Who we are

At illumin, we are transforming the advertising landscape. Our platform offers an integrated space for journey planning, execution, and reporting. It empowers marketers to connect with their audiences in powerful ways through real-time data and easy-to-use visual tools. By seamlessly combining media planning and buying in an intuitive interface, marketers can take complete control of their campaigns, meeting customers wherever they are in the buying journey and maximizing the impact of their ad spend through personalized insights for smarter decision-making.

We are at a pivotal moment, evolving into a product-led company with a team of over 100 skilled professionals and new leadership guiding our path forward. By harnessing the power of data, advancing our AI capabilities, and deeply investing in our people, we are preparing for a future that will redefine what's possible in journey advertising.

Our work is guided by two beliefs: that the ability to execute is paramount to success and that we are only as good as our people. As we grow and transform, we are looking for team members (illumineers) who share our bias for speed, delivery over perfection, and an entrepreneurial mindset. Joining us now is a chance to be part of our transformation.

Who we need

Reporting to the Director of Infrastructure, Operations, and Security, our growing engineering team is seeking a Senior Database Administrator – MySQL to architect, manage, and optimize our Percona-based MySQL clusters in a high-throughput, ultra-low-latency environment. The successful candidate will demonstrate mastery in query tuning, high availability design, and database automation, supporting mission-critical services without reliance on public cloud infrastructure. You will be responsible for a multi-master, multi-cluster on-prem architecture, ensuring stability, performance, and scalability across all environments.

This is a full-time, on-site opportunity working Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays in our downtown Toronto office. Our headquarters are located within minutes of St. Andrew and Union subway stations.

What is in it for you

Impact and influence. As part of a small team within a publicly traded, product-led company, you will play a pivotal role in optimizing our on-premises database systems to add redundancy and resiliency in a multi-data centre environment. You will lead the design and implementation of new management solutions that improve performance, stability, and observability across our infrastructure.

Technical exposure. Our platform processes nearly 150 billion requests daily, driving programmatic traffic globally across all devices, streaming services, and out-of-home targeted advertising. Working with data and infrastructure at this scale is a rare opportunity. This is a chance to apply your expertise in distributed systems, high-throughput database operations, and infrastructure automation to support the evolution of a scalable, real-time AdTech platform.

Professional development. You want to grow your skills, your influence, and your career. We push the limits to improve and to reach our full potential, individually and as a company. We are committed to building the strengths of our team. You will be supported by your manager and have access to one-on-one coaching with our Chief Empowerment Officer team. Your accountabilities, learning opportunities, and scope for ownership and career growth will rapidly expand as we continue to step up to meet the increased value and shifting needs of AdTech.

How you will make an impact

• Architect. You will design, operate, and optimize multi-master MySQL Percona clusters to meet strict SLAs for throughput, latency, and uptime. You will define and implement replication topologies across multiple data centres to ensure consistency, fault tolerance, and seamless failover.
• Troubleshoot. You will diagnose and resolve complex locking, replication, transaction conflicts, and query performance issues under high load. You will identify and address root causes quickly to maintain system stability.
• Manage databases. You will be responsible for the health, maintenance, and performance of our MySQL environments. You will oversee schema migrations, plan and execute backup strategies, and maintain disaster recovery processes to minimize service disruptions.
• Automate. You will script database tasks using Python, Bash, or similar tools to automate routine processes, reduce manual effort, and improve efficiency across environments.
• Monitor. You will proactively monitor database health and performance using PMM and Netdata. You will detect trends, address anomalies, and prevent failures before they impact operations.
• Collaborate. You will work closely with developers to improve schema design and optimize application queries. You will analyze execution plans and indexing strategies to support performance at scale.
• Improve processes. You will maintain and continuously enhance database lifecycle practices across development, staging, and production environments, ensuring consistency and reliability.
• Ensure security. You will enforce security and compliance protocols, including encryption, auditing, and access control. You will ensure all data is protected and handled in accordance with company policy.

What you bring

• The MySQL expertise. You have in-depth experience administering MySQL databases, including Percona Server and XtraDB Cluster. You have demonstrated expertise in query optimization, slow query analysis, index tuning, and execution plan optimization. You have deep knowledge of MySQL replication models, GTID, and clustering for high availability. You have experience deploying MySQL in containerized environments using Kubernetes.
• The technical experience. You have strong experience in Linux environments and are confident with CLI-based management. You can build and maintain automated scripting solutions for routine tasks and monitoring. You have familiarity with high-throughput, real-time applications where database latency is critical. You have experience with PMM and Netdata for database performance monitoring. You are comfortable working in an on-premise environment with both virtual and physical hardware.
• The extra technical skills. You are familiar with MySQL 8.x features such as invisible indexes, histograms, and CTEs. You may have experience with backup and restore strategies using Percona XtraBackup. You have exposure to ETL processes, time-series databases, or event logging systems. You have a basic understanding of HAProxy or ProxySQL for query routing and load balancing.
• The ownership. You have the ability to review, approve, and offer feedback on plans and designs created by others. You can define runbooks that improve the efficiency of all teams. You have the confidence and technical knowledge to make informed, unilateral decisions in emergencies and under pressure. You are solution-driven and able to identify technical issues that need attention, conducting research to fill your own knowledge gaps. You are skilled at mining information from in-house documentation and the internet.
• The interpersonal skills. You have excellent written and verbal communication skills, enabling you to effectively convey complex data concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. You can build trust and collaborate seamlessly with cross-functional teams, sharing your thought process and adopting constructive feedback. You are helpful and supportive, with a proven ability to guide the technical work of the company, communicating information clearly, and offering expertise as needed. You value diverse perspectives and understand how they contribute to better decision-making and innovation.

What else should you know about us?

We are undergoing a transformative shift. We are embracing change and the opportunities that come with it, empowering every illumineer to innovate, experiment, and bring forward new ideas. Whether accessing new technology, restructuring workflows, or expanding your team, you will have full support if you can make the business case.

We are a broad and diverse team, but we all share a passion for success, a drive to do more, and a love of creating connections. We hire for talent and commitment and provide the guidelines and guidance to elevate skills, knowledge, and abilities across all areas. This is a place where proven methods meet bold ideas, offering opportunities to grow personally and professionally.

To support a healthy work-life balance, we offer a flexible work environment, a meal credit for your in-office days, and a free massage with an RMT in-house every eight weeks. That is in addition to our comprehensive benefits, which include life, AD&D, long-term disability insurance, and coverage for prescriptions, dental, vision, mental health, and professional health services. You will also have access to a workplace advisor, the Vitality Wellness app, and a $300 annual healthcare spending account.

Apply now

If you want to seize the opportunity to impact a company and influence an industry, and you have 70% of what we are looking for, apply now. We can't promise an interview, but we will consider your whole application.

What you can expect from our interview process:

• A virtual interview with a senior Talent Advisor to discuss your experience and interest in the role and an online technical assessment.
• A technical interview with the DevOps Manager and a Database Administrator to understand your strengths and discuss your experience.
• An interview with the Director, Infrastructure, Operations, and Security to further explore your experience and discuss how it aligns with the needs of the team and our clients. It will be an opportunity to ask any further questions about the role, team and upcoming project work.

illumin is firmly committed to diversity within its community and welcomes applications from racialized persons/persons of colour, Indigenous People of North America and the world, persons with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ persons, and those who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.

We are committed to providing equitable opportunities in employment and to providing a workplace which is free from discrimination and harassment. We are equally committed to providing an inclusive and accessible workplace. If you require accommodations at any stage of the interview process, please email us at [email protected] .

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