Senior Database Engineer

Senior Database Engineer
Coimbra
Coimbra, Coimbra District, Portugal

Job Title: Senor Database Engineer

Salary: Competitive + Benefits

Location: Hybrid working, home & BCA Coimbra (monthly visits)

Working Hours: Monday - Friday, 40 hours

Job Status: Permanent

Who we are!

The Constellation Automotive Group is the largest vertically integrated digital car marketplace in Europe, combining the leading digital brands across the segments of Consumer to Business (C2B), Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Consumer (B2C). Across our digital platforms we exceed £20billion of Gross Merchandises Value (‘GMV’) on an annual basis. This includes market leading brands such as BCA, We Buy Any Car, cinch, and Marshall.

https://www.constellationautomotive.com/

The Constellation Technology Team provides a
- wide set of Technology Products and Services across the Constellation Automotive Group.

Purpose of the role:

The Senior Database Engineer will lead the design, implementation, and maintenance of
- grade database systems across
- premises and cloud environments. This role combines deep technical expertise with leadership responsibilities, including team supervision, KPI tracking, SLA adherence, and project delivery. The position ensures secure, reliable, and optimized data platforms while driving operational excellence and continuous improvement.

Role Accountabilities:

Leadership & Supervision

• Lead and mentor a team of database engineers, providing guidance on technical challenges and career development.
• Allocate tasks, monitor progress, and ensure timely completion of operational and project deliverables.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement within the team.

KPI & SLA Management

• Define measurable KPIs for database performance, availability, and operational efficiency.
• Monitor and report on KPIs regularly, identifying trends and areas for improvement.
• Ensure compliance with SLAs for uptime, incident response, and resolution times.
• Develop dashboards and reporting mechanisms for
  - time visibility into database health and service performance.

Project Management

• Plan, execute, and deliver
  - related projects such as upgrades, migrations, and new implementations.
• Create detailed project plans, manage timelines, and coordinate resources across multiple teams.
• Conduct risk assessments and implement mitigation strategies to ensure successful project outcomes.
• Communicate project status, risks, and dependencies to stakeholders and senior management.

Escalation & Incident Support

• Serve as the highest escalation point for critical database incidents, ensuring rapid resolution.
• Lead root cause analysis sessions and implement preventive measures to avoid recurrence.
• Maintain detailed incident documentation and conduct
  - mortem reviews for continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with application and infrastructure teams during complex troubleshooting scenarios.

Database Operations & Maintenance

• Oversee installation, configuration, and patching of SQL Server instances (2005–2022) across multiple environments.
• Manage high availability solutions such as Always On Availability Groups, Failover Clustering, and Database Mirroring.
• Validate and maintain robust backup/recovery strategies and disaster recovery plans.
• Ensure database security through
  - based access control, encryption, and compliance with regulatory standards.

Performance & Optimization

• Lead advanced performance tuning initiatives, including query optimization, index management, and storage optimization.
• Utilize diagnostic tools (Extended Events, DMVs, execution plans) for proactive performance monitoring.
• Conduct capacity planning and forecasting to support future growth and scalability.

Architecture & Development

• Design and approve scalable, secure database architectures aligned with business and compliance requirements.
• Review and enforce standards for schema design, performance, and security.
• Plan and execute database upgrades, migrations, and consolidations with minimal downtime.
• Evaluate emerging database technologies and recommend adoption where beneficial.

Automation & Process Improvement

• Drive automation initiatives using Power
  Shell and T-SQL to reduce manual effort and improve efficiency.
• Implement monitoring and alerting frameworks using tools like SQL Monitor, SQLdm, or custom solutions.
• Maintain comprehensive documentation of processes, configurations, and runbooks for operational consistency.

Knowledge and Experience:

Core Competencies:

• SQL Server Administration (installation, configuration, patching, troubleshooting)
• T-SQL Development (stored procedures, triggers, functions, query optimization)
• Performance Tuning (Extended Events, DMVs, execution plans, index management)
• High Availability & Disaster Recovery (Always On, Failover Clustering, log shipping)
• Backup & Recovery strategies and tools
• Security & Compliance (RBAC, encryption, auditing)

Leadership Skills:

• Team supervision and mentoring
• KPI and SLA management
• Project planning and delivery
• Escalation handling and incident management

Additional Skills:

• Cloud Platforms (Azure SQL Database, Azure Managed Instances, AWS RDS)
• Monitoring Tools (SQL Monitor, SQLdm, New Relic)
• Automation (Power
  Shell scripting, CI/CD for databases)
• Capacity Planning and resource optimization
• Good level of English

Please note that only applications submitted in English will be considered.

Our policy is to employ the best qualified people and provide equal opportunity for the advancement of employees including promotion and training and not to discriminate against any person because of gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, religion, belief or disability