Database Operations Lead Engineer

Job Title : Database Operations Lead Engineer Location : Fort Wayne, Indiana Experience : 12+ Years Employment Type : Contract Interview Type : In-Person or Webcam Job Summary The Database Operations Lead Engineer will oversee the planning, administration, optimization, and reliability of enterprise databases. This role involves leading daily operational activities, managing performance tuning, ensuring high availability, and collaborating with engineering and business teams to maintain secure and stable data environments. The ideal candidate brings deep technical expertise, strong analytical skills, and the ability to guide teams in supporting mission-critical database systems. Key Responsibilities Lead day-to-day database operations, including monitoring, maintenance, and issue resolution. Manage installation, configuration, upgrades, and patching across various database platforms. Oversee performance tuning, query optimization, and system audits to ensure high performance. Implement and maintain robust backup, recovery, and disaster recovery strategies. Ensure database security through access controls, compliance checks, and vulnerability remediation. Collaborate with application development, infrastructure, and security teams to support deployments and troubleshoot complex issues. Drive automation for routine tasks and operational improvements. Manage database capacity planning and long-term scalability strategy. Create and maintain operational documentation, standards, and best practices. Mentor junior team members and provide technical leadership for critical initiatives. Required Skills and Qualifications 12+ years of hands-on experience in database administration or database engineering roles. Strong expertise in enterprise database platforms such as Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, or similar. Proven experience in performance tuning, query optimization, and advanced troubleshooting. Proficiency in high availability and replication technologies such as AlwaysOn, Data Guard, Clustering, or equivalent. Solid knowledge of database security, auditing, encryption, and compliance standards. Experience with automation and scripting using tools like PowerShell, Bash, Python, or automation frameworks. Familiarity with cloud databases across AWS, Azure, or GCP is a strong advantage. Strong understanding of backup and recovery tools and methodologies. Ability to manage large-scale, mission-critical database environments. Excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate across technical teams. Strong leadership qualities with prior experience guiding or managing technical teams.