Job Information
Lumen Director of Cloud Database Platforms & DBaaS in Charleston, West Virginia
Lumen is the trusted network for AI. We’re transforming how businesses connect, secure, and scale in an AI-driven world.
By connecting people, data, and applications quickly, securely, and effortlessly, we help organizations move faster and unlock what’s next.
At Lumen, people power progress. Our culture is built on teamwork, trust, and transparency, giving you the flexibility, support, and opportunity to make a lasting impact. We’re looking for top-tier talent ready to take on the challenge. Join us in building the future.
The Role
The Director, Cloud Database Platforms & DBaaS leads the strategy, modernization, and operational excellence of Lumen’s enterprise data platform ecosystem. This includes relational databases, NoSQL systems, cloud‑native managed databases, and emerging lakehouse architectures. The role ensures reliability, cost efficiency, and superior developer experience while guiding the transition from legacy database environments to scalable, cloud‑native platforms. It requires strong technical, operational, and leadership capability to manage a global organization supporting 24×7 mission‑critical workloads.
Location
This is a remote opportunity open to candidates located anywhere in the U.S.
The Main Responsibilities
Define and execute multi‑year strategies for DBaaS, cloud‑native databases, and lakehouse modernization.
Establish architectural standards, lifecycle strategies, and reference patterns across relational, NoSQL, and analytical platforms.
Partner cross‑functionally with Cloud, Architecture, Security, Data Engineering, and FinOps teams to align platform direction.
Lead engineering teams delivering automated DBaaS provisioning, patching, backup, schema management, and environment refresh.
Implement infrastructure as code, CI/CD integrations, and standardized templates to reduce operational toil.
Set and manage SLOs/SLAs for relational, NoSQL, Exadata, cloud‑native, and analytical platforms.
Drive performance engineering, including data modeling, indexing, partitioning/sharding, and capacity planning.
Ensure strong HA/DR architectures with validated RTO/RPO targets and regular resilience testing.
Oversee 24×7 global operations with Tier 1/2/3 support, improving incident response and operational maturity.
Lead modernization from legacy data warehouses to lakehouse architectures supporting analytics and streaming workloads.
Partner with data engineering teams to ensure platforms are governed, discoverable, performant, and cost‑optimized.
Provide executive stewardship of the Oracle Exadata estate, including lifecycle, performance, HA/DR, and cost optimization.
Define rationalization and migration paths from Exadata to cloud‑native platforms where appropriate.
Improve developer experience through templates, guardrails, documentation, and consultative database guidance.
Own financial governance, including forecasting, cost optimization, and unit economics transparency.
Manage vendor relationships, roadmaps, commercial terms, and innovation outcomes with database and cloud partners.
Lead and develop a global team of engineers, DBAs, SREs, and operational leaders while fostering a culture of excellence.
What We Look For in a Candidate
12+ years leading enterprise relational and NoSQL database platforms.
7+ years managing global engineering and operations organizations with 24×7 responsibilities.
Proven experience with cloud‑native managed databases and modern data platforms.
Hands‑on experience operating Oracle Exadata within a mixed‑platform environment.
Strong understanding of SRE principles, observability, CI/CD, and infrastructure‑as‑code practices.
Excellent executive‑level communication and cross‑functional leadership ability.
Experience with lakehouse architectures and advanced analytics workloads (preferred).
Familiarity with modern automation tooling and intelligent operations (preferred).
Relevant cloud, database, or data‑platform certifications (preferred).
Experience operating at enterprise scale in regulated or complex environments (preferred).
Compensation
This information reflects the anticipated base salary range for this position based on current national data. Minimums and maximums may vary based on location. Individual pay is based on skills, experience and other relevant factors.
Location Based Pay Ranges
$152,066 - $202,755 in these states: AL AR AZ FL GA IA ID IN KS KY LA ME MO MS MT ND NE NM OH OK PA SC SD TN UT VT WI WV WY
$159,670 - $212,893 in these states: CO HI MI MN NC NH NV OR RI
$167,273 - $223,031 in these states: AK CA CT DC DE IL MA MD NJ NY TX VA WA
Lumen offers a comprehensive package featuring a broad range of Health, Life, Voluntary Lifestyle benefits and other perks that enhance your physical, mental, emotional and financial wellbeing. We're able to answer any additional questions you may have about our bonus structure (short-term incentives, long-term incentives and/or sales compensation) as you move through the selection process.
Learn more about Lumen's:
Benefits (https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/benefits-statement)
Bonus Structure
#LI-Remote
Requisition #: 341701
Background Screening
If you are selected for a position, there will be a background screen, which may include checks for criminal records and/or motor vehicle reports and/or drug screening, depending on the position requirements. For more information on these checks, please refer to the Post Offer section of our FAQ page (https://jobs.lumen.com/i/global/en/faqs) . Job-related concerns identified during the background screening may disqualify you from the new position or your current role. Background results will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Equal Employment Opportunities
We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all persons regardless of race, color, ancestry, citizenship, national origin, religion, veteran status, disability, genetic characteristic or information, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family status, pregnancy, or other legally protected status (collectively, “protected statuses”). We do not tolerate unlawful discrimination in any employment decisions, including recruiting, hiring, compensation, promotion, benefits, discipline, termination, job assignments or training.
Privacy Notice
Lumen is committed to protecting the privacy and security of personal information collected during the recruitment and hiring process. Our Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect applicant information, as well as how individuals may request access to or deletion of their personal data.
To review Lumen’s Privacy Notice, please visit:
https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/privacy-notice
Disclaimer
The job responsibilities described above indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not intended to include a comprehensive inventory of all duties and responsibilities for this job. Job duties and responsibilities are subject to change based on evolving business needs and conditions.
In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.
Please be advised that Lumen does not require any form of payment from job applicants during the recruitment process. All legitimate job openings will be posted on our official website or communicated through official company email addresses. If you encounter any job offers that request payment in exchange for employment at Lumen, they are not for employment with us, but may relate to another company with a similar name.