Database Architect || Contract || Issaquah, WA (Hybrid)

The Database Architect will lead the modernization of legacy transactional database systems, guiding their upgrade, migration, and eventual decommissioning-and governance policies

Key Responsibilities Lifecycle Management

Plan and guide the upgrade, migration, and decommissioning of legacy transactional databases.

Ensure alignment with organizational policies for data retention, archiving, and compliance.

Documentation & Standards

Create comprehensive documentation of database architecture, data models, and operational processes.

Define and promote best practices for database development, maintenance, and operations.

Integration & Data Flow

Design and oversee integration of transactional databases with enterprise systems and applications.

Define real-time data ingestion and consumption patterns to ensure seamless and consistent data flow.

Data Governance & Security

Establish and enforce governance policies for transactional data, including quality, retention, and archiving Implement robust security measures including access controls, encryption, and auditing.

Performance Tuning & Scalability

Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks in transactional systems.

Develop strategies for scaling databases using techniques such as sharding, clustering, and connection pooling.

Database Selection & Architecture

Evaluate and select appropriate relational database technologies (e.g., MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL) based on application needs.

Design resilient architectures with high availability, disaster recovery, and data replication capabilities.

Data Model Design & Optimization

Design conceptual, logical, and physical data models for transactional systems, ensuring normalization and referential integrity Optimize schema design for performance, including indexing strategies, data types, and selective denormalization for read-heavy workloads.

Qualifications

Proven experience in legacy system modernization and transactional database architecture.

Deep understanding of ACID principles and relational database technologies.

Strong knowledge of performance tuning, scalability strategies, and secure data practices.

Experience with real-time data integration