Summary
The Senior Cloud Database Engineer will lead Nordstrom's cloud database platform buildout and operate mission-critical on-premises Oracle and MSSQL systems during an active migration to AWS. This role is the AWS subject matter expert for RDS, Aurora PostgreSQL, and Aurora DSQL, responsible for standards, architecture, and production reliability. The position is hybrid in Seattle and includes mentorship, hands-on engineering, and on-call incident ownership.
Responsibilities
- Architect, deploy, and operate AWS database services (RDS Oracle/SQL Server/PostgreSQL, Aurora PostgreSQL, Aurora DSQL) with HA, replication, backup, and DR strategies.
- Define enterprise standards, governance frameworks, and deployment patterns for AWS database services.
- Develop and maintain Terraform infrastructure-as-code for provisioning, parameter management, networking, and lifecycle automation.
- Monitor and optimize database performance using CloudWatch, Performance Insights, and related observability tooling.
- Support enterprise on-premises Oracle (19c/21c) and MSSQL operations including patching, OEM, RAC/ASM, HA/AG, backup/recovery, and performance diagnostics.
- Operate GoldenGate CDC pipelines, participate in migrations (DMS/SCT), and evaluate AWS database ecosystem services for adoption.
- Lead P1/P2 incident response, participate in on-call rotation, and run knowledge transfer activities including runbooks and workshops.
Requirements
- 7+ years of database engineering experience with at least 3 years of AWS cloud database operations and production accountability.
- Hands-on expertise with RDS, Aurora PostgreSQL, and Aurora DSQL: parameter tuning, HA topology, failover, and replication.
- Production-depth Oracle DBA skills (19c/21c): fleet patching, OEM, ASM, AWR/statspack, and performance diagnostics.
- Operational MSSQL Server experience: HA/AG, T-SQL, backup/recovery, performance tuning, and independent P1 incident ownership.
- Production Terraform experience including state management, module design, and plan/apply discipline.
- Proven ability to establish cloud database standards and enable teams via runbooks, workshops, and mentorship.
- Preferred: GoldenGate CDC experience, DMS/SCT migration experience, and AWS Database Specialty or Solutions Architect Professional certification.
