Principal Database Engineer - SQL Server & AI Data

at WEX Inc. in South PortlandSouth Portland, Maine, United States

Job Description

Principal Database Engineer - SQL Server & AI Data Infrastructure
The Opportunity

WEX is looking for a highly experienced Database Engineer to help modernize and scale critical data platforms while supporting the next generation of AI-enabled applications.

This is a hands‑on engineering role for someone who brings deep expertise in SQL Server and T‑SQL, combined with the ability to solve complex database performance, scalability, and modernization challenges at enterprise scale.

You will work across large, business‑critical data environments, partnering closely with application engineering, SRE, operations, and architecture teams. The role is highly technical and execution‑oriented—you will be expected to independently identify problems, drive solutions, and take ownership from design through implementation and production.

The team is also applying modern AI capabilities to database engineering, including AI‑assisted development, automation, semantic search, embeddings, and vector‑based data infrastructure.

What You’ll Do

Database Engineering & Modernization

• Design, develop, optimize, and modernize large-scale SQL Server databases and data platforms.
• Analyze and refactor complex T‑SQL, stored procedures, functions, and database logic.
• Identify and resolve database performance bottlenecks through execution‑plan analysis, indexing, query optimization, and database tuning.
• Drive schema improvements and database modernization initiatives that improve scalability, maintainability, and reliability.
• Develop migration strategies and automation that maintain data integrity and minimize disruption to business‑critical systems.
• Implement and improve data replication and synchronization patterns across transactional and analytical environments.
• Apply event‑driven database patterns such as Change Data Capture (CDC), outbox patterns, and event publishing.

Enterprise-Scale Data Platforms

• Engineer solutions for large, high‑volume databases supporting critical business applications and partners.
• Work with databases containing terabytes of data and complex data relationships.
• Develop data pipelines and integration patterns across SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Snowflake, and cloud data services.
• Support both OLTP and OLAP environments and optimize data movement between systems.
• Apply strong understanding of database internals, including indexing, locking, transactions, isolation levels, concurrency, and query optimization.

AI-Enabled Database Engineering

• Use modern AI coding assistants such as GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code, or similar tools to accelerate development, analysis, debugging, and modernization.
• Explore and implement AI‑powered approaches for analyzing stored procedures, documenting schemas, and automating database engineering workflows.
• Contribute to AI‑native data infrastructure, including embedding pipelines, vector databases, semantic search, and retrieval systems.
• Develop data and retrieval capabilities that support AI applications and agentic workflows.
• Evaluate emerging AI tools and determine where they can improve engineering productivity and data platform capabilities.

Technical Leadership & Ownership

• Independently lead complex database engineering initiatives from problem definition through production implementation.
• Serve as a technical resource for complex database and performance challenges.
• Partner effectively with application engineering, SRE, operations, architecture, and AI/ML teams.
• Provide technical guidance through code reviews, design discussions, and engineering standards.
• Mentor other engineers and contribute to the development of database engineering practices.
• Take ownership of outcomes rather than simply completing assigned tasks.

Production & Problem Solving

• Participate in resolving high‑impact production issues involving critical database systems.
• Diagnose complex problems using logs, database metrics, CPU/memory utilization, execution plans, and other observability data.
• Quickly determine root cause, coordinate with the appropriate technical teams, and drive issues through resolution.
• Balance immediate incident resolution with longer‑term improvements that prevent recurrence.

What You’ll BringRequired Experience

• 15+ years of experience in database engineering, data platform engineering, software engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Deep hands‑on experience with Microsoft SQL Server and T‑SQL, including complex stored procedures, query optimization, execution‑plan analysis, indexing, and performance tuning.
• Demonstrated experience modernizing or refactoring legacy database systems, not simply maintaining existing environments.
• Experience working with large‑scale, business‑critical databases and high‑volume data environments.
• Strong programming skills in Python, C#, or a similar language for automation, tooling, and data processing.
• Experience with data pipelines, ETL/ELT, data integration, batch processing, and/or event‑driven architectures.
• Strong understanding of database internals, transaction management, concurrency, locking, and performance optimization.
• Experience working across engineering teams and independently driving complex technical initiatives.

AI & Modern Data Technologies

• Experience using AI coding assistants such as Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Augment, or similar tools.
• Familiarity with embeddings, vector databases, semantic search, or RAG concepts.
• Experience with or willingness to build AI‑enabled data tooling and automation.
• Exposure to technologies such as PostgreSQL, Snowflake, Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, AWS data services, or similar platforms.

Cloud & Engineering Practices

• Experience with infrastructure‑as‑code such as Terraform, ARM/Bicep, or similar technologies.
• Experience with CI/CD, source control, database migrations, schema versioning, and deployment automation.
• Experience with event streaming technologies such as Kafka is a plus.
• Familiarity with NoSQL and document databases is a plus.

Preferred Experience

• Experience in payments, financial services, healthcare, benefits, or other highly regulated environments.
• Experience supporting highly available, customer‑facing or business‑critical systems.
• Experience with Oracle PL/SQL in addition to SQL Server.
• Hands‑on experience with RAG, semantic search, vector databases, or AI‑agent data infrastructure.
• Experience building internal engineering tools or automation using AI.

Why This Role Matters

WEX operates at a significant enterprise scale, and our database platforms are foundational to critical customer and business experiences. This role sits at the intersection of deep database engineering, large‑scale modernization, cloud data platforms, and emerging AI technologies.

You will have the opportunity to apply proven database engineering expertise to some of the industry's most challenging data problems while helping shape how AI can transform the way modern engineering teams build, operate, and evolve data platforms.

This is an opportunity for an engineer who wants to remain deeply technical while operating with the ownership and influence expected at the Senior Staff level.

The base pay range represents the anticipated low and high end of the pay range for this position. Actual pay rates will vary and will be based on various factors, such as your qualifications, skills, competencies, and proficiency for the role. Base pay is one component of WEX's total compensation package. Most sales positions are eligible for commission under the terms of an applicable plan. Non‑sales roles are typically eligible for a quarterly or annual bonus based on their role and applicable plan. WEX's comprehensive and market competitive benefits are designed to support your personal and professional well‑being. Benefits include health, dental and vision insurances, retirement savings plan, paid time off, health savings account, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, disability insurance, tuition reimbursement, and more. For more information, check out the "About Us" section.

Pay Range: $165,800.00 - $204,400.00

Equal Opportunity Employer/Vets/Disability