Software Engineer Manager (Database Observability)
New Relic · Posted Nov 5
Cloud-based application performance monitoring, telemetry analytics, and intelligent observability services
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About the role
New Relic builds an intelligent observability platform that gives customers real-time insight into their distributed systems and applications. Database Observability is a critical pillar of the platform strategy, covering lightweight database agents, high-throughput ingestion pipelines, recommendation engines, and autonomous DB AI agents. This role is an Engineering Manager (M3) leading a team of 6–8 senior and lead engineers, setting technical direction and partnering with Product and Design to deliver next-generation database observability products.
What you will do
- Manage a full-stack engineering team (6–8 engineers) spanning backend systems, database telemetry, agent engineering, and UI workflows.
- Own end-to-end delivery sprint planning, roadmap execution, system quality, and operational excellence for critical database ingestion and recommendation pipelines.
- Guide the team in harnessing cutting-edge AI technologies including Agentic AI, MCP, and LLMs to evolve database observability from passive monitoring to automated, AI-driven diagnostics and remediation.
- Drive architectural discussions around high-throughput, low-latency ingestion, streaming telemetry (Kafka), and database agent development, holding the team to high engineering excellence standards.
- Partner closely with Product Management and Design to translate high-level vision into actionable, well-engineered execution plans..
- Hire, mentor, and grow engineers at every level. Set clear expectations, manage performance equitably, and build a visible talent pipeline.
- Build a strong DevOps culture where teams own what they ship ensuring robust monitoring, incident response, CI/CD automation, and high reliability.
- Champion modern engineering workflows, including AI-assisted development tools (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot) to accelerate delivery and spec-driven development.
Skills used in this role
What the employer is looking for
- 10+ years of total software engineering experience with 2+ years directly managing engineering teams.
- Proven track record of coaching, guiding, and retaining individual contributors ,enabling domain experts rather than directing them.
- Deep technical background in backend and distributed systems (Go, Java, Python, or equivalent) with the ability to engage credibly in architecture discussions around high throughput, low latency, and data pipelines.
- Foundational understanding of database engines (Relational and NoSQL) and the challenges of safely collecting performance metrics under heavy production loads.
- Proven track record of delivering complex, multi-quarter technical initiatives on time with high quality, alongside experience managing team health, technical debt, and performance expectations.
- Clear, direct, and transparent communication style effective at aligning senior engineers, cross-functional partners, and executive stakeholders.
- Familiarity with modern practices including CI/CD, microservices, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and production observability.
Preferred qualifications
- Background in Observability, Database Engineering, SRE, or Performance Tuning domains.
- Exposure to Agentic AI, LLM application architecture, or Model Context Protocol (MCP).
- Experience with real-time streaming architectures (Apache Kafka) and database collector/agent design.
- Hands-on experience with OpenTelemetry (OTel) standards.
- Active experience guiding teams through AI-assisted development practices (e.g., spec-driven development using Claude Code, Copilot, Cursor).
- Track record of managing teams through rapid scaling or ground-up product launches.
- Familiarity with Kafka, GraphQL, or distributed data systems
- Exposure to AI-assisted development practices (spec-driven dev, Claude Code, Copilot)
Benefits and support
- Mentorship
- Learning resources
- Flexible work hours
- Remote work opportunities
About New Relic
New Relic is an intelligent observability company that provides a cloud-based platform for monitoring, debugging, and optimizing software applications and infrastructure. Its platform helps developers, engineers, and enterprise leaders track real-time telemetry data to reduce system downtime and accelerate incident resolution. Formerly a publicly traded company, New Relic was acquired by private equity firms Francisco Partners and TPG in late 2023.
- Industry
- SaaS
- Company size
- 2500-5000 employees
- Founded
- 2008
- Location
- San Francisco, California, USA
- Funding stage
- Private Equity-Backed
Funding
Private Equity-Backed · $6.88B raised
- 2023-11-09Private Equity Buyout$6.5B
Leadership
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Revenue Officer
Chief Product Officer
Chief Marketing Officer
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