Project: HR SaaS for the public sector. We are looking for a Senior Database Engineer to execute a production database migration from on-premises Microsoft SQL Server to Amazon RDS for a large HR/Learning SaaS platform serving public-sector and government agencies. You will own the migration mechanism end-to-end: moving multiple active OLTP databases with a near-zero-downtime cutover and a verified rollback path.

This is a hands-on delivery role embedded in a cross-functional team (Backend, DevOps, and the client's existing DBA and QA teams). Beyond the migration itself, you will diagnose and resolve database-layer issues that surface during parallel run and cutover (latency, connection routing, read-only replica behavior). The platform's longer-term direction includes introducing PostgreSQL alongside SQL Server, so experience with a polyglot estate is a strong plus.

Key Responsibilities

: Execute the migration of the OLTP database from on-prem SQL Server to Amazon RDS for SQL Server (Multi-AZ) for dependent products. Provision and configure RDS instances (Enterprise Edition for AG support), parameter groups, option groups, backups, and Multi-AZ HA across all environments. Validate RDS feature compatibility: Change Tracking (required for downstream ETL) and CLR SAFE assemblies; prepare and cost the fallback path Diagnose and fix database-layer issues during parallel run and cutover: Transit Gateway / cross-network latency, connection-string and read-only routing, command timeouts, and accidental writes to read replicas.

Define and rehearse cutover and rollback runbooks (failover/failback timings, RPO/RTO targets, validation steps); support QA parity testing and performance baselining Establish monitoring, alerting, and backup/recovery (CloudWatch, Performance Insights, point-in-time recovery) for the migrated databases.

Nice To Have

: Infrastructure-as-Code (AWS CDK)

: PostgreSQL / Amazon RDS / Aurora PostgreSQL

: PostgreSQL administration and SQL Server-to-PostgreSQL migration experience (schema, stored procedures, data-type mapping, dual-write/cutover). NET application data layers. Experience with AWS DMS for heterogeneous migrations.

Infrastructure-as-Code with AWS CDK; CI/CD-driven database migrations. g. FedRAMP).

Requirements

: 5+ years as a DBA / Database Engineer in production environments. Deep Microsoft SQL Server administration expertise: Always-On Availability Groups, replication, backup/restore, log shipping, Change Tracking, performance tuning, and T-SQL. Proven experience migrating SQL Server workloads to AWS, ideally Amazon RDS for SQL Server, including AG-based and/or DMS-based approaches.

Strong understanding of HA/DR, RPO/RTO, cutover, and rollback planning for active production systems. Hands-on AWS experience: RDS, networking (VPC, Transit Gateway), S3, monitoring, IAM. Ability to troubleshoot database connectivity, latency, and routing issues in hybrid (on-prem + cloud) topologies.

Experience working alongside a client-side DBA team and coordinating phased, multi-environment rollouts. English: Upper-Intermediate or higher.

Compensation

package Personalized career growth Professional development tools (mentorship program, tech talks and trainings, centers of excellence, and more) Active tech communities with regular knowledge sharing Education reimbursement Memorable anniversary presents Corporate events and team buildings Other location-specific

Benefits

*not applicable for freelancers

Senior DataBase Administrator