Principal Database Engineer

Senior technical leader responsible for end-to-end architecture, operations, security, and modernization of enterprise database platforms, ensuring high availability, performance, and compliance., The Principal DBA will provide technical leadership and strategic stewardship of the organization’s database platforms, including Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL environments, across on-prem, cloud (GCP, Azure), and hybrid deployments. This role blends deep hands-on expertise with strategic leadership, setting standards, designing resilient architectures, leading migrations, and driving automation to improve operational efficiency and business value, * Architecture & Strategy: Design and implement scalable, high-availability database architectures for SQL Server and PostgreSQL; define reference models and governance standards

• Operations: Ensure 24×7 availability, monitor performance, troubleshoot issues, and execute disaster recovery plans
• Observability & Reliability: Define database SLOs/SLAs, implement monitoring and telemetry standards, establish proactive alerting, capacity planning, and reliability practices.
• Performance Tuning: Optimize workloads, tune queries, and improve system throughput; analyze bottlenecks and implement solutions
• Security & Compliance: Implement and enforce security policies, data protection measures, and audit controls; ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Data Protection and Cyber Recovery: Implement database security controls including encryption, privileged access management, vulnerability remediation, cyber recovery planning, auditing, and regulatory compliance.
• Backup & Recovery: Oversee backup strategies, recovery testing, and business continuity planning
• Migration & Modernization: Lead complex migrations, schema evolutions, and cloud adoption initiatives
• Capacity & Cost Management: Forecast growth, optimize infrastructure utilization, and drive database cost-efficiency initiatives across on-premises and cloud platforms.
• Collaboration: Work with application teams, data engineers, SRE, security, and business stakeholders to align database solutions with business goals
• Technical Leadership: Mentor DBAs, engineers, and developers; provide architectural guidance; lead incident reviews; and drive adoption of database best practices., To ALL recruitment agencies: NCR Voyix only accepts resumes from agencies on the preferred supplier list. Please do not forward resumes to our applicant tracking system, NCR Voyix employees, or any NCR Voyix facility. NCR Voyix is not responsible for any fees or charges associated with unsolicited resumes

• 15+ years of progressive database administration, architecture, and engineering experience, including leadership of large-scale enterprise initiatives.
• Expertise in Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL (Expertise with SQL Server Always on Availability Groups, Failover Cluster Instances, replication technologies, PostgreSQL streaming/logical replication, partitioning, backup/recovery, disaster recovery, and performance optimization)
• Cloud platforms: Experience designing and supporting managed database platforms including Azure SQL Managed Instance, Azure SQL Database, Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL, and hybrid architectures.
• Establish database standards, lifecycle management processes, naming conventions, operational runbooks, and governance frameworks across the enterprise.
• Scripting & automation: Proficiency in T-SQL, PL/pgSQL, PowerShell
• Soft skills: Strong communication, problem-solving, and cross-functional leadership abilities
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in computer science, IT, or related field.

Success Metrics (KPIs):

• Database uptime and availability targets met.
• Reduction in incident resolution time.
• Successful migrations and performance improvements.
• Compliance and security audit pass rates.
• Automation coverage and efficiency gains