Cloud Database Architect

Cloud Database Architect

Contract role – 6 months + (possible conversion to FTE)

On-Site Mon-Fri 8am -5pm CST Carrollton, TX

About The Role

Top Required Skills:

• Minimum of 5 years of experience as a Database Architect or in a similar role with 3+ years in cloud-native data platforms.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience with Microsoft SQL Server, including database design, administration, performance tuning, and high availability solutions, with a strong focus on automation and expert-level query optimization skills.
• Proven experience with cloud-native data warehouses and lakehouses: AWS Redshift, Snowflake, Databricks, Delta Lake, Apache Iceberg.
• Strong expertise in event streaming platforms (Kafka, Kinesis, or MSK) for real-time pipelines.
• Hands-on experience with NoSQL platforms such as DynamoDB, MongoDB, or Cassandra.
• Deep expertise in SQL Server on AWS, including high availability, automation, migrations, and performance tuning.

Interview Process (how many rounds and any details)? - 3 total rounds. 1st round interview 2nd round and a final round (one of the last 2 rounds will be on-site)

Job Description

Seeking a highly skilled and experienced Cloud Database Architect to design, implement, and manage our modern cloud data ecosystem. This is a pivotal role in shaping enterprise data strategy and ensuring performance, scalability, security, and automation across both cloud-native and hybrid platforms. You will work across cloud data warehouses, lakehouses, event streaming pipelines, NoSQL platforms, and SQL Server in the cloud, bringing deep expertise in automation, modern data architecture, and DataOps practices. This is a highly visible opportunity to influence Pennymac's next-generation data strategy and enable high-impact business solutions.

The Cloud Database Architect will:

• Design and implement cloud-native data platforms leveraging AWS services, including data warehouses (Redshift, Snowflake) and lakehouses (Databricks, Delta Lake, Apache Iceberg).
• Define modern data architecture blueprints, incorporating multi-model strategies (SQL, NoSQL, streaming, unstructured) to support enterprise-scale analytics and applications.
• Architect and deliver event streaming solutions using platforms such as Kafka, Kinesis, enabling real-time ingestion, enrichment, and downstream processing.
• Architect, manage, and optimize SQL Server on AWS (RDS & EC2) with automation around high availability, disaster recovery, backup, and scaling.
• Lead and execute SQL Server to PostgreSQL migration initiatives, ensuring minimal disruption, optimized performance, and cost-efficiency.
• Implement advanced performance tuning, indexing, and workload management strategies across relational data platforms.
• Architect and implement data replication and masking strategies using Delphix, with a strong emphasis on automated provisioning and configuration.
• Provide replication, masking, and virtualization support for Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL environments, ensuring security, compliance, and efficiency in non-production environments.
• Implement Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) practices using Terraform, OpenTofu, or AWS CDK for provisioning and managing data platforms.
• Establish DataOps practices, including CI/CD for data pipelines, automated schema management, continuous testing, and monitoring.
• Proactively identify opportunities for automation across database operations, including provisioning, patching, backups, monitoring, and performance tuning — with a strong focus on automating infrastructure deployment using Terraform or OpenTofu and automating performance analysis and optimization across all database types.
• Build automation frameworks for provisioning, patching, performance optimization, HA/DR, compliance, and security operations.
• Continuously monitor, analyze, and optimize performance across SQL, NoSQL, data warehouses, lakehouses, and streaming platforms.
• Implement security best practices, including encryption, masking, key management, RBAC, and compliance with industry regulations.
• Utilize observability tools (CloudWatch, OTEL, New Relic, or similar) to provide end-to-end monitoring, alerting, and self-healing automation.
• Partner with engineering, InfoSec, and DevOps teams to design scalable, automated, cloud-native data solutions.
• Define and publish standards, patterns, and reusable templates for enterprise data platforms.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to other team members, promoting a culture of automation and best practices for managing diverse database environments, including Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, DynamoDB, and various NoSQL databases, with a strong emphasis on writing and optimizing efficient queries/data access patterns.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, or a related field. Master's degree preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience as a Database Architect or in a similar role with 3+ years in cloud-native data platforms.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience with Microsoft SQL Server, including database design, administration, performance tuning, and high availability solutions, with a strong focus on automation and expert-level query optimization skills.
• Proven experience with cloud-native data warehouses and lakehouses: AWS Redshift, Snowflake, Databricks, Delta Lake, Apache Iceberg.
• Strong expertise in event streaming platforms (Kafka, Kinesis, or MSK) for real-time pipelines.
• Hands-on experience with NoSQL platforms such as DynamoDB, MongoDB, or Cassandra.
• Deep expertise in SQL Server on AWS, including high availability, automation, migrations, and performance tuning.
• Experience implementing Delphix-based replication, masking, and provisioning strategies across SQL Server and PostgreSQL.
• Strong background in Python, PowerShell, AWS CLI, or equivalent programming languages for automation.
• Proven hands-on experience with IaC tools (Terraform, OpenTofu, AWS CDK) for cloud data infrastructure provisioning.
• Demonstrated success implementing CI/CD pipelines for database and data workloads using GitLab CI, Jenkins, or AWS CodePipeline.
• Expert in query optimization, indexing, and schema design across SQL and NoSQL.
• Solid understanding of cloud data security, governance, and compliance practices.
• Experience with observability and monitoring frameworks to ensure resilient, self-healing data systems.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, able to influence senior stakeholders and mentor peers.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative, and highly visible environment.
• Significant experience with PostgreSQL, including database design, administration, performance tuning, high availability, and replication, with a deep understanding of PostgreSQL-specific query optimization techniques.