Database Engineer
Location: Foster City, CA 94404
Duration: 6 months
Schedule: Monday–Friday, normal business hours; flexibility required before or after typical business hours
Hours: 40 hours per week
Work Arrangement: Fully onsite
Compensation: $73.60–$81.78 per hour
Employment Type: W2 (not open to C2C, 1099, or visa sponsorship)
Role Overview
Our client is seeking a Database Engineer to design, build, and maintain scalable, secure databases that support applications and analytics. This role partners with application development and data teams to improve database design, performance, reliability, and cost efficiency. The ideal candidate brings hands-on database administration experience, strong SQL skills, and experience managing AWS database infrastructure through infrastructure-as-code.
Responsibilities
• Design and develop scalable database solutions aligned with business requirements.
• Install, configure, and upgrade database software and supporting tools.
• Monitor database performance and optimize queries, indexes, and schemas to improve speed and reliability.
• Implement and maintain security controls to protect sensitive data.
• Collaborate with application developers and data teams on schema design and SQL optimization.
• Troubleshoot database incidents and resolve issues across development and production environments.
• Create and maintain architecture documentation, configuration guides, and operational runbooks.
• Perform capacity planning and recommend infrastructure improvements.
• Manage and support AWS database infrastructure, including services such as RDS, Aurora, and Redshift.
• Automate database infrastructure provisioning and configuration using infrastructure-as-code.
• Apply emerging database technologies and best practices to improve operations and delivery.
Qualifications
• Proven experience as a Database Engineer or Database Administrator.
• Strong understanding of AWS and infrastructure-as-code for database resources.
• Deep knowledge of database management systems such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, or Redshift.
• Proficiency in SQL and query optimization.
• Strong understanding of data modeling, normalization, and schema design.
• Hands-on experience with database performance tuning and monitoring.
• Understanding of backup, restoration, and disaster recovery procedures.
• Knowledge of database security best practices.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, communication, and collaboration skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Availability to work onsite and accommodate flexible hours when needed.
Preferred Qualifications
• Knowledge of AWS networking fundamentals.
• Experience with Terraform Cloud and infrastructure-as-code workflows.
• Experience automating database operations with Python or Shell scripting.
• Experience with database CI/CD tools and workflows, such as Bamboo or Flyway.