Founding engineer role building Spark, a lightweight Rust implementation of Supabase on an embedded SQLite-based engine with a Postgres-compatible SQL layer. Spark ships PostgREST- and Auth-compatible APIs so supabase-js apps work unchanged, with an upgrade path to full Supabase. The team is small and new, and the stack includes Rust, SQLite/Turso, PostgREST, and GoTrue as reference implementations.
Supabase is the Postgres development platform, built by developers for developers. We provide a complete backend solution including Database, Auth, Storage, Edge Functions, Realtime, and Vector Search. All services are deeply integrated and designed for growth.
About the Role
We're looking for engineers to join the team building Spark, a lightweight implementation of Supabase written in Rust. It runs on an embedded SQLite-based engine with a Postgres-compatible SQL layer, and ships a PostgREST and Auth compatible API, so applications written against @supabase/supabase-js work as-is. It exists because AI builders and platform partners need a database they can give to every prototype without the cost or the wait: sub-second provisioning, a footprint small enough to run inside a sandbox, and an upgrade path to full Supabase when an app graduates to production.
This is a role with a lot of agency. Small team, working product, patterns still to be set. You'll own large areas end to end and make real decisions from day one.
What You'll Be Responsible For
In this role, you'll:
Grow API compatibility with the Supabase client, keeping behavior faithful to hosted Supabase and backed by conformance tests
Bring more of the Supabase stack to Turso/SQLite
Find and work around gaps in the underlying database engine, with minimal repros and tests
Build and harden the path for upgrading a project from Spark to full Supabase
Own the developer experience end to end: the CLI, local tooling, and docs
Build and harden the hosted offering while keeping the low cost structure in mind, kept loosely coupled so the implementation can be swapped without a rewrite
Work directly with design partners and turn real-world migration and integration friction into a sharper product
Engage with the open-source community and contribute back to the broader Supabase stack
You Might Be a Good Fit If You
Have substantial backend or full-stack experience with strong fluency in Rust, have shipped production Rust, and have built or contributed to a backend system, framework, or developer platform before
Are a strong generalist, comfortable moving across the stack from API design to storage internals to infrastructure, and picking up whatever the problem needs
Read unfamiliar code without friction. A lot of the work means studying reference implementations in other languages, such as GoTrue in Go, PostgREST in Haskell, and matching their behavior in Rust
Have a solid grounding in SQL and relational databases, experience working close to a database engine (transactions, MVCC, type systems), and the curiosity to dig into where Postgres and SQLite differ
Know Postgres well enough to use it as the reference for correct behavior
Have run services under tight resource limits (multi-tenant, serverless, or embedded)
Have a bias toward compatibility and correctness, and reach for tests and specs to prove behavior
Think around corners. When everyone reaches for the standard playbook, you look for the simpler path that fits a smaller box. You break a complex system down to the 20% that covers 80% of the need, then make it run somewhere far smaller than it was designed for
Care about developer experience: clean APIs, fast feedback loops, and tooling that makes the right thing the easy thing
Are comfortable owning ambiguous, early-stage work and making sound calls that inform and define the spec. This is a founding role on a brand-new team
Are comfortable working in public repositories on a remote, async team
Communicate clearly in writing
Bonus: experience with the Supabase stack, building developer CLIs, a track record of open-source maintenance, or contributions to Rust database or web projects
What We Offer
Fully RemoteWe hire globally. We believe you can do your best work from anywhere. There are no Supabase offices, but we provide a WeWork membership or co-working allowance you can use anywhere in the world.
ESOPEvery team member receives ESOP (equity ownership) in the company. We want everyone to share in the upside of what we’re building together.
Tech AllowanceUse this budget to set up your ideal work environment—laptop, monitor, headphones, or whatever helps you do your best work.
Health BenefitsSupabase covers 100% of health insurance for employees and 80% for dependents, wherever you are. Your wellbeing and your family’s health are important to us.
Annual Off-SitesOnce a year, the entire company gathers in a new city for a week of connection, collaboration, and fun. It’s a highlight of our year.
Flexible WorkWe operate asynchronously and trust you to manage your own time. You know what needs to be done and when.
Professional DevelopmentEvery team member receives an annual education allowance to spend on learning—courses, books, conferences, or anything that supports your growth.
About the Team
Supabase was born-remote and open-source-first. We believe our globally distributed team is our secret weapon in building tools developers love.
~400 team members
60+ countries
20+ languages spoken
Over $1B raised (including our $500M Series F)
540,000+ community members
We move fast, build in public, and use what we ship. If it’s in your project, we probably use it in ours too. We believe deeply in the open-source ecosystem and strive to support—not replace—existing tools and communities.
