Vertafore is seeking a Cloud Database Architect to own the end-to-end architecture, technical strategy, and evolution of our Oracle and PostgreSQL platforms across AWS and hybrid environments. This role is accountable for defining reference architectures, driving standardization and automation, improving resilience and observability, and enabling scalable, cost-efficient database foundations for Tier-1 workloads.

This is a hybrid design authority as well as operations role. You will partner with Engineering, SRE, DBA and Platform teams to modernize how data platforms are built and run, and you will guide key decisions such as RDS vs RDS Custom vs EC2, HA/DR patterns, replication strategy, and scaling models.

Key Outcomes (What Success Looks Like)

·        Published and adopted database reference architectures for Oracle and PostgreSQL on AWS.

·        High-confidence HA/DR designs with validated RPO/RTO, predictable failover behavior, and tested runbooks.

·        Terraform-based Infrastructure as Code standards enabling repeatable provisioning and safe change control.

·        Improved operational signal quality (SLOs, actionable alerting) and measurable MTTR reduction.

·        Cost-optimized platforms with clear ownership of cost efficiency and licensing implications on AWS.

Core Responsibilities

·        Define and maintain reference architectures for Oracle and PostgreSQL across AWS (RDS, RDS Custom, EC2) and hybrid deployments.

·        Lead architecture reviews and make design decisions for HA/DR, replication, scaling, security, and data lifecycle patterns.

·        Own decision frameworks for when managed services are sufficient vs when EC2-level control is required (visibility, compliance, performance, and operational needs).

·        Drive modernization initiatives such as read scaling for reporting, workload isolation, and controlled retention/archival strategies.

·        Define migration and replication patterns (including CDC) using AWS DMS/SCT and other fit-for-purpose tooling.

·        Partner with engineering teams to move from reactive tuning to designed-for-scale architecture improvements.

·        Define database SLOs/SLAs, error budgets, and operational guardrails; standardize dashboards and golden signals for database health.

·        Improve alert signal-to-noise and incident response effectiveness through runbooks, escalation criteria, and post-incident RCA follow-through.

·        Lead technical direction during database incidents and drive preventative improvements based on validated root causes.

·        Architect and implement Terraform modules and standards for provisioning database infrastructure, networking, and security baselines.

·        Integrate database change workflows into CI/CD with automated validation, testing, and safe rollout/rollback practices.

·        Champion automation for patching, upgrades, backups, restores, and routine operational activities.

·        Lead advanced performance diagnostics and tuning for Oracle (AWR/ASH/ADDM) and PostgreSQL/Aurora (WAL, vacuum, bloat, partitioning, replication behavior).

·        Establish guardrails for heavy reporting workloads (scheduling, read replicas, resource governance) to protect Tier-1 operations.

·        Drive capacity planning and performance testing to ensure predictable behavior under growth scenarios.

·        Design secure-by-default platforms including encryption strategy (KMS/TDE), secrets management, auditing, and least-privilege access controls.

·        Ensure backup/recovery, retention, and access patterns align with compliance requirements and business risk posture.

Required Qualifications

·        15+ years in database engineering/architecture with deep expertise in Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.

·        3+ years designing and operating database platforms on AWS (RDS/RDS Custom/EC2) with a strong understanding of HA/DR tradeoffs.

·        Proven ability to lead architecture decisions spanning reliability, performance, security, and cost.

·        Strong Infrastructure as Code experience (Terraform preferred) and automation-first mindset.

·        Excellent stakeholder communication skills with the ability to influence engineering, SRE, DBA, and leadership.

Preferred

·        Experience with data replication and migration tooling (AWS DMS/SCT, CDC patterns, high-throughput replication).

·        Experience establishing observability standards (SLOs, dashboards, alert tuning) using CloudWatch/Dynatrace or similar platforms.

·        Relevant certifications (AWS Solutions Architect, Oracle OCP) are a plus.