Staff Production DBA/Data Engineer

Position Overview

CDK Global is a leading provider of cloud‑based software to dealerships and OEMs in the automotive industry. We are seeking a mature, polished, and technically elite Staff Production Data Engineer to join our mission‑critical, always‑on environment. In this role, you will work as a high‑impact individual contributor ensuring the performance, scalability, and reliability of our data platforms across AWS and Azure, and you will closely collaborate with our Production DBAs and Data Engineers. Over time, based on demonstrated performance, opportunities to mentor teammates and guide technical direction may be added.

Key Responsibilities

• Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, mentor, and upskill a team of Production DBAs and Data Engineers.
• Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, proactiveness, and continuous learning.
• Provide coverage and support for team members, including weekends and holidays when necessary.
• Drive a high‑performance and high‑uptime mindset across the team.

• Production Data Engineering & Administration

• Own the health, performance, and uptime of all production data systems.
• Troubleshoot complex issues spanning hardware, networking, OS, services, databases, and application code.
• Manage and optimize relational databases including SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and others.
• Implement and maintain observability using New Relic, custom dashboards, and alerting systems.

• Cloud & Platform Expertise

• Architect, monitor, and manage data platforms in AWS, Azure, and Private Clouds (e.g., AWS RDS, Redshift, Glue, S3, Lambda, Aurora; Azure Managed Instances, VMs, SQL, Synapse, and Data Factory).
• Ensure secure, scalable, and cost‑effective cloud data infrastructure.

• Data Engineering & Integration

• Design and maintain robust ETL/ELT pipelines using tools like Airflow, Kafka, Debezium, Qlik, and SSIS.
• Support real‑time and batch data processing needs across business units.
• Collaborate with application teams to modernize legacy systems and integrate new platforms.

• Tooling & Automation

• Develop and maintain automation scripts using PowerShell and other scripting languages.
• Implement CI/CD pipelines for data infrastructure and code deployments.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in data engineering, database administration, or infrastructure roles.
• 3+ years in a leadership or senior technical role.
• Deep understanding of data architecture, performance tuning, and high‑availability systems.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to mentor and inspire.
• A self‑starter who thrives with minimal supervision and takes full ownership of responsibilities.
• Passion for uptime, reliability, and operational excellence.
• Commitment to diversity, inclusion, and team development.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with databases such as SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Snowflake.
• Cloud expertise in AWS (RDS, Redshift, Glue) and Azure (SQL, Synapse, Data Factory).
• Familiarity with data tools like Kafka, Debezium, Airflow, Qlik, and Looker.
• Experience with monitoring tools including New Relic, CloudWatch, and Azure Monitor.
• Proficient in scripting with PowerShell, Python, or Bash.
• Exposure to Git, Terraform, Docker, and Kubernetes is a plus.

Benefits & Perks

• Compensation: $140,000 - $185,000
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• 401K Matching Program
• Tuition Reimbursement

At CDK Global, we value inclusion and diversity and are committed to providing equitable and competitive total compensation packages.