Principal Database Engineer

Informatica•Redwood City, CA

49d

About The Position

We seek innovative thinkers who believe in the power of data to drive meaningful change. At Informatica, we welcome adventurous minds eager to solve the world's most complex challenges. Our employees are empowered to push their bold ideas forward, and we are united by a shared passion for using data to do the extraordinary for each other and the world. Principal Database Engineer- Redwood City, CA We are seeking a highly experienced and visionary Principal NoSQL Database Engineer to lead the design, implementation, and optimization of large-scale NoSQL and GraphDB solutions across cloud-native, multi-cloud and on-premises environments. This role will be instrumental in shaping the persistence layer architecture for global informatica IDMC cloud products, ensuring scalability, performance, and security. You will report to the Director. Technology You'll Use NoSQL ( MongoDB) AWS, Azure, GCP

Requirements

10+ years of hands-on experience in hosting, operating, and performance tuning NoSQL databases on cloud-native infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure, OCI)
Expert-level proficiency in MongoDB, Neo4j GraphDB, and ScyllaDB - including cluster design, sharding, replication, and advanced query optimization.
Proven track record of deploying and managing NoSQL systems using Kubernetes operators and controllers (e.g., MongoDB Atlas Operator, Neo4j Helm Charts, Scylla Operator) with robust DR, HA, and ZDT strategies for distributed data systems.
Deep, hands-on expertise with at least two of the following: MongoDB, Neo4j, ScyllaDB, or Elasticsearch in a large-scale production environment.
Extensive experience architecting and operating databases on multiple public clouds (AWS, GCP, Azure, OCI).
Proficiency with modern infrastructure tools such as Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, and scripting languages (e.g., Python, Go) for operations automation.
Lead performance diagnostics, indexing strategies, and cost optimization at petabyte scale
Database encryption at rest & in-flight using MongoDB X.509, Neo4j native encryption, and Scylla TLS.
Orchestrating MongoDB + Neo4j + Scylla + Elasticsearch in the same microservice mesh with consistent observability and security policies
Service Mesh integration (Istio/Linkerd) for mTLS enforcement and traffic shaping to database pods
Backup to object-store with immutable snapshots using Velero, MongoDB Atlas S3 snapshots, and Scylla Manager

Nice To Haves

Ideal Candidate will also have Experience with Neo4j GraphdB, ScyllaDB and Elasticsearch
Experience in deploying noSQL Database system using Kubernetes operators & controllers

Responsibilities

Define and champion the multi-cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure, OCI) database architecture standards, best practices, and roadmaps for NoSQL platforms, specifically MongoDB, Neo4J and ScyllaDB
Develop a global, multi-region strategy for data distribution, high availability (HA), disaster recovery (DR), and data residency to meet strict global service level objectives (SLOs).
Provide deep technical leadership and architectural oversight for major database initiatives, new product launches, and strategic technology selection.
Lead initiatives for performance tuning and capacity planning across the global NoSQL footprint, focusing on query optimization, indexing strategies, and cluster configuration.
Design and implement Zero Downtime (ZDT) deployment and migration strategies to ensure continuous service availability during upgrades, patches, and platform changes.
Drive continuous improvement in reliability and resiliency by refining DR protocols, chaos engineering practices, and failover automation across diverse cloud providers.
Oversee cost optimization efforts by analyzing usage patterns, cloud-native offerings, and identifying opportunities for resource rightsizing and efficiency improvements.
Collaborate directly with Engineering teams to influence application design, data modeling, and schema evolution, ensuring optimal use of NoSQL features and adherence to operational standards.
Partner with Operations Automation teams to define requirements and build Infrastructure as Code (IaC) templates and deployment pipelines for the entire database lifecycle (provisioning, scaling, patching).
Evaluate, select, and integrate cutting-edge tools for monitoring, observability, security, and lifecycle management of the NoSQL fleet.
Participate in architecture review on the application layer on major release changes and features.
Act as the top-tier escalation point for complex, highly critical database incidents and performance bottlenecks.
Work effectively with global, cross-functional teams (Software Engineering, Security, Infrastructure, SRE) across different time zones.
Mentor and coach Database Administrators (DBAs) and Site Reliability Engineers (SREs) on advanced NoSQL architecture, operational excellence, and automation principles.

Benefits

Comprehensive health, vision, and wellness benefits (Paid parental leave, adoption benefits, life insurance, disability insurance and 401k plan or international pension/retirement plans
Flexible time-off policy and hybrid working practices
Equity opportunities and an employee stock purchase program (ESPP)
Comprehensive Mental Health and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) benefit

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