Senior Database Reliability Engineer

UnitedHealth Group • Concord, CA

6d • Remote

About The Position

Optum is a global organization that delivers care, aided by technology to help millions of people live healthier lives. The work you do with our team will directly improve health outcomes by connecting people with the care, pharmacy benefits, data and resources they need to feel their best. Here, you will find a culture guided by diversity and inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health equity on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.
As a Senior Database Reliability Engineer (DBRE), you'll play a critical role in ensuring the availability, performance, and scalability of our AWS Aurora PostgreSQL and MySql databases along with other AWS services. If you thrive in a dynamic environment and love solving complex database challenges, read on!
You will enjoy the flexibility to telecommute from anywhere within the U.S. as you take on some tough challenges.

Requirements

• 6+ years of proven experience managing AWS RDS/Aurora PostgreSQL and MySQL databases in a production environment
• 4+ years of Terraform experience (writing modules, managing state, and building reusable IaC for AWS)
• 4+ years of experience in Infrastructure SRE / Platform Engineering (on-call, incident response, SLIs/SLOs, and reliability improvements)
• 4+ years of experience with monitoring tools (e.g., CloudWatch, Datadog, Prometheus)
• 4+ years of Scripting and automation skills (Python, Bash)
• Advanced level of proficiency with communication and collaboration skills
• Intermediate level of proficiency with SQL skills and expertise in query optimization
• Intermediate level of proficiency with PostgreSQL extensions, replication, and high availability configurations

Nice To Haves

• AWS certifications (e.g., AWS Certified Database - Specialty
• Knowledge of other database/datastore systems (MongoDB, MySQL, Redis, Elasticsearch, Kafka, RabbitMQ)
• Experience with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with software engineers and architects to design and optimize database schemas, indexes, and queries
• Evaluate and implement best practices for database performance, security, and scalability
• Monitor and maintain the health of production and development databases
• Troubleshoot performance bottlenecks, query optimization, and replication issues
• Implement backup and disaster recovery strategies
• Leverage infrastructure as code (IaC) tools (Terraform, CloudFormation) to provision and manage database infrastructure; write and maintain reusable Terraform modules, manage state, and support CI/CD-based deployments
• Automate routine tasks using scripts (Python, Bash) and configuration management tools (Ansible, Puppet)
• Implement and enforce security policies for data access, encryption, and authentication
• Ensure compliance with industry standards (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA)
• Work closely with cross-functional teams (DevOps, Development, QA) to improve database reliability
• Document procedures, runbooks, and incident response processes

Benefits

• Paid Time Off which you start to accrue with your first pay period plus 8 Paid Holidays
• Medical Plan options along with participation in a Health Spending Account or a Health Saving account
• Dental, Vision, Life& AD&D Insurance along with Short-term disability and Long-Term Disability coverage
• 401(k) Savings Plan, Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Education Reimbursement
• Employee Discounts
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employee Referral Bonus Program
• Voluntary Benefits (pet insurance, legal insurance, LTC Insurance, etc.)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees