Senior Database Migration Engineer

Guidewire Software • Toronto, ON

12d • Hybrid

About The Position

Guidewire’s Product Development & Operations (PDO) builds and runs the cloud platform and products that power how P&C insurers operate worldwide. We focus on secure, reliable, and efficient SaaS delivery, with a culture grounded in collaboration and continuous improvement. You’ll work closely with engineers across operations and applications to deliver safe, high‑quality outcomes for our customers. As a Senior Database Migration Engineer, you will lead complex customer database migrations from legacy Guidewire systems into Guidewire Cloud Platform, ensuring performance, data integrity, and minimal downtime. You’ll combine deep database expertise with a practical, customer‑focused mindset to design, automate, and execute repeatable migration patterns. This role is critical to how PDO delivers cloud‑platform adoption at scale, helping insurers modernize and realize measurable value from Guidewire’s solutions.

Requirements

• Demonstrated ability to embrace AI and apply it to your current role as well as data‑driven insights to drive innovation, productivity, and continuous improvement.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, a related STEM field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years of experience in database engineering, including at least 2 years focused on data/database migration in production environments.
• Deep, hands-on experience with Oracle and/or Microsoft SQL Server, including schema design, indexing, performance tuning, and day‑to‑day operations.
• Proven experience migrating databases from Oracle and/or SQL Server to PostgreSQL, including resolving compatibility, performance, and operational issues.
• Strong PostgreSQL expertise, including query plan analysis, performance optimization, and operational best practices in a cloud or hybrid environment.
• Proficiency with UNIX/Linux administration and scripting (bash, Python) to automate migration, monitoring, and validation tasks.
• Experience with at least one major cloud platform (such as AWS or Azure), plus solid understanding of networking fundamentals, connectivity, and troubleshooting in cloud and hybrid environments.
• Familiarity with data replication technologies (for example AWS DMS, SQL Server transactional replication, or Oracle GoldenGate) and their use in migration or cutover scenarios.
• Clear, concise communication in English (written and spoken), with the ability to collaborate across distributed, cross‑functional teams
• Available to work 30-50% of weekends with advance notice and flexible compensation time off.
• Strong work ethic, proactive ownership mindset, and commitment to follow‑through for customers and colleagues, with the humility and curiosity to learn from others.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with infrastructure‑as‑code or environment automation tools such as Terraform.
• Programming skills in one or more languages such as Java, Kotlin, C, or Go.
• Experience with Workflow tools such as GitHub Actions, Argo Workflows, KubeVela Workflows, or Temporal.
• Experience using work management tools such as Jira and source control systems such as Git.
• Background working in SaaS, mission‑critical, or high‑availability environments, ideally within financial services or insurance technology.
• Exposure to large‑scale, multi‑tenant cloud platforms and data‑intensive workloads.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute end‑to‑end database migration strategies from Oracle and/or SQL Server to PostgreSQL for Guidewire Cloud, including planning, dry runs, cutover, and post‑go‑live stabilization.
• Optimize data transfer and runtime database performance using techniques such as query plan tuning, indexing strategies, partitioning, batching, and connection/throughput optimization to meet demanding SLAs.
• Develop, maintain, and improve migration tooling and automation (e.g., scripts, utilities, pipelines) using bash, Python, workflow and related technologies to make migrations faster, safer, and more repeatable across customers.
• Configure and use data replication tools (such as AWS DMS, SQL Server transactional replication, or Oracle GoldenGate) to support low‑downtime, phased, and high‑volume database migrations.
• Troubleshoot complex migration, performance, and connectivity issues across database, application, and network layers in collaboration with PDO, Professional Services, and cloud operations teams, including planned weekend cutovers aligned to customer needs.
• Apply AI‑assisted coding and analysis tools (such as Claude Code) to accelerate root‑cause analysis, script/tool development, performance investigations, and validation workflows, and share best practices that raise the bar for the team.
• Rigorously validate and reconcile data before and after migrations by defining and executing checks, controls, and reconciliation processes that give customers and internal stakeholders confidence in data completeness, accuracy, and consistency.

Benefits

• Flexible work environment and hybrid working model.
• Health and wellness benefits.
• Paid time off programs, including volunteer time off.
• Market‑competitive pay and incentive programs.
• Continual development and internal career growth opportunities, including access to cutting‑edge AI, cloud, and data projects aligned to our “Your Career. Your Adventure.” philosophy.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree