Database companies that pay well for Staff SWE
I have 10+ yoe, currently L5 working on database internals. Internal promo is slow, hence wanted to test the market. Looking for Staff SWE roles. What are the database companies that pay really well and have interesting work ? Got calls from Snowflake & Databricks, but they refused to up-level. Other companies (probably excluding Meta, Oracle, Microsoft) work at high level (eg: Airbnb, Uber etc.) as they use existing db solution which I don't find that interesting. TC: 450K
Nobody will level up in this market. Even if your interviews were A+. They all say we ll promo soon after joining but that’s never true. Internal promo will be faster I think.
Yep that’s why I refused to interview at Databricks and snowflake, they were like our internal promo is very fast 😅 Join us at L and go to L+1 in no time, I am like “no bruh you take the L”
Our internal promo is quite literally the opposite of fast lmao. Good on you to call that bluff! Was that the hiring manager or the recruiter who said that?
Just lie about your level
Weird google ego again. Some of the worst ppl I have worked with at DB are ex google
Where is the ego? I didn’t say I am the best. I am just a peasant trying to see if someone else can give me more peanuts 🥜
Worst part of ex googler ego problem is that they don’t know if they have superiority syndrome themselves.
Market is bad op. Have been in the same state and most companies failed to even set the loop for staff and the ones that set it up later came back saying not enough signals and gave senior. It's not like the rounds were bad but it seems they have other actual staff level candidates that you are fighting against and is there no incentive in up leveling for them. Sad reality but it's the case right now.
Thanks mate for the info. I will test the market anyways, worst case back to my current hustle at papa G. Hard to beat that wlb lol 😂
Btw did you interview at DB companies?
Which database internals are you actually working on ?
Well working on the internals of one the databases provides via GCP. I find the work pretty rewarding.
Can you DM the specific database name
Other companies (probably excluding Meta, Oracle, Microsoft) work at high level (eg: Airbnb, Uber etc.) as they use existing db solution which I don't find that interesting. ☝️Failed to understand this. Are you saying these companies will give you a higher level job but you are not interested?
No I meant, Airbnb/Uber etc. use existing database solutions. So they don't do any db internal work. It's more like plumbing one system to another, eg: CDC from MongoDB to snowflake. They are more flexible to uplevel, but I don't find their work interesting. I am looking for more computer-science systemish work.
No comment on the DB part, you might be right. However I’m not sure if these companies are more flexible to up level, maybe it’s what people said the weird Google ego.
Reading the thread I admire OP's resilience at all the insults that are thrown about his Google 'ego'. Reminds me of all the 'white guilt' the lefty scum is trying to push down all white's throats. What's so bad about looking for Staff roles ? He is L5 and naturally wants L6 while staying in the domain he likes. I've heard Oracle Core DB team earns pretty well, not sure if $500k+ at L6 though.
Exactly man. I just made a post asking for up-level advice. Some of these Blind mofos are shoving “google ego” down my throat. It just shows that they are jealous at my G tag 😅 (although I don’t think that G is special or I am special ). All I am trying to optimize for my career. Oracle, People like you are the reason why I still have trust in Blind 🫡
Oracle DB development teams are top notch and salaries are easily higher than Google as per levels.fyi at every level.
Did you try databases teams in AWS?
I think you might have to step down to early stage startups or tier 2 companies. Which means a pay cut or the same often. I would say switch to Meta, if the business grows then so do you. Or make peace at Google and coast like many of the L5 lifers there
Thanks Netflix. Yeah I have scheduled a Meta interview. Let’s see how it goes. It’s dog-eat-dog culture there, and I love dogs.
Mongo