Principal Database Architect

Principal Database Architect | Deltek, Inc

Principal Database Architect

India-Bangalore (Remote)

As the recognized global standard for project-based businesses, Deltek delivers software and information solutions to help organizations achieve their purpose. Our market leadership stems from the work of our diverse employees who are united by a passion for learning, growing and making a difference. At Deltek, we take immense pride in creating a balanced, values-driven environment, where every employee feels included and empowered to do their best work. Our employees put our core values into action daily, creating a one-of-a-kind culture that has been recognized globally. Thanks to our incredible team, Deltek has been named one of America's Best Midsize Employers by Forbes, a Best Place to Work by Glassdoor, a Top Workplace by The Washington Post and a Best Place to Work in Asia by World HRD Congress.

The Deltek Engineering and Technology team builds best-in-class solutions to delight customers and meet their business needs. We are laser-focused on software design, development, innovation and quality. Our team of experts has the talent, skills and values to deliver products and services that are easy to use, reliable, sustainable and competitive. If you're looking for a safe environment where ideas are welcome, growth is supported and questions are encouraged – consider joining us as we explore the limitless opportunities of the software industry.

Position Responsibilities

Database Architecture & Optimization

• Design and evolve database architectures for scalable enterprise systems.
• Define efficient data access patterns that support high concurrency and large datasets.
• Improve schema design, indexing strategies, and query patterns.
• Ensure database designs support both transactional and data consumption workloads.

SQL Performance Engineering

• Analyze and optimize complex SQL queries and execution plans.
• Improve database performance through indexing strategies, statistics management, and query tuning.
• Investigate workload behaviour and recommend architectural improvements.

Data Access & Systems Thinking

• Provide guidance on scalable approaches for retrieving and delivering data for data-intensive application features.
• Recommend architectural strategies such as data aggregation, caching, or pre-computed datasets where appropriate.
• Apply systems thinking to improve how data is modeled, accessed, and delivered across the application.

Advanced Diagnostics

• Diagnose database behaviour using tools such as Query Store, Extended Events, and execution plan analysis.
• Analyze query performance, wait statistics, and workload patterns to identify optimization opportunities.

Collaboration & Technical Leadership

• Partner with engineering teams to guide scalable SQL development and data access practices.
• Participate in architecture and design discussions involving database interactions.
• Document best practices and architectural recommendations.

AI-Assisted Engineering

• Use AI-assisted tools to accelerate query analysis, diagnostics, and workload investigations.
• Validate AI-generated insights through empirical testing and database telemetry.

Qualifications

Technical Skills & Expertise Database & SQL Server (Required)

• Advanced SQL Server performance tuning, including query optimization, execution plan analysis, and index design
• Strong experience diagnosing and resolving deadlocks using Extended Events and deadlock graphs
• Deep understanding of locking, blocking, and transaction behaviour, including wait statistics and lock escalation
• Experience optimizing stored procedures, including mitigation of parameter sniffing and plan cache management
• Strong knowledge of indexing strategies, including covering indexes and filtered indexes
• Solid understanding of statistics, cardinality estimation, and query optimizer behaviour

Performance Analysis Tools (Required)

• Experience using SQL Server Profiler and Extended Events for workload diagnostics
• Advanced execution plan analysis using SSMS or Azure Data Studio
• Familiarity with SET STATISTICS IO/TIME for query performance evaluation
• Strong experience using Query Store to analyse query performance and plan behaviour
• Ability to diagnose issues through wait statistics and blocking chain analysis

Enterprise Application Data Architecture

• Strong understanding of database design within multi-tier enterprise applications
• Experience optimizing database workloads supporting high-concurrency systems and large datasets
• Understanding how application query patterns influence database performance
• Familiarity working with application platforms such as.NET, APIs, or modern web frameworks

Cloud & Enterprise Database Environments

• Experience working with cloud-hosted database environments
• Understanding of scalability considerations in enterprise systems
• Experience analyzing and optimizing database workloads in production environments

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience working with enterprise database systems
• Proven expertise in SQL performance tuning and database workload optimization
• Strong experience in analysing execution plans and database performance behaviour
• Experience collaborating with engineering teams on data architecture and query design
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

AI-First Mindset Requirement

• We value engineers who view AI as a productivity multiplier. The ideal candidate actively leverages AI tools to accelerate diagnostics, analyze database workloads, and uncover optimization opportunities while applying strong engineering judgment to validate results.