Senior Database Administrator - Information Technology

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Description United's Digital Technology team is comprised of many talented individuals all working together with cutting-edge technology to build the best airline in the history of aviation. Our team designs, develops and maintains massively scaling technology solutions brought to life with innovative architectures, data analytics, and digital solutions.

Job Overview And Responsibilities United’s Database Administration Team is part of a global team responsible for ensuring the availability, performance, security, and reliability of mission-critical data platforms supporting United’s 24x7 operations. The team partners closely with application engineering, cloud, SRE, and platform teams to deliver highly available SQL Server and AWS RDS / Aurora environments, supporting production operations, modernization initiatives, and large-scale cloud migration programs. This role requires strong ownership across on-prem SQL Server and AWS-managed relational platforms, with a focus on operational excellence, automation, and continuous improvement.

SQL Server & AWS RDS / Aurora Platform Engineering

• Support and operate Tier-1 to Tier-5 SQL Server and AWS RDS / Aurora SQL-compatible databases in a globally distributed production environment
• Design and implement physical database structures aligned with application architecture and workload requirements across on-prem and AWS platforms
• Partner with infrastructure and cloud engineering teams to provision and configure SQL Server, RDS, and Aurora environments
• Install, configure, upgrade, and maintain Microsoft SQL Server (on-prem and EC2) and AWS RDS / Aurora SQL databases
• Provide senior-level consultation to application teams on SQL design, indexing strategies, query optimization, and cloud database best practices
• Implement and operate monitoring, alerting, and observability solutions to ensure platform availability, performance, and SLA compliance
• Lead troubleshooting and resolution of complex database incidents, including performance degradation, locking, blocking, and failover events
• Plan and execute maintenance activities and platform changes with minimal customer impact
• Define and enforce backup, recovery, security, and compliance strategies across SQL Server and AWS-managed databases

AWS RDS / Aurora Operational Expertise

• Demonstrate strong hands-on experience with AWS RDS and Aurora operations and troubleshooting, including:
• CloudWatch metrics, alarms, and log analysis
• Performance Insights and Database Insights for workload analysis
• Locking, blocking, and wait-state analysis in managed environments
• Parameter group and option group configuration and tuning
• Backup management, automated snapshots, manual snapshots, and point-in-time recovery
• Snapshot exports and integrations with Amazon S3
• Plan and execute engine upgrades and patching using Blue/Green deployments, ensuring safe cutover and rollback strategies
• Support scaling, storage growth, and multi-AZ / high-availability configurations
• Partner with security and cloud teams on encryption, IAM integration, and network controls for RDS platforms

Deployment, Performance, and Change Management

• Review and approve database changes prior to production deployment
• Conduct pre-deployment SQL code, schema, and performance reviews with application teams
• Review and provide actionable feedback on stored procedures, indexing strategies, and release artifacts
• Coordinate release execution with engineering and platform teams to ensure predictable and stable deployments
• Lead performance tuning initiatives across SQL Server and RDS platforms, including:
• Query optimization
• Index and statistics management
• Plan stability and regression prevention

Migrations, Modernization, and Cloud Adoption

• Lead and support database migration initiatives, including:
• SQL Server on-prem to AWS RDS
• SQL Server on EC2 to managed RDS
• Cross-version and cross-environment upgrades
• Perform migration assessments, risk analysis, and remediation planning
• Support data validation, performance benchmarking, and post-migration stabilization
• Contribute to modernization efforts focused on managed services, automation, and operational resilience

Operations, Documentation, and Reliability

• Own patching, upgrades, and lifecycle management for SQL Server and AWS RDS / Aurora platforms
• Execute platform changes with defined pre-checks, validation steps, and post-implementation verification
• Maintain high-quality technical documentation, runbooks, and operational procedures
• Design, test, and operate Backup, Recovery, and Disaster Recovery (DR) strategies across on-prem and AWS environments
• Contribute to reliability improvements through root-cause analysis, automation, and preventive controls

This position is offered on local terms and conditions. Expatriate assignments and sponsorship for employment visas, even on a time-limited visa status, will not be awarded. This position is for United Airlines Business Services Pvt. Ltd - a wholly owned subsidiary of United Airlines Inc. Qualifications What’s needed to succeed (Minimum Qualifications):

• Bachelor’s degree or 4 years of relevant work experience in Computer Science, Engineering, or related discipline
• Microsoft SQL Server Certification
• 9+ years of experience in SQL Server database administration and production support
• Strong hands-on experience with SQL Server and AWS RDS Aurora SQL-compatible databases
• Deep expertise in SQL Server high availability and disaster recovery, including:
• Always On Availability Groups
• Failover Clustering
• Log Shipping and Mirroring
• Proven ability to use metrics and telemetry for capacity planning, trend analysis, and proactive issue prevention
• Strong understanding of automation and standardization to deliver reliable database services at scale
• Expertise in platform, database, and query optimization
• Must be legally authorized to work in India for any employer without sponsorship
• Must be fluent in English (written and spoken)
• Successful completion of interview required to meet job qualification
• Reliable and punctual attendance is an essential function of the position