Freelance Cloud Database Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

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Location: Dayton / Fairborn, OH – Wright-Patterson Air Force Base area

Work Setting: 100% onsite in a secure SCIF environment; no hybrid or remote flexibility

Travel: Minimal, expected to be 10% or less

Compensation: Approximately $130,000–$186,000 base salary depending on experience and leveling

Benefits: 10% employer retirement contribution, 4+ weeks of PTO starting immediately, 100% tuition support, comprehensive medical and employee benefits, and potential sign-on assistance for qualified candidates

Security Clearance: Active TS/SCI clearance required on Day 1

Position Summary

A mission-driven research and development organization supporting U.S. national security is seeking a Staff Cloud Database Engineer / Architect to join a multidisciplinary technical team supporting highly classified work in the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base environment.

This is a senior, hands-on role combining enterprise database engineering, cloud architecture, performance optimization, and technical strategy. You'll support a large existing database environment while helping evaluate future cloud and database technologies that could shape the customer's long-term modernization roadmap.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced database professional who wants to move beyond traditional administration and play a meaningful role in architecture, technology evaluation, and modernization within a sophisticated national-security environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, manage, and optimize scalable, secure enterprise database and cloud infrastructure
• Support and improve large-scale database environments while helping define future architecture and technology direction
• Evaluate Oracle/OCI, AWS, Azure, and other database or cloud technologies for future modernization initiatives
• Develop database architectures supporting distributed data sources, platforms, applications, and classified environments
• Drive database performance through query optimization, indexing strategies, capacity planning, and infrastructure improvements
• Design and implement data security, backup, recovery, resiliency, and availability strategies
• Support data integration and interoperability across multiple platforms and environments
• Document database architectures, configurations, integrations, and technical recommendations
• Provide technical recommendations to customers and engineering leadership regarding future database and cloud investments
• Collaborate with software, RF, ELINT, cloud, database, and other technical specialists across a multidisciplinary engineering team

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 8+ years of relevant database/cloud engineering experience OR Master's degree with 6+ years of relevant experience
• Active TS/SCI security clearance required – inactive or previously held clearances cannot be considered
• Strong enterprise database engineering, administration, or architecture experience
• Experience with Oracle/OCI, AWS, Azure, or comparable enterprise database and cloud platforms
• Strong SQL, database design, data modeling, and performance tuning experience
• Experience with query optimization and indexing strategies
• Understanding of cloud database architecture, distributed data environments, and data integration
• Experience with database security, backup, recovery, availability, and resiliency
• Ability to evaluate technologies and make informed architectural recommendations
• Ability and willingness to work 100% onsite in a secure SCIF environment

Preferred Backgrounds

• Oracle and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)
• AWS or Azure cloud database environments
• Experience across multiple enterprise database technologies or cloud platforms
• Cloud migration, database modernization, or platform evaluation initiatives
• OCI Architect, OCI Implementation Specialist, or related cloud certifications
• Large-scale enterprise or highly distributed database environments
• Experience integrating data across secure or classified networks
• Defense, intelligence, Electronic Warfare, SIGINT, ELINT, or other national-security programs
• Experience advising government or enterprise customers on database architecture and technology strategy

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate combines the hands-on technical depth of a senior database engineer with the broader thinking of a database or cloud architect.

You should be comfortable optimizing the environment that exists today while also asking what the environment should look like tomorrow. The strongest candidates will have exposure to multiple database and cloud technologies and be capable of objectively evaluating platforms rather than being tied to a single solution.

You'll also enjoy working collaboratively with engineers from multiple disciplines and be comfortable translating complex technical considerations into recommendations that help customers make long-term technology decisions.

Why This Opportunity

• Work on sophisticated classified technology supporting critical U.S. national-security missions
• Opportunity to influence the future direction of a substantial enterprise data environment
• Go beyond traditional DBA responsibilities into architecture, modernization, and technology strategy
• Evaluate Oracle/OCI, AWS, Azure, and other potential technologies as part of future platform decisions
• Join a multidisciplinary team of approximately 20–30 engineers and technical specialists
• Exceptional 10% employer retirement contribution, significantly above a traditional company match
• 4+ weeks of PTO beginning immediately
• 100% tuition support for continued education
• Compensation flexibility for exceptional senior engineers, with leveling based on experience
• Join a mission-focused R&D environment tackling challenging technical problems with real-world national-security impact