Senior Database Platform Engineer

Who are we? Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 24,000 employees spanning over 56 countries. People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like‑minded people driving change at Howden.The RoleWe are looking for a Senior Database Platform Engineer to own the reliability, performance, security and evolution of our database platforms. This is not a traditional ticket‑driven DBA role. While you'll be responsible for keeping our SQL Server and Azure SQL estate healthy, secure and performant, you'll also help modernise our data platforms and support our transition towards PostgreSQL, cloud‑native database services and modern lakehouse architectures. This is a hands‑on engineering role. You'll be troubleshooting performance issues, validating recovery strategies, automating operational processes, improving observability and helping shape the future of our database estate. You will act as the team's database SME, working closely with Platform Engineers, Data Engineers and Operations teams to ensure critical data services remain resilient, scalable and fit for future needs.What You'll Actually DoDatabase Engineering & Operations (40%)Own the operational health, availability and performance of SQL Server and Azure SQL platformsProvision, configure and maintain production and non-production database environmentsPlan and execute upgrades, patching and platform lifecycle activitiesDiagnose and resolve database performance issues across infrastructure, workloads and application interactionsEstablish and maintain database operational standards and engineering practicesManage platform capacity, utilisation and performance forecastingEnsure critical database platforms remain secure, resilient and operationally supportableResilience, Recovery & Reliability (25%)Design, implement and validate backup, recovery and disaster recovery capabilitiesOwn restore testing and recovery readiness across critical platformsSupport high availability solutions and service resilience initiativesImplement proactive monitoring, alerting and observability for database servicesParticipate in incident response, problem management and post-incident reviewsDrive continual improvement through automation, root cause analysis and operational learningReduce operational toil through self-healing and automation where practicalDatabase Modernisation (15%)Support the evolution of the database estate towards PostgreSQL and modern cloud‑native database servicesDefine and improve database deployment, configuration and operational standardsContribute to migration and modernisation initiatives across legacy database platformsHelp reduce technical debt through platform simplification and standardisationEvaluate new database technologies and operating models where they create business valueData Platform Integration (10%)Support integration between database platforms, Databricks and analytics servicesWork alongside Data Engineers to optimise data movement and workload performanceContribute database expertise to modern data platform initiativesHelp ensure database services can support emerging analytics and AI workloadsSecurity, Governance & Compliance (10%)Implement and maintain role-based access controls and database security standardsSupport audit, compliance and governance activitiesManage database access processes and periodic reviewsEnsure database services align with organisational security and operational policiesProduce operational evidence and documentation where required for regulatory and audit purposesWhat We Need From YouRequired5+ years database engineering or DBA experience supporting production platformsStrong SQL Server expertise including administration, performance tuning, troubleshooting and optimisationExperience with Azure SQL and cloud-hosted database servicesHigh Availability and Disaster Recovery experience including backup, restore and recovery planningExperience managing business-critical production servicesStrong troubleshooting skills across database, infrastructure and application interactionsMonitoring and observability experience within enterprise environmentsAutomation experience using PowerShell, Python or similar scripting languagesStrong understanding of database security, access control and governanceExperience working within structured incident, problem and change management processesStrongly PreferredPostgreSQL administration and engineering experienceExperience supporting enterprise data warehouse environmentsDatabricks administration or integration experienceAzure cloud platform experienceInfrastructure-as-Code familiarity (Terraform or Bicep)Experience with modern monitoring and observability platformsExperience supporting cloud migration or database modernisation programmesKnowledge of lakehouse architectures and modern analytics platformsWhat Actually MattersReliability mindset – you understand databases are critical infrastructure and treat them accordinglyOperational excellence – prevention is always better than firefightingPragmatism over purity – you choose the right solution, not the fashionable oneAutomation-first thinking – eliminate repetitive manual work wherever possibleContinuous improvement – you leave systems better than you found themDocumentation discipline – knowledge should be shared, not hiddenCollaboration skills – you work effectively across engineering, operations and data teamsOwnership mentality – you see problems through to resolutionWhat We OfferActual flexibility: Remote‑first with occasional travel to London for planning sessions, workshops and team events. We care about outcomes, not attendance.Real learning budget: Support for training, certifications and conferences that improve both your expertise and our platforms.Interesting technical challenges: Opportunities to work across SQL Server, Azure SQL, PostgreSQL, Databricks, modern data platforms and emerging AI‑enabled services.Grown‑up engineering culture: Automation is encouraged and expectedTechnical decisions are driven by evidence and contextDocumentation matters – knowledge should be shared, not hiddenBlameless post‑mortems when things go wrongOperational excellence is valued as highly as new feature deliveryWe continuously invest in platform improvement and technical debt reductionReasonable adjustmentsWe are committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Beyond the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.Permanent Howden began in 1994, as just three people and a dog. Now there are 23,000 of us, and we're a leading global insurance group, managing $37bn of premiums for our clients. Our largest shareholder group is us – the people who work in the business – supported by three long‑term, minority growth‑equity partners who share our vision to build a business to last, one that will never be sold. The owner's mindset is something that's embedded in our culture; our people readily take ownership of their decisions, their actions, and their outputs. They’re invested in every sense. And we all know that by working together to drive the business forward, everyone will benefit from the extraordinary results we can achieve. #J-18808-Ljbffr