[Hiring] VCA Database Engineer @Tech9

Role Description

We are seeking a Senior Database Engineer to join an active, evolving modernization engagement supporting a primary client and their affiliated portfolio of companies. This is not a standard support or tuning role. The work spans both immediate operational needs and longer-horizon architectural improvements, requiring someone who can shift fluidly between hands-on execution and system-level strategic thinking.

The engagement began with a review and advisory mandate across PostgreSQL Server environments. It has since expanded to encompass full operational database support, infrastructure-layer improvements, cross-system modernization, and a potential migration from Azure SQL Managed Instance (SQL MI) to PostgreSQL. The core objective is building a clean, performant, and scalable data foundation that reduces infrastructure costs, improves product performance, and unifies systems across a family of companies.

The environment is heavily reliant on stored procedures, with the majority of application logic and data access flowing through them. Day-to-day work will include engineering, support, and tuning—but the ideal candidate will operate just as comfortably at the architecture level, driving platform-wide improvements rather than addressing only individual queries or procedures.

Responsibilities

• Performance Engineering & Query Optimization
  • Analyze and tune stored procedures, queries, and execution plans to improve throughput and reduce latency
  • Manage the full index lifecycle: creation, modification, consolidation, and removal
  • Identify and remediate systemic performance and scalability risks across environments
  • Improve data model and pipeline efficiency where workloads materially impact database performance
• Database Architecture & Modernization
  • Address normalization issues, reduce data duplication, and improve overall data design
  • Evaluate stored procedure dependency and define a path to simplify or appropriately redistribute application logic
  • Drive schema and structural improvements that go beyond query-level tuning
  • Establish a cleaner, more maintainable data layer that enables product and engineering teams to build and iterate more efficiently
• Infrastructure & Cost Optimization
  • Administer and improve the database infrastructure layer, including server-level configuration and environmental health
  • Evaluate infrastructure costs, pricing models, and the long-term ROI of architectural decisions
  • Support analysis and planning for a potential migration from Azure SQL Managed Instance to PostgreSQL
• Monitoring & Observability
  • Design and implement performance monitoring frameworks, baseline metrics, and dashboards
  • Establish visibility into ongoing performance and cost drivers to support operations beyond the engagement lifecycle
• Operational Support & Execution
  • Pick up and execute against active tickets and operational database needs
  • Manage workload across both reactive support and proactive improvement initiatives
  • Maintain documentation of changes, findings, and recommendations
• Stakeholder Collaboration
  • Work closely with business and engineering stakeholders to understand current pain points and future needs
  • Communicate architectural recommendations and trade-offs clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences
  • Coordinate across teams within the client hierarchy, including sister companies within the broader portfolio

Qualifications

• 5–8 years of hands-on experience in database engineering, with a strong focus on PostgreSQL
• Demonstrated experience analyzing and optimizing complex stored procedures and execution plans
• Deep proficiency in index strategy, query performance tuning, and schema design
• Experience working at both the DBA/administrative layer and the data modeling/architecture layer
• Familiarity with Azure SQL Managed Instance or SQL Server environments
• Proven ability to identify systemic database risks and deliver structured remediation plans
• Experience designing monitoring frameworks and performance dashboards
• Strong documentation and communication skills; able to present findings and recommendations clearly
• Ability to work independently in a remote, async-first consulting environment
• Professional proficiency in English (written and verbal)

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with PostgreSQL migration projects, particularly from SQL Server or Azure SQL MI
• Familiarity with stored procedure-heavy legacy architectures and strategies for logic redistribution
• Background in multi-tenant or multi-entity environments (e.g., supporting a portfolio of companies on shared infrastructure)
• Exposure to data pipeline tooling, ETL processes, or application-layer integration patterns
• Experience with cost analysis and infrastructure rightsizing in cloud environments (Azure preferred)
• Familiarity with tools such as pgBadger, pg_stat_statements, Azure Monitor, or equivalent observability tooling

Hiring Process

• Application Review
  • Resume and portfolio/project history reviewed by our team
• Intro Call
  • 30-minute conversation to align on scope, availability, and fit with a member of our recruiting team
• Technical Discussion
  • 60-minute deep dive with a senior technical stakeholder covering past projects, architecture decisions, and approach to the problem space
• Culture Fit Conversation
  • A conversation with our Lead Architect and Project Manager to explore working style, collaboration approach, and alignment with how our teams operate

Benefits

• Work with World-Class U.S. Clients
• Gain hands-on experience with top-tier American companies and high-impact projects that challenge you and elevate your career.
• Competitive, USD-Based Compensation
• Your skills have global value. We pay competitively in U.S. dollars, giving you financial stability and recognition for what you bring to the table.
• Grow Your Skills on Us
• All Tech9ers get access to Udemy’s full course library. Whether you want to deepen your expertise or explore something new, we invest in your growth.
• A Community, Not Just a Contract
• When you join Tech9, you become a Tech9er. That means being part of a collaborative, inclusive community of talented professionals across LatAm who support each other and grow together.
• Modern Tech & Agile Teams
• Work with current technologies, frameworks, and methodologies alongside teams that move fast, communicate well, and value your input.