Job Title: Data / Persistence Modernization Engineer Primary Location: Primarily Remote, Candidates Ideally Reside in Chicagoland Area Position Type: Contract, 6 months with possible extension Overview Looking for a Data / Persistence Modernization Engineer to join our client's cloud modernization initiative. This senior-level consultant will assess stateful application services, data platforms, caching technologies, search solutions, analytics stores, and data-migration patterns associated with both recurring modernization efforts and newly acquired environments. The engineer will determine whether material data dependencies can be migrated directly, bridged temporarily, retained through a controlled exception, replaced with a target-platform service, or require application data-layer refactoring. This role combines architecture assessment, hands-on technical validation, migration planning, risk analysis, and engineering-effort estimation. What You Bring to the Role. (Ideal Experience)
- Senior-level experience modernizing application data layers and distributed persistence architectures.
- Deep experience with NoSQL and document-oriented platforms, including:
- Amazon DynamoDB
- Amazon DocumentDB
- MongoDB and MongoDB Atlas
- Working knowledge of:
- PostgreSQL and PostgreSQL-based managed services
- Amazon RDS
- Google AlloyDB
- Redis and Amazon ElastiCache
- OpenSearch
- Snowflake
- Amazon Redshift
- Strong understanding of data-access patterns, schema design, indexing, and partitioning strategies.
- Experience evaluating consistency models, transaction semantics, and data-model coupling.
- Knowledge of cache-versus-state classification and the operational implications of each.
- Hands-on experience with:
- Change Data Capture
- Data backfills
- Dual-write patterns
- Shadow reads
- Data reconciliation
- Tenant isolation
- Data cutover and rollback strategies
- Ability to assess application changes required when a managed cloud service cannot be directly reproduced on the target platform.
- Strong written communication skills with the ability to produce concise, actionable engineering assessments.
- Experience estimating technical complexity, platform dependencies, migration risks, and future engineering effort.
What You'll Do. (Skills Used in this Position)
- Assess recurring and acquisition-specific risks related to stateful application services and data platforms.
- Analyze data models, schemas, indexes, partitions, access patterns, consistency requirements, and transaction behavior.
- Evaluate dependencies involving databases, caches, search platforms, analytics stores, and managed cloud data services.
- Determine whether each dependency is:
- Portable to the target environment
- Suitable for temporary bridging
- Eligible for a controlled exception
- A candidate for replacement
- Likely to require application refactoring
- Evaluate dual-running, reconciliation, backfill, and rollback options.
- Identify required target-platform services, configurations, and technical prerequisites.
- Perform bounded, non-production technical validation when additional evidence is needed.
- Assess tenant isolation, data security, migration sequencing, and service availability risks.
- Estimate the application, platform, data, testing, and operational effort associated with each migration path.
- Produce concise Engineering Assessment Inputs documenting:
- Data-model coupling
- Access-pattern findings
- Migration options
- Platform dependencies
- Cutover and rollback feasibility
- Key risks and constraints
- Likely future engineering effort
- Partner with application teams, cloud platform teams, architects, security stakeholders, and data owners throughout the assessment process.