Lead Database Reliability Engineer

At UKG, the work you do matters. The code you ship, the decisions you make, and the care you show a customer all add up to real impact. Today, tens of millions of workers start and end their days with our workforce operating platform. Helping people get paid, grow in their careers, and shape the future of their industries. That’s what we do.

We never stop learning. We never stop challenging the norm. We push for better, and we celebrate the wins along the way. Here, you’ll get flexibility that’s real, benefits you can count on, and a team that succeeds together. Because at UKG, your work matters—and so do you.

About The Role

We are seeking a highly experienced and versatile Production DBA with strong expertise in both SQL Server (Primary) and PostgreSQL (Secondary/Co-Primary) to manage large-scale, mission-critical database environments. This role requires deep technical leadership, strong operational mindset, and hands-on expertise in cloud platforms, automation, and observability.

The individual will play a key role in ensuring high availability, performance, security, and reliability across database platforms in a 24x7 production environment.

24x7 Support Expectations

• Must be open to working in a 24x7 support model, including:
• o Off-hours/on-call rotations
• o Weekends and holidays
• o Incident bridge participation during high-severity outages
• Strong sense of ownership, urgency, and operational discipline is critical.
  

• Provide end-to-end database support for SQL Server (2012–2022) and PostgreSQL (EDB & Community).
• Lead and mentor L1/L2 DBAs, driving troubleshooting excellence and root cause analysis.
• Design and implement monitoring & alerting frameworks using:
• SQL DMVs, PerfMon, PostgreSQL stats views
• Tools like Grafana, Datadog, Splunk, SolarWinds DPA
• SLI/SLO and Error Budget concepts
• Troubleshoot and resolve performance issues across OLTP, ETL, reporting, and data warehouse workloads.
• Implement and manage high availability & DR solutions:
• SQL Server: Always On, Clustering, Log Shipping, Replication
• PostgreSQL: Streaming Replication, EFM, Standby setups
• Develop and maintain database automation and operational tooling:
• PowerShell, Python, Go
• Lead cloud migration and modernization initiatives (GCP preferred).
• Implement capacity planning, performance tuning, and cost optimization strategies.
• Review and optimize database code (T-SQL, PL/pgSQL).
• Establish and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) and best practices.
• Drive toil reduction and automation-first approach.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Infrastructure, and Platform teams for release and change management.
  

Database Platforms

• Strong hands-on expertise in:
• SQL Server (Primary): Installation, upgrades, patching, performance tuning
• PostgreSQL: Administration, tuning, replication, extension management
• High Availability & DR
• Deep understanding of:
• SQL Server HA/DR (Always On, clustering, log shipping)
• PostgreSQL replication strategies and failover mechanisms
• Performance & Monitoring
• Experience with advanced performance tuning:
• Execution plans, indexing strategies, query optimization
• PostgreSQL query planning and VACUUM strategies
• Observability-driven mindset using SLI/SLO metrics
• Cloud & Automation o Experience in GCP (preferred) or AWS environments
• Hands-on with:
• Cloud SQL / Managed DB services
• Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform or similar)
• CI/CD pipelines
• Scripting & Tooling
• Strong scripting skills in:
• PowerShell, Shell, Python
• Automation-first approach for operational efficiency
• Operating Systems
• Experience with:
• Windows Server (for SQL Server)
• Linux environments (for PostgreSQL)
• Security & Compliance
• Database security concepts:
• Encryption, access control, auditing
• Experience supporting compliance and audit requirements
• Familiarity with:
• MySQL, Oracle
• NoSQL (Cassandra/Astra)
• SaaS/Hosted environments
  

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science / IT or equivalent
• 7+ years of experience as a Production DBA
• Certifications preferred:
• Microsoft SQL Server / Azure
• PostgreSQL Certification
• GCP Certification (good to have)
• Strong understanding of:
• SLI/SLO frameworks
• Incident management and production operations
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
  

• Strong ownership mindset in production environments
• Ability to handle high-pressure incidents with calm and structure
• Focus on automation, standardization, and scalability
• Collaborative mindset across cross-functional global teams

Company Overview

UKG is the Workforce Operating Platform that puts workforce understanding to work. With the world's largest collection of workforce insights, and people-first AI, our ability to reveal unseen ways to build trust, amplify productivity, and empower talent, is unmatched. It's this expertise that equips our customers with the intelligence to solve any challenge in any industry — because great organizations know their workforce is their competitive edge. Learn more at ukg.com.

UKG is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace, including the recruitment process.

Disability Accommodation in the Application and Interview Process

For individuals with disabilities that need additional assistance at any point in the application and interview process, please email [email protected]