IT Manager - Distributed Database Services

<strong>We&rsquo;re motivated by the fact that educators take care of our children&rsquo;s future, and we believe they deserve someone to look after theirs. We help educators identify their financial goals and develop plans to achieve them. This includes insurance to protect what they have today and financial products to help them prepare for their future.</strong>

Remote

Horace Mann

<h4>We&rsquo;re motivated by the fact that educators take care of our children&rsquo;s future, and we believe they deserve someone to look after theirs.&nbsp; We help educators identify their financial goals and develop plans to achieve them.&nbsp; This includes insurance to protect what they have today and financial products to help them prepare for their future. Our tailored offerings include special rates and benefits for educators.</h4> https://boards.greenhouse.io/horacemannservicecorporation

keywords: position summary,team leadership,database platform ownership,architecture & engineering,project delivery,security, compliance & governance,financial & vendor management,education,experience,knowledge,skills,work environment

Infrastructure Operations

$105,200.00 - $147,950.00

Overview: <span data-contrast="auto">Horace Mann is a purpose-driven company that is passionate about educators.</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span>We are seeking an experienced Manager of Distributed Database Services to lead a small, high-impact team responsible for the reliability, scalability, and performance of our enterprise database platforms. This role combines hands-on technical leadership with people management, ensuring our distributed data environments support critical business applications securely and efficiently.
Responsibilities: <p><strong>Team Leadership</strong></p> <ul type="disc"> <li>Lead, coach, and develop a team of 3 database engineers/administrators</li> <li>Set priorities, assign work, and ensure timely delivery of team objectives</li> <li>Conduct performance reviews and support career development</li> <li>Foster a collaborative, accountable, and continuous improvement culture</li> </ul> <p><strong>Database Platform Ownership</strong></p> <ul type="disc"> <li>Oversee administration of distributed database systems (e.g., MongoDB, Cassandra, PostgreSQL, or cloud-native databases)</li> <li>Ensure high availability, disaster recovery, backup, and data integrity processes</li> <li>Monitor performance, capacity, and system health; drive optimization efforts</li> <li>Lead incident response and root cause analysis for production issues</li> </ul> <p><strong>Architecture &amp; Engineering</strong></p> <ul type="disc"> <li>Partner with architecture and application teams to design scalable, resilient data solutions</li> <li>Define standards and best practices for distributed data platforms</li> <li>Evaluate and implement new technologies to enhance performance and reliability</li> </ul> <p><strong>Project Delivery</strong></p> <ul type="disc"> <li>Lead database-related projects including upgrades, migrations, and platform enhancements</li> <li>Develop project plans, estimates, and timelines</li> <li>Coordinate cross-functionally with infrastructure, cloud, security, and development teams</li> </ul> <p><strong>Security, Compliance &amp; Governance</strong></p> <ul type="disc"> <li>Ensure adherence to data security, governance, and regulatory requirements</li> <li>Implement and maintain access controls, encryption, and audit capabilities</li> <li>Maintain documentation for systems, processes, and controls</li> </ul> <p><strong>Financial &amp; Vendor Management</strong></p> <ul type="disc"> <li>Support budget planning and cost optimization, including cloud spend</li> <li>Manage vendor relationships, licensing, and support agreements</li> </ul>
Requirements: <p><strong>Required</strong></p> <ul type="disc"> <li>Bachelor&rsquo;s degree in Computer Science, MIS, or related field</li> <li>3+ years of experience in IT, with a focus on database administration or engineering</li> <li>Experience with distributed or cloud-based database platforms</li> <li>Strong understanding of high availability, replication, backup/recovery, and performance tuning</li> </ul> <p><strong>Preferred</strong></p> <ul type="disc"> <li>2+ years of leadership or supervisory experience</li> <li>Experience with cloud platforms (AWS and Azure)</li> <li>Familiarity with automation, scripting, and monitoring tools</li> <li>Experience supporting mission-critical, high-availability environments</li> </ul> <p><strong>Key Skills &amp; Competencies</strong></p> <ul type="disc"> <li>Strong leadership and team development skills</li> <li>Excellent problem-solving and analytical abilities</li> <li>Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders</li> <li>Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver results</li> </ul> <p><strong>Work Environment &amp; Expectations</strong></p> <ul type="disc"> <li>Hybrid or remote work environment with occasional on-site collaboration</li> <li>Participation in on-call rotation or off-hours support as needed</li> <li>Fast-paced, collaborative technology environment supporting critical business systems</li> </ul>