Enterprise Database Architect

By Light HQ•Alexandria, VA

About The Position

By Light Professional IT Services LLC is seeking an experienced Enterprise Database Architect to provide strategic technical leadership across our enterprise database ecosystem. This role complements our existing platform DBAs—who provide operational support for PostgreSQL, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase ASE, Amazon RDS, and other database technologies—by focusing on enterprise architecture, database performance engineering, capacity planning, and application database optimization. The successful candidate will collaborate with application development, infrastructure, cloud, DevSecOps, and DBA teams to establish scalable database architectures, proactively identify and eliminate performance bottlenecks, and integrate database performance, capacity planning, and engineering best practices into the software development lifecycle. This individual will also champion continuous process improvement by driving standards, governance, and a performance-first culture that enhances reliability, scalability, and long-term operational efficiency across the enterprise.

Requirements

10+ years of progressively responsible experience in enterprise database administration, engineering, and architecture; or 7+ years experience with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field; or 5+ years experience with a Master’s degree.
Demonstrated experience designing and optimizing enterprise database solutions supporting large, mission-critical environments.
Strong working knowledge of Amazon RDS, PostgreSQL, Oracle Database, Microsoft SQL Server, and Sybase ASE.
Solid understanding of one or more NoSQL database technologies such as MongoDB, DynamoDB, Cassandra, or Redis.
Advanced knowledge of SQL, T-SQL, query optimization, indexing strategies, execution plans, and database performance tuning.
Experience with database modeling, data normalization, ETL processes, backup and recovery strategies, high availability, replication, and disaster recovery.
Experience collaborating with software development teams to improve application database utilization and overall system performance.
Working knowledge of Linux and Windows server environments and scripting for automation.
Strong analytical, communication, and leadership skills with the ability to influence technical teams across organizational boundaries.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting enterprise cloud migration initiatives and hybrid database environments.
Experience establishing database governance, architecture standards, and engineering best practices.
Experience mentoring engineers and leading cross-functional technical initiatives.
AWS, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, or other database-related professional certifications are desirable.

Responsibilities

Provide enterprise-wide technical leadership for database architecture, performance engineering, and capacity planning across relational and NoSQL (on-prem and cloud) database platforms, ensuring scalable, resilient, and cost-effective database solutions.
Partner with Application Development, Infrastructure, Cloud, DevSecOps, and DBA teams to optimize application/database interactions, establish architectural standards, and integrate database performance and scalability into the software development lifecycle.
Lead database architecture reviews, performance assessments, workload analysis, stress testing, and capacity planning to proactively identify risks, eliminate performance bottlenecks, and support new applications, upgrades, migrations, and technology modernization initiatives.
Establish and maintain enterprise database standards, technical baselines, governance, and best practices for database design, data modeling, indexing, performance optimization, high availability, disaster recovery, and lifecycle management across supported database platforms.
Drive continuous process improvement by analyzing operational trends, reducing technical debt, standardizing engineering practices, promoting automation, and fostering a performance-first culture through mentoring, technical guidance, and cross-functional collaboration.
Serve as the enterprise database subject matter expert, providing architectural guidance, evaluating emerging technologies, supporting complex production issues, and developing strategic roadmaps that improve long-term reliability, scalability, and operational efficiency.