Principal - Database Product Architect
Oracle
This role needs to sit clearly above a senior DBA and own product architecture, strategy, and cross‑cloud patterns. Below is a Principal Database Product Architect description built from your Oracle Core DBA role.
Job title
Principal Database Product Architect
Role overview
The Principal Database Product Architect is a senior technical leader responsible for defining and driving the end‑to‑end architecture, roadmap, and strategy for Oracle‑based and multi‑cloud database products and services. The role builds on deep Oracle core DBA expertise (10g/11g/12c/19c/23ai) and large‑scale migration experience, expanding it into platform design, productization, and reusable solutions across OCI, GCP, Azure, and AWS. This architect will partner closely with product management, cloud and application architects, offering/build teams, and operations to ensure the database product portfolio is scalable, secure, and differentiated for enterprise customers.
Key responsibilities
- Own the overall technical architecture and roadmap for database products and services, covering on‑premises, OCI, and other public clouds (GCP, Azure, AWS).
- Translate business and customer requirements into product‑level architecture, standardized blueprints, and reference implementations for Oracle‑based data platforms.
- Define patterns and frameworks for database migrations and modernization using GoldenGate, Data Guard, RMAN, ASM, ZDM, and snapshot standby to achieve minimal/zero downtime at scale.
- Design highly available, resilient, and secure architectures leveraging ASM, OEM, Data Guard, and multi‑region/multi‑AZ deployments for mission‑critical workloads.
- Establish platform standards for performance, capacity planning, observability, backup/DR, and security for large enterprise databases and DBaaS offerings.
- Architect cloud‑native database solutions on OCI and other hyperscalers, including network, storage (FSS, Storage Gateway), security, automation, and integration patterns.
- Lead architecture for Fusion Applications and DBaaS platforms, ensuring consistent designs, SLAs, and operational models across environments.
- Collaborate with product management and offering/build teams to define new database services, enhancements, SKU designs, and go‑to‑market technical differentiators.
- Provide architectural governance: review solution designs, perform design authority sign‑offs, and maintain architectural decision records and standards.
- Guide adoption of automation, IaC, and CI/CD for database provisioning, configuration, patching, and compliance across clouds.
- Act as a senior technical escalation point for complex performance, availability, and data protection issues; drive root cause analysis and long‑term architectural fixes.
- Mentor senior DBAs and solution architects, building a strong community of practice around database and data platform architecture.
- Support presales and strategic customer engagements by presenting solution architectures, migration approaches, and value propositions to senior stakeholders.
Required skills and qualifications
- Experience: 12–15+ years in Oracle database engineering/administration, including substantial experience as a senior/lead DBA in enterprise environments, plus proven architecture or product/platform ownership.
- Technical expertise:
- Deep expertise across Oracle 10g/11g/12c/19c/23ai internals, HA, backup/restore, and performance tuning.
- Hands‑on experience architecting and executing enterprise‑scale migrations using GoldenGate, Data Guard, RMAN, ASM, ZDM, and snapshot standby.
- Strong background in capacity planning, database performance engineering, and designing for high throughput, low latency, and predictable SLAs.
- Solid understanding of Oracle Fusion Apps, DBaaS concepts, and multi‑tenant and shared‑infrastructure designs.
- Cloud experience:
- 3+ years designing and implementing database architectures on OCI and at least one of GCP, Azure, or AWS (e.g., managed DB services, lift‑and‑shift, and modernization patterns).
- Experience integrating databases with cloud networking, security, storage (including OCI FSS and Storage Gateway), and observability stacks.
- Architecture and product skills:
- Demonstrated ability to create reference architectures, patterns, and reusable building blocks for database solutions.
- Experience influencing product roadmaps or service offerings, including trade‑off analysis (cost, risk, performance, time‑to‑market).
- Strong understanding of security, compliance, and governance for enterprise data platforms.
- Certifications (preferred):
- Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Architect Associate and/or Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Operations.
- Oracle Database Administrator certification (12c or later).
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate or equivalent cloud certifications.
Soft skills
- Excellent communication and storytelling skills, with the ability to present complex architectures to both technical and executive audiences.
- Strong leadership, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills across global, cross‑functional teams.
- Proactive, exploratory mindset with a track record of learning and evaluating new technologies and patterns.
- Ability to work independently, make high‑impact architectural decisions, and drive consensus across multiple teams.
Preferred qualifications
- Experience designing or supporting database‑centric offerings, managed services, or catalog‑based DBaaS products.
- Exposure to presales, solution design, RFP/RFI responses, and direct customer architecture workshops.
- Experience administering or architecting additional RDBMS platforms (e.g., Microsoft SQL Server, Azure SQL, PostgreSQL) in heterogeneous or migration scenarios.
Why join us
- Lead the architecture of next‑generation database products and services across OCI and major public clouds.
- Influence strategy and design in a collaborative, high‑impact global team working on mission‑critical enterprise workloads.
- Access continuous learning, advanced certifications, and clear growth paths into distinguished architect or product/engineering leadership roles.
- Work hands‑on with the latest Oracle and cloud capabilities, shaping reusable blueprints used across multiple customers and regions.
As a world leader in cloud solutions, Oracle uses tomorrow’s technology to tackle today’s challenges. We’ve partnered with industry-leaders in almost every sector—and continue to thrive after 40+ years of change by operating with integrity.
We know that true innovation starts when everyone is empowered to contribute. That’s why we’re committed to growing an inclusive workforce that promotes opportunities for all.
Oracle careers open the door to global opportunities where work-life balance flourishes. We offer competitive benefits based on parity and consistency and support our people with flexible medical, life insurance, and retirement options. We also encourage employees to give back to their communities through our volunteer programs.
We’re committed to including people with disabilities at all stages of the employment process. If you require accessibility assistance or accommodation for a disability at any point, let us know by emailing accommodation-request_mb@oracle.com or by calling +1 888 404 2494 in the United States.
Oracle is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and protected veterans’ status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Oracle will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records pursuant to applicable law.
Principal Database Product Architect: This role needs to sit clearly above a senior DBA and own product architecture, strategy, and cross‑cloud patterns.
Career Level - IC4