Vice President / Database Administration Manager

Company Description

As a leading global investment management firm, AB fosters diverse perspectives and embraces innovation to help our clients navigate the uncertainty of capital markets. Through high-quality research and diversified investment services, we serve institutions, individuals, and private wealth clients in major markets worldwide. Our ambition is simple: to be our clients’ most valued asset-management partner.

With over 4,400 employees across 51 locations in 25 countries, our people are our advantage. We foster a culture of intellectual curiosity and collaboration to create an environment where everyone can thrive and do their best work. Whether you're producing thought-provoking research, identifying compelling investment opportunities, infusing new technologies into our business, or providing thoughtful advice to clients, we’re looking for unique voices to help lead us forward. If you’re ready to challenge your limits and build your future, join us.

Job Description Summary

We are seeking a PUNE based VP Database Operations Manager to join our GTI ( Global Technology Infrastructure) in Global Technology & Operations.

Team/Group Description

This position operates in a fast-paced, innovative, and globally distributed environment with On-Call responsibilities for critical incidents. If you are a passionate technical leader with deep SQL Server, Oracle and Azure expertise, strong automation capabilities, and a desire to drive excellence within the DBMS Operations group, this role offers an outstanding opportunity to lead enterprise database strategy and deliver transformative business value

Role Description

The Enterprise Database Operations Lead is a senior technical leadership position responsible for directing the database administration team and ensuring the high availability, security, performance, and scalability of enterprise database platforms across the global organization. This role combines hands-on expertise in relational database management systems (strong emphasis on Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL in  Azure, Oracle and Sybase) with strategic oversight and team management to drive operational excellence, innovation, and alignment with business objectives in a fast-paced, mission-critical environment.

Applications and business or enterprise functions the role supports

Working closely within the Global Technology Infrastructure group, the candidate will collaborate extensively with various support groups, such as Unix and Windows Administration, Storage Management, and global application support teams.  This role underpins support for mission-critical enterprise RDBMS systems, that include financial trading systems, accounting, brokerage, business intelligence and advanced analytics, regulatory compliance and data governance, customer-facing applications, and disaster recovery/business continuity operations. By maintaining robust, high-availability database infrastructures, optimizing performance at scale, and enabling seamless data integration, the role minimizes business disruptions, supports real-time global decision-making, powers enterprise-wide reporting and analytics, and enables strategic initiatives such as cloud platform modernization, large-scale data platform modernization / migrations, and adoption of advanced data services

Key job responsibilities include, but are not limited to

• Leading, managing, and mentoring a team of Database Administrators within the DBMS Operations group, including performance evaluations, coaching, resource planning, and fostering a high-performance, collaborative culture centered on knowledge sharing and continuous technical growth.
• Serving as the organization’s primary subject matter expert on database platforms, diagnosing and resolving complex issues, establishing and enforcing best practices, and ensuring rapid, effective incident response to maintain minimal business impact.
• The candidate will be responsible to manage scalable, resilient database solutions, including advanced high-availability configurations, disaster recovery strategies, and integration of modern technologies—in close partnership with the broader DBMS Engineering group and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Developing and maintaining sophisticated automation frameworks using advanced scripting (PowerShell, T-SQL) and tools (SQL Agent & ControlM scheduler) to streamline critical operations such as backups, patching, monitoring, alerting, capacity management, and routine maintenance.
• Collaborating intensively with application development, infrastructure, and business teams to optimize database design, query and indexing strategies, performance tuning, and application-database integration while safeguarding data integrity and compatibility.
• Driving proactive performance and tuning, capacity planning, monitoring, and bottleneck resolution using enterprise-grade tools to deliver optimal system efficiency and reliability.
• Championing knowledge transfer, technical training, and continuous improvement initiatives within the DBMS Operations group; analyzing performance metrics and trends to identify and implement impactful enhancements.
• Providing strategic technical guidance and roadmap input to the enterprise application teams on database platform evolution, including Azure cloud adoption (IaaS/PaaS), platform upgrades/migrations, and evaluation of emerging data technologies to support long-term organizational objectives.

What makes this role unique or interesting

This role combines strong technical leadership with operational responsibility inside the Global Technology infrastructure team, giving you real influence over our enterprise-scale data infrastructure.

You'll gain deep expertise in advanced data server management, large-scale automation, and modern observability/logging systems — while guiding a talented team through complex, high-impact challenges.

With global scope, mission-critical systems, and the chance to shape the future of our DBMS strategy, this position bridges hands-on operations with strategic business impact. It's both highly rewarding and intellectually stimulating.

Professional development value of this role

Working within Global Technology Infrastructure group this role accelerates growth in advanced technical domains (SQL Server high availability/business intelligence stack, Azure PaaS/IaaS database services, enterprise automation, performance and tuning, Database Virtualization - such as Delphix) and observability, while significantly strengthening leadership, stakeholder management, and strategic planning capabilities. You will gain experience leading in a sophisticated, global operations environment, handling enterprise-scale complexity, and driving innovation in cloud and data platform modernization. These experiences position the candidate exceptionally well for future advancement into senior roles such as Senior DBMS Architect, Cloud Data Platform Lead, or broader data/infrastructure leadership positions.

Job Qualifications (The ideal candidate should have the following)

The ideal person will work closely within the DBMS Operations group and should possess:

• Demonstrated success leading large-scale, global or multi-site database environments with strong emphasis on high availability, performance optimization, capacity planning, and mission-critical system reliability.
   

Qualifications, Experience, Education

The ideal person will work closely within the DBMS Operations group and should possess:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related technical field.
• 8+ years of progressive, hands-on experience in database administration and engineering, with at least 3 years in a leadership or team lead role managing database professionals in an enterprise setting.

Skills

• Proficiency across RDBMS platforms (Microsoft SQL Server primary; Oracle, PostgreSQL, with some knowledge of Sybase & IQ, Redis Cache experience beneficial)
• Expert knowledge of SQL Server technologies, including Failover Clustering, AlwaysOn Availability Groups, Log Shipping, SSIS (Integration Services), SSRS (Reporting Services), and SSAS (Analysis Services).
• Advanced programming skills in PowerShell and T-SQL for sophisticated automation, scripting, and query optimization; familiarity with .NET development is advantageous.
• Strong experience with performance monitoring and management tools (e.g., SCOM, Foglight, or equivalent enterprise solutions). Knowledge in database virtualization techniques such as Delphix
• Deep understanding of Windows Server, Linux and Solaris operating systems.
• Proficiency with Cloud (Azure) technologies, including IaaS and PaaS database offerings, virtual machine sizing, disk and storage management, and related cloud infrastructure components.
• Knowledge of Splunk and other logging/observability technologies for centralized monitoring, alerting, and root-cause analysis.
• Advanced SQL skills for complex data manipulation, performance tuning, indexing strategies, query plan analysis, and optimization.

Soft Skills and Other Requirements:

• Exceptional communication skills, with proven ability to explain complex technical concepts to diverse audiences (engineers, architects, executives, and non-technical stakeholders), produce clear documentation, and facilitate productive cross-team collaboration.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving mindset, rapid adaptability in high-pressure situations, and the ability to balance independent initiative with effective teamwork.
• Preferred certifications: Microsoft Certified: Microsoft SQL Server-related certifications, Azure Database Administrator Associate (or equivalent), Oracle Certified Professional (OCP), or relevant Azure/AWS cloud database certifications.

Pune, India