Starling Bank
Starling Bank
Starling Bank is a UK-based digital bank operating across banking, fintech, and financial services. Founded in 2014, it provides personal and business banking through mobile-first products, including current, savings, euro, and teen accounts. Its services include budgeting tools, bill management, international transfers, overdrafts, and business accounts for sole traders and larger companies, with support for multi-currency banking. As a fully regulated bank, Starling Bank combines digital convenience with security features, 24/7 customer service, and a focus on innovation and sustainable banking.

Database Reliability Engineer (Hybrid, London)

Help modernize Starling Bank’s RDS and PostgreSQL infrastructure through Java automation, observability, disaster recovery, and cross-cloud portability. The role focuses on resilient database platforms for digital banking.

Description

  • Maintain the reliability of Starling Bank’s existing RDS environment
  • Use Terraform to manage databases and automate performance-tuning processes
  • Develop proactive monitoring and alerting across the global database fleet
  • Apply Java-based data pipelines and metrics platforms to identify performance regressions, slow queries, and database health issues
  • Create and implement business continuity and disaster recovery strategies
  • Develop Java automation that supports data durability and rapid multi-region recovery
  • Apply CNPG (CloudNativePG) and cloud-native approaches to support database portability across clouds
  • Improve production-grade Java microservices that support database monitoring, automated failover, and replication workflows

Requirements

  • Practical experience working with PostgreSQL databases
  • Understanding of query execution, indexing, locking, and database performance tuning
  • Experience orchestrating infrastructure and databases programmatically with Terraform and custom Java automation
  • Interest in multi-tenant and multi-region data platforms
  • Ability to protect data integrity, create clean relational models, and support data mobility
  • Experience with, or a focus on, observability tools including Prometheus, Grafana, Dash0, Sentry, and Humio
  • Ability to embed automated security guardrails within Java services
  • Stage 1: 30-minute interview with a team member
  • Stage 2: Take-home challenge
  • Stage 3: 60-minute technical interview with two team members
  • Stage 4: 45-minute final interview with two data executives

Benefits

  • 25 days of holiday, with the flexibility to use public-holiday entitlement when preferred
  • One additional holiday day for your birthday
  • Annual leave increases with tenure, with the option to buy or sell up to five additional days
  • 16 hours of paid volunteering leave each year
  • Salary-sacrifice arrangements
  • Enhanced company pension scheme
  • Life insurance worth four times your salary
  • Group income protection
  • Private medical insurance through VitalityHealth, including mental health support and cancer care
  • Partner discounts with Waitrose, Mr & Mrs Smith, and Peloton
  • Family-friendly policies
  • Perkbox membership with retail discounts, a physical and mental wellness platform, and weekly free and boosted perks
  • Cycle to Work scheme
  • Salary-sacrificed gym partnerships
  • Electric vehicle leasing

Related Jobs