Director, Database Platform Engineering & Operations

About this role

Your team

The Database Hosting team sits within Aladdin Engineering and is responsible for building and running resilient, secure, and high-performing database platforms that underpin BlackRock’s investment and risk technology ecosystem. We operate critical, enterprise-scale data services that power global workflows for internal users and institutional clients.

We are globally distributed and operate in a follow-the-sun model, partnering with application engineering, infrastructure, cyber, and risk stakeholders to deliver world-class reliability and service management across on-prem and cloud environments.

Your role and impact

You will help set the strategy and execution agenda for database platform engineering and operations, ensuring BlackRock’s most critical data services meet the highest standards for availability, performance, resiliency, and security. You will partner with global engineering and operations teams to deliver operational excellence for Microsoft SQL Server at scale, while accelerating adoption of Azure cloud-native database capabilities to best serve our internal and external client needs.

You will help champion automation, observability, and AI enablement across the database estate, leveraging telemetry, intelligent diagnostics, and modern engineering practices to proactively prevent incidents, improve mean time to recovery, and continuously optimize performance and cost.

Success in this role requires deep technical credibility paired with executive-level communication. You will influence architecture and engineering decisions across application stacks, networking, storage, operating systems, and cloud infrastructure, translating business outcomes into platform roadmaps and measurable service-level objectives.

We value curiosity, ownership, and disciplined engineering. You will help cultivate a culture of continuous improvement, inclusive collaboration, and operational rigor, enabling teams to deliver stable, scalable platforms that keep pace with the firm’s growth and innovation.

Key responsibilities

• You will serve as a senior technical leader, helping shape engineering standards and drive 24/7 operational excellence for database platforms supporting mission-critical investment systems, balancing strategy, delivery, risk management, and hands-on technical stewardship.

• Help drive enterprise reliability outcomes for database services (availability, performance, resiliency) and promote service-level objectives sssbased operational rigor, including incident/problem/change management and executive communications.

• Help set the multi-year platform strategy and roadmap for Microsoft SQL Server and Azure database capabilities. Drive modernization, upgrades, migrations, and consolidation programs through strong technical governance and stakeholder alignment.

• Partner with cyber, risk, and engineering stakeholders to strengthen governance for capacity, security, backup/restore, disaster recovery, patching/vulnerability remediation, and audit readiness.

• Help scale a software-defined operations model through automation and modern DevOps practices (CI/CD, infrastructure as code), improving speed, consistency, and control.

• Help advance observability and AI enablement by standardizing telemetry and leveraging intelligent diagnostics to proactively detect issues, accelerate recovery, and optimize cost/performance.

• Serve as a senior decision-maker and technical authority, driving alignment across global teams and stakeholders, setting engineering standards, and mentoring senior engineers through influence rather than direct line management.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or a related discipline is preferred.

• 15+ years of experience in database engineering and/or operations, with significant depth in Microsoft SQL Server in large-scale, mission-critical environments.

• Demonstrated senior technical leadership as a key decision-maker driving architecture, standards, and outcomes across multiple teams in a global environment (without requiring direct people management).

• Demonstrated track record helping drive world-class enterprise operations, including service management, incident/problem/change processes, and continuous improvement programs.

• Experience helping enable AI-driven operational improvements (e.g., intelligent diagnostics, telemetry-based insights, automation) and partnering with engineering teams to turn data into action.

• Deep expertise in performance engineering, capacity planning, high availability/disaster recovery, and operational resiliency for OLTP platforms.

• Strong experience helping drive adoption of Microsoft Azure technologies relevant to database platforms (e.g., Azure SQL Database, Azure monitoring/observability, identity and security fundamentals) and cloud migration patterns.

• Proven ability to partner with risk and cyber stakeholders to enhance controls and maintain audit-ready operations in regulated environments.

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence senior stakeholders across engineering, risk, and business functions.

If you are energized by shaping world-class database platforms at enterprise scale and advancing the next generation of cloud and AI-enabled operations, we would like to hear from you.

Leadership attributes

• Integrity and the highest ethical standards.

• Strong accountability mindset and bias for action, with calm execution under pressure.

• Ability to simplify complexity, align diverse stakeholders, and drive decisions.

• Customer-centric approach to platform engineering and operational excellence.

• Continuous learning orientation and commitment to developing others.

For New York, NY Only the salary range for this position is USD$215,000.00 - USD$275,000.00 . Additionally, employees are eligible for an annual discretionary bonus, and benefits including healthcare, leave benefits, and retirement benefits. BlackRock operates a pay-for-performance compensation philosophy and your total compensation may vary based on role, location, and firm, department and individual performance.

Our benefits
To help you stay energized, engaged and inspired, we offer a wide range of benefits including a strong retirement plan, tuition reimbursement, comprehensive healthcare, support for working parents and Flexible Time Off (FTO) so you can relax, recharge and be there for the people you care about.

Our hybrid work model

BlackRock’s hybrid work model is designed to enable a culture of collaboration and apprenticeship that enriches the experience of our employees, while supporting flexibility for all. Employees are currently required to work at least 4 days in the office per week, with the flexibility to work from home 1 day a week. Some business groups may require more time in the office due to their roles and responsibilities. We remain focused on increasing the impactful moments that arise when we work together in person – aligned with our commitment to performance and innovation. As a new joiner, you can count on this hybrid model to accelerate your learning and onboarding experience here at BlackRock.

About BlackRock

At BlackRock, we are all connected by one mission: to help more and more people experience financial well-being.  Our clients, and the people they serve, are saving for retirement, paying for their children’s educations, buying homes and starting businesses. Their investments also help to strengthen the global economy: support businesses small and large; finance infrastructure projects that connect and power cities; and facilitate innovations that drive progress.

This mission would not be possible without our smartest investment – the one we make in our employees. It’s why we’re dedicated to creating an environment where our colleagues feel welcomed, valued and supported with networks, benefits and development opportunities to help them thrive.

For additional information on BlackRock, please visit @blackrock | Twitter: @blackrock | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock

BlackRock is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity to all applicants and existing employees, and we evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity/expression), sexual orientation, age, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, political affiliation, religion, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. View the EEOC’s Know Your Rights poster and its supplement and the pay transparency statement.

 

BlackRock is committed to full inclusion of all qualified individuals and to providing reasonable accommodations or job modifications for individuals with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation/adjustments are needed throughout the employment process, please email [email protected]. All requests are treated in line with our privacy policy.

BlackRock will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records in a manner consistent with the requirements of the law, including any applicable fair chance law.