Controls Tech EIM Database Lead / Database Engineering Lead

Position Overview

Citi is seeking an experienced, high-caliber Database Technical Lead (C13 / VP) to lead the design, modernization, administration, and resiliency engineering of enterprise database platforms. As a C13 Database Lead, you will be responsible for defining technical strategies, driving cloud and database-as-a-service (DBaaS) transformations, ensuring strict data governance and security compliance, and leading senior technical engineers across critical multi-region banking systems.

• Responsibilities & Requirements
• 1. Enterprise Database Architecture & Technical Strategy
• Architect, design, and deliver end-to-end database solutions across relational (Oracle, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server) and NoSQL/Distributed databases (MongoDB, Cassandra, Redis).
• Define enterprise standards for data modeling, partitioning, indexing strategies, and database scalability across high-volume transactional (OLTP) and analytical (OLAP) environments.
• Drive the technical roadmap aligned with Citi's enterprise reference architectures, zero-trust infrastructure, and microservices ecosystem.
• 2. Modernization, DBaaS & Cloud Enablement
• Lead migration initiatives from legacy on-premises databases to modern cloud and containerized platforms (AWS RDS/Aurora, OpenShift, internal private cloud DBaaS/PaaS).
• Champion database containerization and modern provisioning frameworks, automating lifecycle management and cluster autoscaling.
• Partner with application development and cloud architecture teams to re-platform and refactor applications for cloud-native persistence layers.
• 3. High Availability, Replication & Scalability Engineering
• Architect, configure, and maintain robust High Availability (HA) topologies (e.g., Oracle Data Guard/Active Data Guard, Oracle RAC, PostgreSQL Streaming Replication / Patroni, MongoDB Replica Sets & Sharded Clusters).
• Establish cross-region and multi-data-center replication strategies to support 24/7/365 mission-critical banking operations with minimal RTO (Recovery Time Objective) and zero RPO (Recovery Point Objective).
• 4. Advanced Performance Engineering, Tuning & Diagnostics
• Spearhead deep-dive performance troubleshooting, query optimization, indexing reviews, execution plan analysis, and database profiling across production systems.
• Establish automated monitoring, telemetry, and observability frameworks (using Prometheus, Grafana, OEM, AppDynamics, and APM tools) to proactively detect anomalies, locking/blocking, and resource bottlenecks.
• Direct proactive capacity planning, I/O footprint optimization, and memory management across compute and storage tiers.
• 5. Security, Vulnerability Management & Access Control
• Enforce end-to-end database security standards, including Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), data masking, tokenization, TLS encryption in-transit, and privileged access controls.
• Drive automated security patching, configuration baseline compliance (CIS Benchmarks), and rapid remediation of vulnerabilities (CVEs), ensuring zero non-compliant instances across the fleet.
• Integrate identity and credential workflows with enterprise secrets management tools (e.g., HashiCorp Vault, CyberArk) and role-based access control (RBAC).
• 6. Database DevOps, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) & CI/CD
• Champion Database DevOps practices by integrating schema migrations and database deployments into automated CI/CD pipelines (via Harness, Tekton, Jenkins, Bitbucket/GitHub).
• Develop and maintain Infrastructure as Code (IaC) playbooks and configuration scripts using Ansible, Terraform, and Python/Bash automation.
• Eliminate manual operational touchpoints through self-service database provisioning and automated routine maintenance.
• 7. Continuity of Business (COB) & Disaster Recovery (DR)
• Own the disaster recovery framework for core database estates, designing and executing regular formal COB/DR failover drills.
• Define and maintain backup and restore strategies (RMAN, storage snapshots, point-in-time recovery) to safeguard data integrity against hardware failures, corruption, and site-level disasters.
• Ensure comprehensive auditability and validation of backup retention policies aligned with financial regulatory standards.
• 8. Governance, Risk, Audit & Regulatory Compliance
• Serve as the primary database technical authority during internal and external audit reviews, regulatory examinations, and risk assessments.
• Ensure full compliance with Citi's Information Security policies, data sovereignty regulations (e.g., GDPR, local residency laws), and financial record retention mandates.
• Maintain comprehensive technical documentation, architecture runbooks, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and operational readiness checklists.
• 9. Technical Leadership, Mentorship & Vendor Engagement
• Provide strong technical leadership, guidance, and mentorship to senior engineers, database administrators, and offshore support teams.
• Collaborate closely with application squads, enterprise architects, site reliability engineers (SREs), and product owners to translate complex business requirements into robust database architectures.
• Liaise with major database software vendors (Oracle, EnterpriseDB, MongoDB, AWS) on product escalations, feature enhancements, and roadmaps.
• 10. Required Qualifications, Experience & Certifications
• Education : Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Experience : 12+ years of progressive experience in database engineering/administration, with at least 3+ years in a lead or architect capacity within a large-scale, enterprise financial services environment.
• Core Technical Competencies:
• In-depth expertise in Oracle (19c/21c, RAC, Data Guard) and/or PostgreSQL (v12+, Patroni, Connection Pooling).
• Strong working proficiency with NoSQL platforms (MongoDB, Redis) and DBaaS architectures.
• Demonstrated hands-on scripting and automation skills in Python, Bash, Ansible, or Terraform.
• Solid understanding of Linux kernel OS tuning, storage architectures (SAN/NAS/NVMe), and networking protocols.
• Certifications (Preferred):
• Certified Oracle Database Administrator / Specialist
• AWS Certified Database – Specialty or AWS Solutions Architect Professional
• PostgreSQL / EDB Certified Professional
• MongoDB Certified DBA Associate / Professional
• Key Leadership & Soft Skills
• Proven track record of managing high-impact technical incidents and driving root cause analysis (RCA) to conclusion.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with the ability to articulate complex technical topics to non-technical stakeholders and executive leadership.
• Strong ownership mindset, problem-solving agility, and passion for continuous technology modernization.

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Job Family Group:

Technology ------------------------------------------------------

Job Family:

Applications Development ------------------------------------------------------

Time Type:

Full time ------------------------------------------------------

Most Relevant Skills

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Other Relevant Skills

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