Lead - Cloud and Database

We seek a Lead - Cloud and Database with 12-18 years of experience to oversee enterprise cloud and database management. Candidates must have strong skills in AWS, GCP, and major enterprise databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, MS SQL), with emphasis on compliance, audit readiness, uptime, and risk management. The role ensures technology adherence to RBI Master Directions, outsourcing guidelines, data localisation, and regulatory standards while supporting secure, scalable platforms.

The candidate will have responsibilities across the following functions:

Cloud Management (AWS and GCP):

• Architect, implement, and govern secure and compliant cloud solutions aligned with RBI and ISO standards.
• Ensure high availability, disaster recovery, and BCP/DR compliance as per RBI directions.
• Implement data localisation and encryption policies to meet regulatory mandates.
• Monitor and optimise cloud spend while ensuring security, performance, and compliance.

Database Management (Postgres, MySQL, Oracle, MSSQL):

• Oversee lifecycle management: provisioning, tuning, patching, and upgrades.
• Ensure RTO/RPO and SLA adherence in line with critical financial workloads.
• Implement robust backup, archival, and data retention policies per RBI guidelines.
• Standardise monitoring, capacity planning, and proactive risk management for DB operations.

Audit, Compliance and Risk Governance:

• Act as the first line of defence for internal, statutory, RBI, and ISO audits covering cloud & DB systems.
• Maintain audit trails, logs, and compliance evidence as mandated by regulators.
• Lead closure of audit observations within prescribed timelines.
• Implement governance frameworks for risk identification, mitigation, and continuous monitoring.

Leadership and Stakeholder Management:

• Lead the Cloud & DB Tower team with technical direction, mentoring, and workforce planning.
• Collaborate with IT Governance, Security, Risk, and Application teams to align on enterprise objectives.
• Manage vendor contracts, AMC, and ensure third-party compliance as per RBI IT outsourcing guidelines.
• Present periodic compliance, uptime, and risk dashboards to senior management.
• Drive Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) adoption across cloud and DB environments (Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation).
• Implement automation for provisioning, patching, backup, monitoring, and incident remediation.
• Reduce manual interventions by standardising workflows through CI/CD pipelines and automated policies.
• Ensure automation practices are compliant with RBI regulations and IT governance frameworks.

Automation and Process Optimisation:

• Drive year-on-year reduction in Cloud and DB OPEX through reserved instances, license consolidation, and rightsizing.
• Establish governance for cost visibility, showback /chargeback, and optimisation tracking.
• Implement automation to eliminate redundant processes and improve service efficiency.
• Balance cost efficiency with compliance to RBI and IT governance requirements.

Cost Optimisation and Efficiency:

• Design and maintain high availability (HA) architecture across cloud and database platforms to minimise downtime.
• Implement disaster recovery (DR) solutions ensuring RTO and RPO for critical applications.
• Conduct periodic DR drills and validate resiliency against RBI BCP/DR mandates.
• Continuously improve stability by proactive monitoring, capacity planning, and failover testing.

Requirements:

• Hands-on: Cloud deployment (AWS/GCP), database engineering (Postgres, MySQL, Oracle, MSSQL), automation (Terraform, Ansible, SQL scripting), incident resolution, architecture review.
• Functional: Audit/compliance management (RBI/ISO), vendor governance, cost control, stakeholder engagement, and cross-functional collaboration.

Skills:

• Strong expertise in AWS and GCP architecture, security, and compliance frameworks.
• Hands-on experience with Postgres, MySQL, Oracle, and MS SQL in production-critical environments.
• Familiarity with RBI Master Directions on IT, Cybersecurity Framework for NBFCs, and IT Outsourcing Guidelines.
• Excellent knowledge of IT risk, compliance, and audit frameworks (ISO 27001, PCI DSS, SOC).
• Strong vendor, stakeholder, and team leadership skills.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI):

• Uptime and SLA: 99% for critical systems.
• Audit and Compliance: Zero major non-conformities in RBI/statutory audits.
• Risk Governance: Timely closure of risk items and vulnerabilities.
• Regulatory Adherence: 100% compliance with RBI IT, BCP/DR, Data Localisation mandates.
• Cost Efficiency: Controlled cloud/database OPEX with demonstrable optimisation

Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor's degree in information technology, Computer Science, or related field. Relevant certifications are a plus.
• AWS Solutions Architect / AWS Security Specialty/Google Cloud Professional Architect.
• Database certifications (Oracle OCP, MS SQL, PostgreSQL DBA).
• ITIL, CISA, ISO 27001.

Experience:

• Bachelor of Technology/ Master's in Computer Science, IT, or equivalent.
• 12+ years of IT experience with at least 5 years in cloud & DB leadership in BFSI/NBFC/regulated industry.