Senior Lead Database Engineer

About Lumen

Lumen connects the world. We are igniting business growth by connecting people, data and applications – quickly, securely, and effortlessly. Together, we are building a culture and company from the people up – committed to teamwork, trust and transparency. People power progress. We’re looking for top-tier talent and offer the flexibility you need to thrive and deliver lasting impact. Join us as we digitally connect the world and shape the future.

The Role

We are seeking a Senior Lead Database Engineer with technical expertise to lead schema design and develop high-performance, reliable, and highly available (HA) database-driven applications, while guiding a small team and modernizing legacy systems. This role demands deep knowledge of database internals (relational and non-relational), advanced schema design, and performant development in Java and other languages (Golang, Scala). You will contribute to the architecture of robust database solutions from the ground up, help select optimal technologies, and collaborate with other development teams to contract and implement full systems. With DBA-level skills and AWS cloud-native fluency, you’ll ensure applications meet stringent performance and uptime SLAs. The ideal candidate is a hands-on expert who excels at crafting scalable schemas and building resilient systems. 

Location

This is a work from home position within the US. 

The Main Responsibilities

• Schema Design: Architect efficient, scalable schemas for PostgreSQL (e.g., normalized 3NF with covering indexes), balancing read/write performance and HA.
  Database Selection: Choose databases (e.g., Cassandra, PostgreSQL, AWS Aurora, DynamoDB) by analyzing throughput, latency percentiles, and availability requirements
• Application Development: Build high-performance, reliable database applications in Java (e.g., Spring Boot with reactive JDBC) and Go (e.g., goroutines with connection pooling), ensuring sub-millisecond query responses and fault tolerance
• Advanced software engineering using modern software languages and architecture pattern and partner with other dev teams to design, contract, and implement full systems, ensuring database reliability integrates with application logic.
• Migrate legacy systems to modern, performant databases, redesigning inefficient schemas into HA-ready, high-throughput models with minimal disruption and manage database reliability, performance and HA backup strategies
• Refine complex queries with tools like PostgreSQL’s EXPLAIN ANALYZE, Oracle’s OEM, targeting minimal I/O and CPU cost
  Up-to-date knowledge of current trends in software development and cloud native technologies
• Developing enterprise RESTful web services in REST the latest patterns and developing various data persistence frameworks leveraging SQL, Graph and No SQL solutions as appropriate and maintaining and resolving issues in a highly complex integration architecture
• Leveraging CI/CD pipelines as part of DevOps platforms to deliver code into test and production and following up with application owners and solution architects to resolve issues as needed
• Participating in and being a member of a multi-location, global software development team and mentoring others in various technical areas, including business processes implemented in the team's applications and the creation and delivery of designs and solutions in accordance with architectural direction.
• Engagement in all aspects of the software development life cycle, including requirements review, design, coding, code reviews, testing, deployment, and warranty support.
  Collaborating with others in the application of principles, theories, concepts and use of software methodologies, tools, documentation processes, security protocols, and test procedures to successfully deliver projects
• Contributing to design and architecture solutions for telecommunication workflow and order management systems.  Assist with evaluation of future state technologies

What We Look For in a Candidate

• Significant software engineering experience using modern languages.
• Significant experience with integration technologies including REST and GraphQL Services, micro-services patterns, Open API specifications.
• Understanding of range of enterprise databases including Oracle, SQL Server, Postgres and Graph Databases
• Ability to write and understand complex SQL queries, relational and non-relational data models
• Experience with data structuring standards including XML, JSON, and YAML
• Knowledge of code versioning tools such as Git and GitHub
• Experience with containerization technologies to include Kubernetes and Docker
• Effective communication, interpersonal and analytical skills
• Ability to work in a highly collaborative and empowered environment
• Self-starter, can-do attitude within a fast-moving business and technical environment
• Strong problem-solving skills, time management, and oral and written communication skills
• Demonstrated history of software development roles with expanding responsibilities and corresponding successful deliveries over time
• 8+ years professional experience with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Systems, or related field, or equivalent education and experience. 

Compensation

This information reflects the anticipated base salary range for this position based on current national data. Minimums and maximums may vary based on location. Individual pay is based on skills, experience and other relevant factors.

Location Based Pay Ranges:

$129,639 - $172,852 in these states: AL, AR, AZ, FL, GA, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MO, MS, MT, ND, NE, NM, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, UT, VT, WI, WV, and WY.
$136,121 - $181,494 in these states: CO, HI, MI, MN, NC, NH, NV, OR, and RI.
$142,603 - $190,137 in these states: AK, CA, CT, DC, DE, IL, MA, MD, NJ, NY, TX, VA, and WA.

Lumen offers a comprehensive package featuring a broad range of Health, Life, Voluntary Lifestyle benefits and other perks that enhance your physical, mental, emotional and financial wellbeing. We're able to answer any additional questions you may have about our bonus structure (short-term incentives, long-term incentives and/or sales compensation) as you move through the selection process.

Learn more about Lumen's:

• Benefits
• Bonus Structure

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Requisition #: 339880

Equal Employment Opportunities

We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all persons regardless of race, color, ancestry, citizenship, national origin, religion, veteran status, disability, genetic characteristic or information, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family status, pregnancy, or other legally protected status (collectively, “protected statuses”). We do not tolerate unlawful discrimination in any employment decisions, including recruiting, hiring, compensation, promotion, benefits, discipline, termination, job assignments or training.

Disclaimer

The job responsibilities described above indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not intended to include a comprehensive inventory of all duties and responsibilities for this job. Job duties and responsibilities are subject to change based on evolving business needs and conditions.