Principal Database Platform Engineer

Boston Consulting Group • Boston, MA

3d • $143,000 - $186,330 • Hybrid

About The Position

Join our Data Platform Engineering portfolio, a global team building and operating the database infrastructure that powers BCG’s data products, analytics, and AI capabilities across Case Teams, Practice Areas, and Business Systems. As a Principal Database Platform Engineer, you will take end-to-end ownership of cloud-native database platforms, with a primary focus on AWS. This is a hands-on senior individual contributor role focused on designing for scale and reliability, driving automation, and setting the platform standards that engineering teams across the firm depend on. This role suits an engineer who has operated at a senior level before – someone who identifies what needs to be built, makes sound technical decisions, and delivers without requiring step-by-step direction. We are looking for a strong cloud database engineer with the curiosity and drive to grow into AI-enabling database infrastructure as BCG’s needs evolve.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
• 8 to 10 years of experience in database, platform, or infrastructure engineering
• Hands-on experience with PostgreSQL and AWS-managed database services – DynamoDB, OpenSearch, or similar – in production environments
• Experience with Terraform and CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure automation
• Solid understanding of how databases perform at scale – query performance, indexing, and data distribution
• Self-directed and hands-on – you own the problem end to end, from design through to delivery
• Genuine interest in how database platforms are evolving, particularly in the context of AI and analytics
• Communicating clearly – able to translate technical decisions and trade-offs into terms that resonate with non-technical stakeholders
• Working across global, cross-functional teams and building effective partnerships across disciplines
• Approaching problems with analytical rigor and a practical engineering mindset
• Prioritizing and delivering in a fast-moving environment without losing sight of quality or standards

Nice To Haves

• Experience across more than one cloud provider – Azure or GCP alongside AWS
• Familiarity with graph, document, or NoSQL databases – Neptune, DocumentDB, MongoDB, or equivalent
• Exposure to vector search or pgvector for AI and GenAI workloads
• Experience with analytics platforms such as Databricks or BigQuery
• Familiarity with RAG pipelines, embedding stores, or modern AI data architectures
• Working knowledge of cloud security practices – IAM, least-privilege, data protection
• Exposure to FinOps, SRE, or enterprise architecture frameworks such as TOGAF
• Experience mentoring engineers or contributing to architecture reviews
• Relational database background (MSSQL, Oracle) – useful context, but not the focus of this role

Responsibilities

• Design and operate cloud-native database platforms on AWS, with a focus on scalability, resilience, and cost efficiency
• Build automated, self-service capabilities using Infrastructure as Code (Terraform), CI/CD, and Git-based workflows
• Define and implement reusable platform patterns, standards, and guardrails across a multi-cloud environment
• Act as a technical leader where required, translating business and engineering needs into scalable database platform designs
• Embed SRE principles including observability, performance tuning, and incident response into day-to-day operations
• Ensure secure-by-design practices across identity, access management, and data protection
• Drive cloud cost transparency and optimization through FinOps disciplines, including tagging, attribution, and rightsizing
• Partner with architecture, application, and data teams to translate needs into practical platform solutions
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to engineers
• Lead design and architecture reviews aligned to enterprise standards
• Evaluate emerging database technologies and lead proofs of concept as BCG’s AI and data needs evolve
• Support and enable AI and analytics use cases through modern database platform capabilities

Benefits

• Zero dollar ($0) health insurance premiums for BCG employees, spouses, and children
• Low $10 (USD) copays for trips to the doctor, urgent care visits and prescriptions for generic drugs
• Dental coverage, including up to $5,000 in orthodontia benefits
• Vision insurance with coverage for both glasses and contact lenses annually
• Reimbursement for gym memberships and other fitness activities
• Fully vested Profit Sharing Retirement Fund contributions made annually, whether you contribute or not, plus the option for employees to make personal contributions to a 401(k) plan
• Paid Parental Leave and other family benefits such as elective egg freezing, surrogacy, and adoption reimbursement
• Generous paid time off including 12 holidays per year, an annual office closure between Christmas and New Years, and 15 vacation days per year (earned at 1.25 days per month)
• Paid sick time on an as needed basis

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior