Interview integrity requirement
Candidates must personally complete all interviews and technical assessments. The use of proxies or third-party representatives during any stage of the hiring process is prohibited and will result in disqualification. Final candidates will be required to participate in at least one in-person interview. Some travel for this role is expected. Reasonable accommodations will be provided in accordance with applicable laws.
About the Role
OEC is in the middle of a multi-year journey to modernize our infrastructure and applications, migrating hundreds of services across dozens of engineering teams to AWS. As Senior Database Administrator, you will play a critical, hands-on leadership role in this transformation - owning the evolution of OEC's database estate from legacy infrastructure to AWS-managed, cloud-native database services.
You will serve as OEC's principal technical lead on database engineering - setting platform direction, driving migrations to Amazon RDS for SQL Server and Aurora PostgreSQL, and partnering with application engineering, DevOps, security, and cloud infrastructure teams to build a scalable, resilient, and secure AWS-native database operating model.
This is a senior, hands-on technical role. It requires deep AWS database expertise, strong architectural judgment, and the ability to lead through influence - shaping decisions, elevating the team, and driving outcomes in a complex, fast-moving transformation environment.
What You'll Do
- Own the migration of OEC's database workloads to AWS managed services, with a primary focus on Amazon RDS for SQL Server and Aurora PostgreSQL as OEC's target-state platforms; establish cloud-native standards for provisioning, scaling, and operations that eliminate manual overhead.
- Plan and execute database migrations to AWS using DMS and SCT; own the technical delivery of lift-and-shift and re-platform migrations and ensure each wave is sequenced, validated, and consistent with OEC's transformation roadmap.
- Architect and operate AWS managed database environments with multi-AZ high availability, automated failover, RDS Proxy, and AWS Backup at their core; define the patterns and standards that will serve as OEC's target-state database operating model.
- Implement and maintain database infrastructure as code using Terraform; define IaC standards for AWS managed service provisioning, parameter configuration, and lifecycle management, and integrate them into CI/CD pipelines.
- Lead cross-functional incident response and formal root cause analysis, coordinating across application, infrastructure, and cloud engineering teams to drive fast resolution and durable prevention.
- Manage database systems for resiliency, scalability, performance, and availability through cloud-native AWS services, proactive monitoring, and continuous optimization aligned with OEC's service level objectives; must be proficient in AWS observability tooling (CloudWatch, RDS Performance Insights, DevOps Guru, Cost Explorer) and platforms such as Datadog.
- Enforce data governance and security using AWS Secrets Manager, IAM database authentication, KMS encryption, VPC isolation, and automated backup and retention policies in alignment with OEC's data stewardship standards.
- Mentor and coach junior and mid-level DBAs on cloud-first AWS patterns; foster a collaborative, learning-oriented team culture and actively shape OEC's database engineering practices.
Why Join Us
- High-Impact Work: Own a foundational piece of OEC's multi-year cloud transformation - the database estate underpins every product and every customer.
- Architectural Authority: Be the senior technical voice on database platform strategy, with real influence over long-term decisions.
- Cutting-Edge Stack: Work hands-on with Aurora PostgreSQL, RDS for SQL Server, DMS, Terraform, Datadog, and the full breadth of AWS managed database services.
- Culture of Growth: Join a collaborative, transformation-minded engineering organization where technical leadership, mentorship, and continuous learning are expected and rewarded.
Education
A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university is required, with a focus in information technology/science, or related discipline. In the absence of a degree, equivalent work experience directly related to the key responsibilities of the role will be considered as a substitute for the degree.
Experience, Skills, and Key Competencies
AWS Cloud Database Engineering
What You'll Bring
- Deep, proven expertise in AWS cloud-native database services is the foremost requirement for this role. Candidates must bring a demonstrated track record of architecting, migrating, and operating Amazon RDS for SQL Server and Aurora PostgreSQL - OEC's primary and target-state platforms - alongside other AWS managed services (DynamoDB, ElastiCache, Redshift) at enterprise scale; a minimum of 10-12 years of overall database administration experience is required, with at least 3-5 of those years in AWS managed services production environments. OEC is in active transformation, and this role must be equipped to lead from day one, not learn on the job.
- Demonstrated experience executing database migrations using AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) and AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT), including both homogeneous and heterogeneous migrations.
- Proficiency in AWS database security and governance tooling, including Secrets Manager, IAM database authentication, KMS encryption, VPC and Security Group configuration, and RDS Proxy.
- Solid working knowledge of AWS-native monitoring and observability tools: CloudWatch, RDS Performance Insights, AWS DevOps Guru, and AWS Cost Explorer.
- Proficiency in Infrastructure as Code using Terraform for AWS managed service provisioning; experience with AWS CloudFormation is a plus.
- Working knowledge of AWS cloud infrastructure as it relates to database systems: VPC design and subnet placement for database tier isolation, Security Groups and NACLs for access control, PrivateLink and Transit Gateway for secure cross-account database connectivity, RDS Proxy for connection pooling and automated failover, and CI/CD pipeline integration for schema change management and Terraform-based database provisioning; must be able to collaborate effectively with cloud and network engineering teams to design, secure, and troubleshoot database connectivity in a cloud-native environment.
- Hands-on experience migrating Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL workloads to AWS managed services (Amazon RDS for SQL Server, Aurora PostgreSQL); ability to assess existing workloads and map them to the appropriate AWS target-state platform; experience migrating MongoDB or MySQL workloads a plus.
- Demonstrated ability to contribute to technology strategy, platform evaluation, and enterprise database standards.
Bonus Skills That Will Impress Us
- AWS Certified Database Specialty or AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional certification.
- Experience with Aurora Serverless v2, DynamoDB Streams, or event-driven data architecture patterns on AWS.
- Familiarity with AWS Organizations, Control Tower, and enterprise landing zone governance as it relates to database workloads.
- Experience with AWS cost optimization strategies, including Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, and database right-sizing.
- Proven record of leading database teams through multi-year cloud migration programs.
- Background in Windows, Linux, and cloud-native service configurations supporting high-availability and disaster recovery database environments.
- Familiarity with the Strangler Fig pattern and its application to database modernization; experience incrementally decomposing monolithic database systems into purpose-fit, cloud-native data stores aligned with service boundaries and OEC's target architecture.
Leadership, Judgment & Team
- Owns problems completely - when a production database issue surfaces, this person is already debugging it, not waiting to be assigned; brings structured, calm thinking under pressure and closes the loop with a clear post-incident narrative.
- Has strong, well-reasoned opinions on database architecture and the credibility to defend them; pushes back on poor patterns with evidence, adapts when presented with better arguments, and never mistakes familiarity with correctness.
- Communicates with precision at every level - can walk an engineer through a query plan, explain an Aurora failover to a VP, and frame a migration risk for a business stakeholder, all without losing the thread.
- Mentors by building capability, not dependency; measures success by how much less the team needs them for tactical decisions, and actively creates space for junior engineers to develop judgment alongside technical skill.
- Comfortable building the road while walking it - OEC is mid-transformation and this role demands someone who drives forward in ambiguity, makes sound decisions with incomplete information, and iterates without losing sight of the target-state.
What We Offer:
- Full benefits starting Day 1: Medical, Dental, and Vision
- 401(k) with company match
- Unlimited Flex Time Off plus 10 company-paid holidays
- Remote-first role with monthly communication stipend
- Professional development programs, tuition assistance, and quarterly book program
- Free wellness coaching and pet insurance
- Home office equipment stipend
- Employee resource groups and exclusive employee discounts
