Head of Database Engineering and Operations

Your Team Responsibilities

We are seeking the head of Database Engineering & Operations for MSCI's large database infrastructure spread across our Tier-IV data center, Google cloud and Azure,to lead and grow our team responsible for the performance, availability, and scalability of critical database platforms —Oracle, SQL Server, Cassandra, Mongo

DB and Apache Ignite— across ourhybrid cloud environment which incorporates on premise data centers, Azure, GCP and Oracle Cloud. This role combines technical depth with strong leadership skills, ensuring the stability, efficiency, and continuous improvement of both legacy and modern data systems. This role requires very deep 20+ years of hands-on engineering experience with multi-vendor databases - structured and non-structured.

This is an executive level positions that requires candidate evidence prior positions leading mission critical database infrastructure that powers MSCI's multi-billion dollar business. The ideal candidate is a
hands-on leader
with a strategic mindset, capable of driving engineering modernization, automation, and operational excellence in a complex and fast-paced environment.

Team Leadership & Strategy

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of database engineers and administrators.
• Define and execute a strategic roadmap for database engineering and operations.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Database Engineering & Architecture

• Provide technical leadership for the design, deployment, and optimization of Oracle, SQL Server, Cassandra and other No
  
  SQL databases on the MSCI Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Platform
• Guide infrastructure design and implementation decisions for on-premises and cloud-hosted database workloads
• Drive standardization of database architecture, tooling, automation, and best practices.

Operations & Performance

• Oversee 24/7 database operations, ensuring system reliability, availability, performance and proactive maintenance.
• Own and optimize backup, recovery, HA/DR, patching, and capacity planning processes.
• Develop robust monitoring, alerting, and incident response procedures.
• Develop designs to enable fast recovery of databases ranging from 50TB to 250TB

Cloud & Automation

• Lead the transition and integration of database services into cloud and hybrid environments.
• Promote Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) practices for database provisioning and deployment.
• Drive automation of routine operations to reduce manual effort and increase reliability.

Security, Compliance & Governance

• Ensure compliance with data security policies, regulatory requirements, and industry standards (e.g., SOX, HIPAA, GDPR).
• Enforce access controls, encryption, auditing, and other data governance measures.
• Partner with Info Sec and compliance teams to perform risk assessments and audits.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with application development, Dev Ops, SRE, and business intelligence teams to support data-intensive applications.
• Participate in architectural reviews, performance tuning sessions, and capacity planning initiatives.

Vendor & License Management

• Manage vendor relationships for database platforms, tools, and support contracts.
• Monitor and optimize database licensing usage and costs.

AI

• Integrate AI into all the operations and management processes outlined above

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field.
• 15+ yearsof experience in database engineering or administration.
• 10+ yearsin a leadership and overseeing multi-platform database environments.
• Strong hands-on experience with:
• Oracle(Data Guard, RMAN)
• SQL Server(Always On, SSIS, SSRS)
• Cassandra(Data modeling, scaling, tuning)
• Proven experience in managing hybrid cloud environments (on-prem + AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Solid understanding of backup/recovery, disaster recovery strategies, and high availability architectures.
• Experience with scripting (e.g., Power Shell, Python, Bash) and database automation tools.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with
  
  IaCtools (Terraform, Ansible) andCI/CD pipelines for database changes.
• Fam…