At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a team to manage and optimise cloud and on-prem databases.
- Company: Join a forward-thinking tech company with a focus on innovation.
- Benefits: Hybrid work model, competitive salary, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Dynamic environment with a focus on collaboration and continuous improvement.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by shaping database architecture and leading a talented team.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in database roles, with strong leadership and technical skills.
We are seeking a Managing Engineer to lead our Database & Platform Engineering team responsible for on-prem and cloud databases (MySQL, Redis, MongoDB, and MongoDB Atlas etc). You will manage a team of Database Administrators/Platform Engineers who build, operate, and evolve the platform services that enable product teams to ship features safely and quickly. This role combines people leadership, technical ownership of database platform architecture, and hands-on partnering with product and SRE teams to deliver operational excellence.
Key Responsibilities
- Manage, mentor, and grow a team of Database Administrators / Platform Engineers (hiring, performance reviews, career development, coaching).
- Own the technical roadmap for database platform services (MySQL, Redis, MongoDB on prem, and MongoDB Atlas), driving improvements in scalability, availability, performance, and cost.
- Lead platform engineering work: installation, configuration, upgrades, automation, backup/restore, patching, capacity planning, and runbooks for production systems.
- Design and implement database architecture and operational patterns (sharding/replication strategies, high availability, disaster recovery, backup retention, and failover).
- Build and improve CI/CD and automation pipelines for database provisioning, schema changes, migrations, and configuration management.
- Partner with product engineering, SRE, security, and cloud teams to define SLAs/SLOs, incident response, root cause analysis, and risk mitigation.
- Establish monitoring, alerting, and observability for database health and performance.
- Drive proactive incident prevention.
- Define and enforce standards, best practices, and governance for database access, security, backups, and compliance.
- Participate in design reviews, capacity planning, and product inception to translate feature requirements into scalable data solutions.
- Lead post-incident reviews and continuous improvement initiatives to reduce mean time to detect and recover.
- Represent the database platform across cross-functional initiatives and influence long-term architecture decisions.
Essential Criteria
- 5+ years total experience in database administration, data platform engineering, or related roles with 3+ years in a people management or technical leadership capacity.
- A minimum of 3+ years of hands-on experience working with MongoDB, including deployment, optimization, and support of production environments.
- Proven experience managing production deployments both on premises and in cloud environments.
- Strong understanding of database internals, replication, sharding, performance tuning, and backup/restore strategies.
- Proven experience designing and building database solutions, including schema design, data modelling, indexing strategies, query optimization, and implementing scalable, highly available data architectures.
- Experience with automation and orchestration tools.
- Familiarity with CI/CD concepts and tools used to automate schema migrations and platform changes.
- Strong incident management experience and ability to lead technical incident response.
- Excellent communication skills; ability to partner with vendor, product, SRE, security, and engineering leadership.
Desirable Criteria
- Experience with managed database services (MongoDB Atlas, Amazon RDS, Aurora, Azure, ElastiCache) and hybrid cloud architectures.
- Familiarity with observability stacks (Datadog etc) and log aggregation.
- Knowledge of security and compliance controls relevant to data stores (encryption at rest/in transit, IAM, auditing).
- Experience with large-scale data migrations and cross-region replication.
- Relevant certifications (MongoDB Certified DBA, AWS/Azure/GCP certifications).
Supervisory Responsibilities
- Directly manage a team of 4-10 Database Administrators / Platform Engineers.
- Responsible for staffing, performance management, career development, and setting team goals and KPIs.
- Collaborate with hiring managers and senior leadership on resourcing and budget priorities.
Managing Engineer - Database & Platform (Hybrid) employer: Allstate NI
Join a forward-thinking company that values innovation and collaboration, where as a Managing Engineer in Database & Platform, you will lead a dynamic team dedicated to operational excellence. Our hybrid work culture promotes flexibility and work-life balance, while our commitment to employee growth ensures you have access to continuous learning opportunities and career development. With a focus on cutting-edge technologies and a supportive environment, this role offers a unique chance to make a significant impact in a thriving organisation.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Managing Engineer - Database & Platform (Hybrid)
✨Tap into Local Tech Meetups
Get yourself to local tech meetups or database management conferences. It's a really great way to meet industry professionals and potentially uncover unadvertised full-time roles. When chatting with people, mention your skills and interests in database management; you never know who might be looking for someone just like you!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Diving into open-source projects can not only sharpen your database skills but also get you noticed by employers. Many companies look for candidates who actively contribute to projects – it shows initiative and a real passion for the field. Plus, it's a perfect excuse to connect with other developers and expand your professional network.
✨Utilise Professional Bodies
Sign up for professional bodies related to database management, like the British Computer Society. They often host events and networking opportunities that can lead directly to job openings in the full-time market. Plus, it adds a nice touch to your professional profile!
✨Showcase Your Skills in a Public Portfolio
As you’re on the hunt for that full-time role, make sure to have a public portfolio that displays your best database projects. This can easily set you apart from the competition. And when you apply for roles, definitely mention it – it shows employers you mean business and are proud of your work!
We think you need these skills to ace Managing Engineer - Database & Platform (Hybrid)
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your database skills:When applying for a full-time role in database management, it’s super important to highlight your skills with specific database technologies like SQL, NoSQL, or any relevant data visualisation tools. We want to see how you've used these tools in real projects, so don't shy away from detailing your hands-on experience!
Tailor your CV for data:Make sure your CV is structured clearly, focusing on your previous experience in database management. Use specific metrics to demonstrate your impact, like how you improved data retrieval times or reduced errors. This isn't just about what you've done; it’s about what you’ve achieved with your skills!
Craft a compelling cover letter:In your cover letter, share what excites you about database management and how you can contribute to Allstate NI. Mention any relevant projects where you tackled challenges or implemented new solutions. Let us know why you want to join our team and how your passion aligns with our goals.
Document your projects:If you've worked on interesting database projects—maybe during your studies or in previous roles—be sure to include those in your application. If you can, link to a portfolio or GitHub repo where we can see examples of your work. Having a tangible showcase of your skills will really make your application stand out!
How to prepare for a job interview at Allstate NI
✨Brush Up on Database Tools
Make sure you're well-versed with popular database management systems like MySQL, PostgreSQL, or MongoDB. Incorporating real-world examples of how you've used these tools in past projects will show that you can put theory into practice, which is something Allstate NI will definitely appreciate.
✨Know Your SQL Inside Out
Get ready for some technical questions focused on SQL queries and database design. We should anticipate coding challenges where you might need to optimise queries or design a database schema on the spot. Practising these problems will build our confidence to impress in the interview.
✨Demonstrate Problem-Solving Skills
Besides just technical know-how, be prepared to answer scenario-based questions that test your critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Think about how you would approach data integrity issues or handle performance bottlenecks — Allstate NI will want to see your analytical side!
✨Show Your Collaboration Spirit
Since this is a full-time role, it's crucial to highlight how you've collaborated with cross-functional teams or contributed to team projects in the past. Emphasising our interpersonal skills will demonstrate that you’re not just a tech wizard, but also a team player who fits well with Allstate NI's culture.
