Lead AI DBA [US or Europe]

Andela exists to connect brilliance and opportunity. Since 2014, we have been dedicated to breaking down global barriers and accelerating the future of work for both technologists and organizations around the world. For technologists, Andela offers competitive long-term career opportunities with leading organizations, access to a global community of professionals, and educational opportunities with leading technology providers.

At Andela, we’re deeply passionate about creating long-lasting and transformative growth opportunities for all - and doing it in an E.P.I.C. way! We’re excited to continue building our remote-first team with incredible people like you. After applying for this role, you will join our Andela Community of brilliant technologists by passing a technical screening and live interview. As a community member, you’ll have access to a multitude of exclusive technologist roles.

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About the client

Our client is a growing, technology-driven organization investing heavily in modernizing its data infrastructure through AI-powered engineering practices. The company operates at scale across multiple database platforms and is building a culture where senior technical talent is trusted to set standards, mentor others, and drive strategic direction rather than simply maintain existing systems. It values innovation, cross-functional collaboration, and hands-on technical leadership.

About the role

This is a senior/lead Database Administrator position for a hands-on expert who can operate across both PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL Server at a deep technical level. The role goes beyond day-to-day administration — it focuses on driving database strategy, innovation, and modernization across the organization, with a strong emphasis on applying AI tooling to database engineering, monitoring, and automation. The person will partner with engineering teams to define standards for schema design, performance, and data integrity, and will act as a technical mentor and go-to authority on database strategy.

Responsibilities

• Drive innovation and best practice across our database platforms, spanning PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL Server.
• Use AI-driven tooling and approaches to manage, support, and scale database engineering operations.
• Design, optimize, and troubleshoot complex database architectures for performance, reliability, and cost.
• Partner with engineering teams to set standards for schema design, query performance, migrations, and data integrity.
• Identify opportunities to apply AI to database administration, monitoring, and automation to deliver measurable value.
• Act as the go-to authority for database strategy and act as a technical mentor to other engineers.

What We're Looking For

• Deep, hands-on expertise in both PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL Server — genuine proficiency across both, not just one.
• A super senior track record driving database strategy and innovation, not just day-to-day administration.
• Demonstrated experience using AI tools to deliver value in database management, engineering, or operations.
• Strong grasp of performance tuning, high availability, security, and data architecture at scale.
• Ability to operate across multiple platforms and influence technical direction broadly across the business.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Must have skills

• Database Administration
• Large Language Models (LLMs)
• Microsoft Azure
• Microsoft SQL Server
• PostgreSQL
• Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

Conditions

• Remote role, primary timezone UTC-5, with 6 hours of overlap required.
• Contractor role, 12-month contract, renewable.
• Full-time dedication (40 hours/week).
• BYOD (bring your own device) is required.

At Andela, we know our strengths lie in our diverse community whose talents, perspectives, backgrounds and orientations we take pride in. Andela is committed to nurturing a work environment where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Everyone has the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes equal employment opportunities and prohibits discriminatory practices.

Andela provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to factors including but not limited to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy (including breastfeeding), genetic information, HIV/AIDS or any other medical status, family or parental status, marital status, amnesty or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. This commitment applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including but not limited to hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training. Our policies expressly prohibit any form of harassment and/or discrimination, as stated above.