WHAT DOES A DATABASE DEVELOPER DO?

Published: October 9, 2024 - The Database Developer maintains and updates complex SQL databases and data processes across various products, ensuring optimal functionality and performance. This role involves the creation of new database objects like stored procedures, functions, and views to meet the evolving needs of product features and client requests. Additionally, the position encompasses the maintenance of Azure application infrastructure and the proactive exploration of the latest database technologies to enhance system efficiency and reduce operational costs.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Database Developer

1. Database Developer Duties

  • Database Development: Gather requirements for developing and maintaining multiple databases to support customer's need for data and reports.
  • Database Service Delivery: Work closely with team leads and their technical teams to ensure delivery of database services within performance targets.
  • ETL Support: Leverage experience to provide support in the areas of data extraction, transformation, and load (ETL), data mapping, and data extraction.
  • Data Management: Provide and support large-scale file manipulation, data modeling, data mapping, data testing, data quality, and documentation preparation.
  • Coding Standards Adherence: Adhere to coding standards.
  • Database Configuration: Implement database configuration standards related to performance and sizing for both transactional and data warehouse databases.
  • Database Design: Design and build relational databases.
  • Data Modeling: Analyze requirements and develop data models.
  • SQL Development: Design and develop SQL stored procedures, triggers, etc.
  • Backup Procedures Development: Design and develop database backup/recovery procedures.
  • Deployment Management: Provide detailed deployment instructions for successful migration/backout of code.

2. Database Developer Details

  • Data Strategy Collaboration: Collaborate with IT teams and management to devise a data strategy that addresses business requirements.
  • Technology Evaluation: Identify and evaluate current data management technologies.
  • Database Analysis: Determine database structural requirements by analyzing business operations and applications.
  • Database Solution Implementation: Recommend, build, and implement database solutions for analytical systems.
  • Data Modeling: Create logical and physical data models to implement physical database structures.
  • Data Governance Development: Develop and implement a data governance program and maintain the data dictionary for the organization.
  • ETL Strategy Development: Develop strategies for ETL, data acquisition, and data archiving.
  • Reporting Automation: Build reporting automation along with variance monitoring and alerting to improve response times for issues.
  • Solution Architecture Contribution: Contribute to the solution architecture for Risk, Pricing, and Modeling solutions, working with AXIS Enterprise Architecture as well as other Domain Leads, Centers of Excellence (CoEs) as necessary.
  • Cross-Team Collaboration: Partner with vendors, and colleagues from other CoEs and segments, within blended/unified delivery teams, and work across different time zones.
  • Code Deployment: Produce, test, and deploy code/solutions.
  • Production Integration: Contribute to the integration of capabilities into production environments, and manage technical dependencies with other development teams, infrastructure, security, etc.
  • Transition Support: Support the smooth transition of new capabilities from project development teams to the application maintenance team through technical documentation and walk-throughs.

3. Database Developer Responsibilities

  • Database Development: Develop other supporting databases (e.g., MySQL).
  • Database Confirmation: Confirm databases are developed according to business requirements.
  • Data Integrity Audits: Perform regular audits to ensure data integrity and quality.
  • Script Writing: Write scripts, stored procedures, and functions for the database system, disseminating significant amounts of information with attention to detail and accuracy.
  • Report Automation: Develop, design, and automate regular reports accurately and on a timely basis.
  • Ad-Hoc Reporting: Design and build ad-hoc reports that provide actionable and meaningful information.
  • Data Analysis: Identify, analyze, and interpret trends or patterns in complex data sets, connecting those trends to actionable insights and business needs.
  • Data Discovery Tool Development: Design and develop Data Discovery Reporting Tools in the Security and Compliance team to identify sensitive data stored in RDBMS, NoSQL databases.
  • System Audit Tool Development: Develop System Audit Reporting tools using PL/SQL.
  • Script Development: Develop Java and Shell Scripts for data scanning.
  • Data Encryption: Use encryption to secure data in Oracle.
  • Data Compression: Use Oracle Advanced Compression techniques to compress data for faster retrieval.
  • Advanced SQL Queries: Use REGEXP, PIVOT, and Analytical Queries for Reports module.
  • Security Assessment: Assess security-related issues with regard to Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III Data.

4. SQL Database Developer Accountabilities

  • SQL Programming: Perform SQL programming and performance tuning.
  • Database Maintenance: Perform database maintenance and monitoring of Azure SQL Databases.
  • Data Visualization Creation: Create Power BI visualizations and paginated reports.
  • Database Modeling: Model and implement databases and warehouses.
  • Feedback Acceptance: Accept feedback graciously and learn from everything they do.
  • Project Review: Review project requests describing database user needs to estimate time, cost, and infrastructure required to successfully deliver the database requests.
  • Database Technology Implementation: Research, architect, and implement database technologies designs using industry and client best practices.
  • Database Optimization: Optimize database resources for optimum configuration, database performance, and cost.
  • Standard Enforcement: Ensure that client’s SQL Server standards are communicated and enforced.
  • Design Review: Ensure architectural, quality, and governance adherence through design reviews.
  • Awareness Promotion: Work closely with individuals across the technology organizations to help promote awareness of the SQL Server design options and ensure that best practices are followed.
  • Problem Resolution: Analyze problems, diagnose them, and implement resolutions.

5. Database Developer Functions

  • Database Design Collaboration: Work closely with engineers, business analysts, and product owners to design scalable, reliable, and efficient databases for various microservices.
  • Database Modeling: Create logical and physical database models based on the business requirements and microservice design specifications.
  • Infrastructure Coding: Write Infrastructure as Code to provision and manage databases.
  • Code Review: Perform code reviews for database-related application changes.
  • Database Optimization: Continuously monitor, review, optimize, and refactor existing database tables and queries.
  • Performance Improvement Coordination: Coordinate with engineers to improve applications, redesign tables to improve performance, and establish best practices and patterns.
  • Proactive Issue Resolution: Proactively identify and fix database issues, optimize databases for performance and reliability.
  • Tooling Development: Create and improve database tooling to detect and triage database-related issues and performance bottlenecks.
  • Documentation Preparation: Prepare and improve documentation for database design and configuration.
  • Functionality Addition: Add new functionalities and develop new products for company software.
  • Design Collaboration: Collaborate with the team in design and implementation.
  • Process Maintenance: Conduct ongoing maintenance of business processes.
  • Data Importing: Import packages of data, perform mass data updates (financial, address, personal information).
  • Report Creation: Create reports for internal and external customers.
  • Process Automation Support: Support and automate business processes.

6. Database Developer Job Description

  • SQL Query Development: Develop complex SQL queries required to implement advanced SQL-based reports.
  • Data Warehouse Construction: Work alongside Coach and other team members to build a reporting data warehouse.
  • ETL/ELT Development: Design, develop, document, and support ETL/ELT and quality control for the data warehousing efforts.
  • Data Solutions Provision: Provide data and reporting solutions that enable stakeholders to make informed business decisions.
  • Business Intelligence Development: Develop Data Warehouse, Data Marts, and Business Intelligence Reporting solutions.
  • Query Optimization: Perform query tuning and optimization.
  • Functionality Improvement: Create new or improve existing functionalities.
  • Code Deployment: Review, test, and deploy code to various non-production environments.
  • Code Synchronization: Keep code base across multiple data centers in sync.
  • Ad-Hoc Data Support: Respond to ad-hoc data requests from other departments.
  • Development Evaluation: Evaluate and introduce new development methods and tools that simplify day-to-day work.
  • Team Collaboration: Engage in close collaboration with the development and portfolio teams.

7. Database Developer Overview

  • Database Development: Design, develop, maintain, and update payroll and claims databases using an SQL server / Microsoft Azure.
  • Dashboard Development: Design, develop, and update dashboards and data science analytics to be used by management, and the actuarial, underwriting, claims, and sales departments.
  • KPI Collaboration: Collaborate with company leaders and department heads to develop and track enterprise-wide KPIs as well as department-specific KPIs.
  • BI Solutions Implementation: Implement solutions to data and business intelligence problems using Power BI, Tableau, R, Python, Azure, or other preferred data visualization software.
  • Team Collaboration: Work with other team members to implement solutions and analytics in a timely manner.
  • Process Efficiency Facilitation: Facilitate process efficiency improvements to improve the speed and accuracy of the aggregation and compilation of payroll and claims data.
  • Ad Optimization Generation: Generate optimizations to partners’ ads configurations, both on the client's platform and off.
  • Pricing Optimization: Identify opportunities to optimize pricing, increase demand density, adopt new formats, and work with the account managers of these clients to position and present these externally.
  • Performance Investigation: Investigate drops in performance, determine underlying factors directly or work together with technical support teams on in-depth investigations, to ensure any issues are swiftly resolved or escalated.
  • Analysis Development: Develop wider analyses for periodic review with clients (QBRs and similar), and build processes to convert individual opportunities into systematic and scalable revenue gains.

8. Database Developer Tasks

  • Application Development: Develop and maintain new and existing applications, systems, custom reports, and database structures.
  • Requirements Participation: Participate in requirements analysis along with business analysts and business users.
  • Module Design: Design and develop various modules and work with other developers and IT staff as required.
  • Database Development: Develop and design database schema, SQL queries and tuning, stored procedures, and SSIS packages.
  • Azure Pipeline Support: Develop, create, and support Azure Data Factories pipelines, data flows, SSIS configurations, and code repositories.
  • Data Exchange Tools Usage: Use tools to exchange or transform data among heterogeneous systems and platforms.
  • Data Optimization Support: Work with the data analytics team and BI team to provide support on data optimization.
  • End User Support: Engage in production and end-user support activities.
  • Development Assistance: Assist and support other programmers in development procedures, techniques, and coding assignments.
  • Documentation Update: Create and update system documentation and design specifications.
  • Standards Application: Apply industry software development standards and best practices.
  • Technology Research: Research and recommend new and existing technologies to meet business needs, including creating prototypes, design documents, and solution designs.
  • Effort Estimation: Estimate effort involved in completing various development tasks.

9. Database Developer Roles

  • Database Design Translation: Translate business requirements into a database design using existing schema or, if required, create a new data model.
  • Schema Maintenance: Create and maintain schema objects, including complex functions, scripts, and triggers.
  • Development Estimation: Provide development estimates from high-level functional requirements (i.e., user stories) in an Agile Framework.
  • Code Analysis: Analyze code for problem resolutions and performance optimizations including indexing strategies, tuning complex SQL queries, and database stored procedures.
  • Application Deployment: Deploy applications in different databases for development, testing, staging, and other non-production environments.
  • Ad-Hoc Reporting: Provide ad-hoc reports for project and business stakeholders.
  • Activity Planning: Plan and prioritize activities.
  • Multi-Project Management: Work on multiple projects at the same time.
  • Progress Reporting: Report activities and progress to the management on a weekly basis.
  • Task Performance: Perform tasks as required by management/supervisory staff.
  • Oracle Database Development: Develop, update, and maintain Oracle database modules and data warehouses used in a core banking system.
  • Database Automation: Automate provisioning of existing Oracle databases with automated deployment tools, update and migrate the current setup.
  • System Optimization Contribution: Actively contribute to the design, technology and architecture choices, and performance optimizations of the system.
  • Technical Support: Support the team in the creation of technical solutions.
  • Technical Assessment: Provide an estimated timeframe and technical assessment of the tasks.

10. Database Developer Additional Details

  • Database Maintenance: Maintain existing, complex SQL databases and data processes for multiple products.
  • Database Development: Develop new database objects like stored procedures, functions, and views when necessary for new product features and/or ad hoc client requests.
  • Database Troubleshooting: Troubleshoot and analyze databases to fix bugs and address performance problems while also taking a proactive approach to minimize such issues.
  • Azure Infrastructure Maintenance: Maintain Azure application infrastructure (including but not limited to Azure SQL databases) for multiple products.
  • Technology Exploration: Constantly explore the latest database technologies and make recommendations where appropriate to provide improved functionality and/or reduced cost.
  • ETL Development: Determine appropriate data sources and data to solve the identified business problems, developing ETL solutions.
  • Data Implementation Support: Work with Software Developers, Data Analysts & Business Analysts to ensure data requirements are implemented correctly & assist with tuning of queries.
  • Data Testing Support: Assist in the development, implementation, and maintenance of data-related testing processes.
  • Data Security Maintenance: Assist in maintaining data security best practices.
  • Knowledge Sharing: Share data knowledge with associates, partners, and customers.
  • Database Monitoring Implementation: Implement automated database monitoring solutions.
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