Cloud Database Engineer

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Overall Responsibility:The Cloud Database Engineer is responsible for engineering, administering, securing, and optimizing enterprise database platforms across Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft SQL Server environments, with a primary focus on Amazon RDS, PostgreSQL, and cloud-native database services. This role designs and implements reliable, scalable, highly available, and secure database solutions that support critical business applications, reporting, and operational processes. The position partners closely with cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, development, and application support teams to translate business and technical requirements into durable platform solutions. The Cloud Database Engineer leads database modernization, migration, automation, performance engineering, backup and recovery, disaster recovery readiness, patching, upgrades, observability, and technical documentation. The role applies infrastructure-as-code, DevOps, and operational reliability practices to improve consistency, resilience, and service delivery.
Duties:Cloud Database Architecture & EngineeringDesign, implement, configure, and maintain production database platforms in AWS, including Amazon RDS for SQL Server and PostgreSQL; support Amazon Aurora where appropriate.Engineer highly available, scalable, resilient, and cost-conscious database solutions aligned with application, security, and business continuity requirements.Lead technical planning and execution for database migrations, modernization initiatives, version upgrades, and platform lifecycle activities.Evaluate database services, architecture patterns, and emerging capabilities; recommend solutions that improve reliability, performance, security, and maintainability.Database Administration, Performance & CapacityAdminister and optimize Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and AWS-managed database environments supporting business-critical workloads.Perform advanced query analysis, indexing, execution-plan review, configuration tuning, and root-cause analysis for complex performance issues.Establish monitoring baselines and evaluate database health, availability, storage, utilization, and growth trends to support proactive capacity planning.Partner with application and development teams to improve database design, data access patterns, release quality, and application performance.Availability, Backup, Recovery & ReliabilityDesign, implement, test, and maintain backup, restore, retention, and point-in-time recovery strategies for cloud and on-premises database platforms.Engineer and validate disaster recovery and high-availability solutions, including multi-AZ configurations, replication, failover, and SQL Server Always On capabilities.Define and monitor database service indicators, recovery objectives, and operational thresholds; communicate risks and remediation priorities to stakeholders.Lead technical response and root-cause analysis for database incidents, document findings, and implement preventive actions.Security, Compliance & GovernanceImplement database security standards, secure configurations, encryption, auditing, secrets management, role-based access controls, and least-privilege permission models.Partner with cybersecurity and infrastructure teams to remediate vulnerabilities, manage patching, and strengthen database security posture.Ensure database solutions and operating practices align with organizational policies, data protection requirements, and applicable compliance expectations.Maintain evidence, technical documentation, and operational controls that support audits and governance reviews.Automation, Infrastructure as Code & DevOpsAutomate database provisioning, configuration, monitoring, maintenance, backup validation, and operational tasks using scripting and infrastructure-as-code tools.Develop and maintain reusable Terraform or AWS CloudFormation components for database infrastructure and supporting services.Integrate database changes and validation activities into CI/CD processes in partnership with development and platform teams.Use AWS CloudWatch, Performance Insights, logs, alerts, and related observability tools to improve proactive detection and operational visibility.Collaboration, Documentation & Continuous ImprovementServe as a technical resource for AWS database services and provide guidance to infrastructure, development, application support, and business systems teams.Create and maintain architecture diagrams, configuration standards, runbooks, recovery procedures, operational documentation, and knowledge articles.Contribute to technology roadmaps, lifecycle planning, platform standards, cost optimization, and continuous improvement initiatives.Perform additional duties and special projects aligned with cloud infrastructure, database platform, and organizational priorities.
Education and ExperienceBachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.Minimum of 5-7 years of progressive experience in database administration, database engineering, or cloud platform engineering within production enterprise environments.Minimum of 3 years of hands-on experience designing, implementing, and supporting AWS database services, including Amazon RDS for SQL Server and/or PostgreSQL. Experience with Amazon Aurora is preferred.Advanced experience with Microsoft SQL Server administration, T-SQL, stored procedures, performance tuning, backup and recovery, upgrades, migrations, and production troubleshooting.Experience engineering high-availability and disaster recovery solutions, including Multi-AZ deployments, replication, failover, and SQL Server Always On technologies.Hands-on experience with AWS services that support database operations, such as CloudWatch, IAM, KMS, Secrets Manager, EC2, S3, and networking components.Experience with infrastructure as code and automation using Terraform, AWS CloudFormation, PowerShell, Python, or equivalent tools.Experience working with DevOps practices, version control, CI/CD pipelines, change management, and structured production support processes.Experience with PostgreSQL and additional relational database platforms such as MySQL is desirable.Relevant certifications, such as AWS Certified Database - Specialty, AWS Certified Solutions Architect, AWS Certified SysOps Administrator, or current equivalent credentials, are preferred.Bilingual proficiency in Spanish and English is required.
SkillsAdvanced database engineering and administration skills across AWS-managed database services and Microsoft SQL Server environments.Strong knowledge of cloud database architecture, availability, scalability, performance, backup and recovery, disaster recovery, and platform lifecycle management.Advanced SQL, T-SQL, query optimization, indexing, execution-plan analysis, and database troubleshooting capabilities.Strong understanding of AWS security, IAM, encryption, network connectivity, auditing, and secure database configuration practices.Ability to develop automation and infrastructure-as-code solutions that improve consistency, speed, control, and operational reliability.Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including structured incident response, root-cause analysis, risk assessment, and preventive action planning.Ability to translate technical requirements into practical designs and communicate complex issues clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.Ability to lead technical initiatives, manage competing priorities, work independently, and collaborate across cloud, security, development, and support teams.Strong documentation discipline and commitment to security, continuous improvement, service quality, and well-governed technology operations.