Lead - Data Engineering (MongoDB)

Job description:

We are seeking an experienced Lead Engineer – SQL Server & OLTP Database Platforms to design, implement, optimize, secure, and govern enterprise database solutions for high-volume, mission-critical applications.

The role is primarily focused on SQL Server-based online transaction processing (OLTP), database reliability, performance engineering, cloud adoption, automation, and operational excellence. The successful candidate will provide technical leadership for SQL Server, with supporting experience across PostgreSQL, MongoDB, DocumentDB, and cloud-managed database platforms.

This role will partner closely with application engineering, architecture, DevOps, SRE, RunOps, and security teams to deliver resilient, scalable, and cost-effective database platforms.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the architecture, design, and operational governance of enterprise OLTP database platforms.
• Design highly available and scalable database solutions for customer-facing and business-critical applications.
• Lead the administration, optimization, troubleshooting, and modernization of SQL Server environments, with supporting responsibility for PostgreSQL, MongoDB, DocumentDB, and other database technologies.
• Perform query tuning, execution-plan analysis, indexing, partitioning, connection-management optimization, and capacity planning.
• Define and implement high availability, replication, backup, recovery, disaster recovery, and failover strategies.
• Establish database standards for schema design, naming conventions, access controls, security, deployment, monitoring, and operational support.
• Drive database modernization and migration initiatives across on-premises and cloud environments.
• Design and support cloud-native database solutions using AWS and/or Azure services.
• Automate database provisioning, configuration, schema changes, monitoring, maintenance, and operational workflows.
• Implement database DevOps practices using Liquibase, Flyway, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitLab CI/CD, or similar tools.
• Implement reusable database automation, operational tooling, and platform workflows using approved enterprise tools and automation frameworks.
• Implement monitoring, alerting, logging, observability, and operational dashboards for database platforms.
• Support production incidents, lead root-cause analysis, and drive permanent corrective actions.
• Identify opportunities for cloud cost optimization, resource right-sizing, and improved operational efficiency.
• Mentor database engineers and serve as the primary technical subject-matter expert for OLTP database platforms.
• Collaborate with architects, developers, product teams, and business stakeholders to translate requirements into reliable technical solutions.

Required Experience:

• 7+ years of overall IT experience with a strong focus on database engineering, administration, development, or platform engineering.
• 4+ years of hands-on experience designing, implementing, and supporting enterprise OLTP database environments.
• Strong hands-on experience with SQL Server administration, database development, troubleshooting, performance optimization, high availability, and production operations.
• Working experience with PostgreSQL administration, development, troubleshooting, and performance optimization.
• Experience with MongoDB, Amazon DocumentDB, or other document-oriented databases.
• Experience supporting highly available, high-volume, mission-critical production applications.
• Strong knowledge of database architecture, data modeling, indexing, partitioning, query optimization, and capacity planning.
• Experience implementing backup, recovery, high availability, replication, and disaster recovery solutions.
• Experience with AWS and/or Azure cloud platforms and cloud-managed database services.
• Hands-on experience with database security, authentication, authorization, encryption, auditing, and secrets management.
• Experience establishing database governance, standards, reusable frameworks, and operational best practices.
• Experience with schema version control and deployment automation using Liquibase, Flyway, or similar tools.
• Experience supporting CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure or platform automation.

Technical Skills:

• OLTP Database Engineering
• SQL Server architecture, administration, performance tuning, high availability, backup, recovery, and disaster recovery
• PostgreSQL administration and performance optimization
• MongoDB and DocumentDB operations and platform support
• Database schema design and transactional data modeling
• Query optimization and execution-plan analysis
• Indexing, partitioning, connection management, and concurrency
• Replication, failover, backup, recovery, and disaster recovery
• Database monitoring, observability, alerting, and capacity planning
• AWS RDS, DocumentDB, Lambda, IAM, CloudWatch, S3, and Secrets Manager
• Azure database and monitoring services
• Cloud security, networking, identity, and access management
• Infrastructure as Code using Terraform, CloudFormation, ARM templates, or similar tools
• Cloud migration, modernization, right-sizing, and cost optimization
• Liquibase, Flyway, or similar database change-management tools
• GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitLab CI/CD, or similar platforms
• REST APIs, microservices, and integration patterns
• Automated testing, deployment, monitoring, and operational tooling

Preferred Qualifications:

• MongoDB certification or equivalent demonstrated expertise.
• Experience with DynamoDB, Cassandra, Couchbase, or other NoSQL technologies.
• Experience supporting retail, e-commerce, payments, loyalty, or other high-transaction platforms.
• Experience with Kafka, Amazon EventBridge, Kinesis, or other streaming technologies.
• Experience leading database modernization, standardization, or platform engineering programs.
• Experience implementing FinOps and cloud cost optimization initiatives.
• Good to have: experience with Data Warehouse, Data Lake, analytics, or reporting platforms; however, these are not the primary focus of this SQL Server and OLTP role.
• AWS and/or Azure cloud certification.

Soft Skills:

• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to influence technical decisions across multiple engineering teams.
• Strong ownership mindset and commitment to operational excellence.
• Ability to mentor engineers and promote engineering best practices.
• Customer-focused approach to designing reliable and secure platforms.

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

What Success Looks Like:

• Reliable and scalable OLTP database platforms supporting critical business applications.
• Improved database performance, availability, security, and operational efficiency.
• Consistent database standards and governance adopted across engineering teams.
• Reduced manual effort through automation and database DevOps practices.
• Faster and more effective production incident response and root-cause resolution.
• Successful modernization and cloud adoption initiatives with controlled cost and risk.
• Stronger database engineering capability through mentoring, reusable patterns, and technical leadership.

Skills

DocumentDB, MongoDB, OLTP, SQL Server