Principal Database Engineer

Summary

Join Elite Technology as our Principal Database Engineer and play a key role in scaling and optimizing our database infrastructure to support our business-critical SaaS applications. This remote position requires a highly experienced database expert to drive architectural direction, performance, and reliability of our Azure SQL-based systems. You will design and implement secure, scalable, and performant database architectures, drive long-term strategies around database scaling, and resolve complex performance issues. As a technical mentor, you will guide engineers and influence cross-functional architecture decisions. You will also manage database infrastructure for multi-tenant, high-scale SaaS environments and communicate technical direction effectively. This role demands a strong understanding of cloud infrastructure, database security, and DevOps tooling.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience
• 10+ years of experience in database engineering or administration, with expertise in high-scale, distributed, or multi-tenant environments
• Deep hands-on experience with Azure SQL, including advanced T-SQL, query tuning, execution plans, and database optimization
• Demonstrated experience with Change Data Capture (CDC), Change Tracking, replication, and backup/restore strategies in cloud environments
• Strong understanding of cloud infrastructure, networking, and database security best practices, ideally in Azure
• Proficiency with infrastructure-as-code and DevOps tooling (e.g., Azure DevOps, Terraform, GitHub Actions)
• Experience architecting and maintaining cloud-native database platforms for mission-critical SaaS applications
• Proven ability to influence without authority across teams and align database decisions with business outcomes
• Strong communication and technical writing skills, with a track record of presenting architectural decisions to cross-functional stakeholders
• Demonstrated success operating as a technical leader across engineering organizations

Responsibilities

• Design and lead the implementation of secure, scalable, and performant database architectures using cloud-native technologies, especially within Azure
• Drive long-term strategies around database scaling, tenant isolation, CDC pipelines, and replication models in collaboration with platform and product teams
• Analyze and resolve complex performance issues, optimize query execution, and define best practices for indexing, partitioning, and resource tuning
• Serve as a trusted technical mentor to engineers across software, platform, and DevOps teams, reviewing critical database design decisions and fostering engineering excellence
• Promote automation-first approaches for schema changes, release management, monitoring, backups, and compliance, leveraging tools such as Azure DevOps and Terraform
• Lead risk assessments, incident response readiness, and enforce database security and documentation standards across systems
• Influence cross-functional architecture decisions by clearly articulating trade-offs and aligning with business priorities
• Manage database infrastructure for multi-tenant, high-scale SaaS environments ensuring performance, availability, and scalability goals are consistently met
• Communicate technical direction and system implications effectively across teams and stakeholders
• Perform other duties as assigned to support the overall goals and objectives of the department/company

Benefits

• Competitive Compensation Package ($180,000 - $200,000 base salary + variable component)
• Comprehensive Healthcare Coverage (Health, Dental, Vision)
• Retirement Savings Plan with an Employer Contribution
• Professional Development Opportunities
• Time Off
• Wellness Initiatives