcame them.

Speak about your previous experiences implementing automation through tools like Terraform or Ansible. Describe how automation improved efficiency and reduced errors in your MongoDB management tasks.

Outline a step-by-step incident response plan you would use, from initial assessment to resolution. Discuss collaboration with teams and using playbooks to respond effectively and minimize downtime.

Share examples of your experience in reducing manual interventions in MongoDB operations. Discuss the challenges encountered and how you worked through them to empower your development teams with self-service tools.