Senior Database Engineer

Bluestaq•Colorado Springs, CO

About The Position

The Senior Database Engineer at Bluestaq owns data systems supporting the company’s enterprise platform and national security missions. The role is responsible for data schemas, pipelines, and datastores, with end-to-end ownership of data quality, performance, and operability within a product or program. The engineer independently scopes and delivers medium-sized data work, identifies risks, and sets technical standards for other engineers. The position designs relational schemas and data models, works across SQL and NoSQL databases, builds ETL and ingest pipelines, and investigates performance issues. It also applies database security controls, plans upgrades and migrations, supports disaster recovery, and maintains technical documentation. The Senior Database Engineer serves as an escalation point and mentor for Associate and mid-level engineers, and partners with Software Engineering, Data Modeling, Systems, and Cyber teams to align data design and access with mission needs. The position may require an active TS/SCI clearance. Bluestaq will sponsor eligible candidates through the clearance process based on program needs. Relocation assistance is available for full-time positions. Bluestaq builds secure data platforms for space missions, national defense, healthcare systems, and commercial innovation. The company describes its approach as cloud-native, security by design, operationally excellent, and focused on simplicity.

Requirements

High school diploma/GED and 8+ years of relevant experience; or an associate degree in a related field and 6+ years; or a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field and 4+ years; or a master's degree in a related field and 2+ years.
Production experience designing, tuning, and operating one or more relational databases, such as Postgres, MySQL, Oracle, or SQL Server.
Hands-on experience with MongoDB, Athena, or equivalent NoSQL or large-scale data stores, and judgment about when to use them.
Experience designing normalized and denormalized data structures suited to real-world query and storage conditions.
Experience diagnosing query plans and performance bottlenecks and applying indexing, partitioning, and query rewrites.
Experience building moderately complex ETL or ingest loads with incremental processing, error handling, and validation.
Production experience with database security, including row-level security, roles and permissions, and auditing patterns.
Knowledge of backup, recovery, and disaster recovery plans, with experience exercising them.
Experience working in Linux environments and with scripting or automation using PowerShell, Bash, Python, and SQL.
Strong SQL skills, including Common Table Expressions, dynamic SQL, and reasoning about complex queries.
Ability to scope work, choose an approach, surface risks, and independently drive delivery from design through rollout.
Mentorship and communication skills, including code review and clear technical writing for peers, leadership, and cross-functional teams.
Ownership mentality, including following through, documenting work, checking downstream impact, and knowing when to persist or ask for help.

Nice To Haves

Relevant certifications, such as DBA certifications.
Experience with AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.
Experience with Docker or Kubernetes.
Experience with schema automation or migration tools such as Liquibase or Flyway.
Experience with Splunk or equivalent monitoring and observability tools.
Experience with DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines.

Responsibilities

Own sets of tables, schemas, and data flows end-to-end, including ongoing data quality, performance, and operability.
Design relational schemas and data models, balancing normalization and denormalization, and develop DDL and SQL.
Work across SQL and NoSQL datastores, including MongoDB, Postgres/RDS, and Amazon Athena, and account for database constraints in data modeling.
Lead the design and delivery of medium-sized data features, such as new data domains, ingest, or significant schema changes.
Build moderately complex ETL and ingest pipelines with incremental loads, error handling, and validation.
Investigate and resolve database performance problems, including poor query plans, missing indexes, partitioning issues, and table bloat; tune queries, indexes, and configurations for real workloads.
Apply database-level security controls, including row-level security, roles and permissions, and auditing patterns.
Plan and execute database upgrades, patches, and migrations with minimal disruption to dependent systems.
Serve as an escalation point for Associate and mid-level engineers on data correctness and performance, and mentor through code reviews and explanations of design choices.
Partner with Software Engineering, Data Modeling, Systems, and Cyber teams to align data design, performance, and access patterns with mission needs.
Maintain database and process documentation, including schema and data-flow diagrams, runbooks, and guides for operating and querying key datasets.
Scope work, select an approach, surface risks, and drive delivery from design through rollout independently.
Document work, check downstream impact, and communicate technical information to peers, leadership, and cross-functional teams.

Benefits

100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision coverage for the employee and dependents.
401(k) contributions matched up to 6%, with an additional discretionary 4% profit share from day one; Roth options and no vesting period.
Annual performance bonus eligibility for every role.
$200,000 employer-paid life insurance and short- and long-term disability coverage.
$5,000 annual professional development budget per employee.
20 days of PTO and 8 paid holidays.
Pet insurance.
Onsite gym.
Flexible schedule.
Relocation assistance for full-time positions.