Senior Application Database Designer

Sword Group; Dubai; On-site; AED 240,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

Sword Group in the United Arab Emirates seeks an experienced Application Database Designer to design, implement, and optimize database architectures for enterprise software. You will translate business requirements into robust data models and schemas, ensuring performance, scalability, and data integrity across PostgreSQL, MSSQL, Oracle, and Redis.

Collaborating with architects, DBAs, and developers, you will lead data migrations, enforce security controls, and drive modernization from on-prem

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field.
• 10+ years of hands-on experience as a Database Designer with increasing responsibilities.
• Expert-level knowledge of Microsoft SQL Server, plus strong understanding of at least one other major RDBMS (Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL).
• Experience with backup/recovery, HA/DR design, and replication strategies.
• Deep understanding of database security, access control, and compliance best practices.
• Ability to manage complex databases with multiple integrations and high transaction volume.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills with capability to mentor/lead technical teams.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and optimize database architectures for software applications.
• Translate business requirements into logical and physical data models and define tables, relationships, constraints, and indexes.
• Collaborate with solution architects, DBAs, and developers to create scalable database structures.
• Create logical and physical DDL for system enhancements and migrations.
• Experience with ETL processes and data integration (webMethods) and performance tuning.
• Support migration from on-premise to cloud or hybrid environments and ensure governance.

Skills

Data modelling

Schema design

Normalization

Indexing

Query optimization

PostgreSQL

MSSQL

Oracle

Redis

ETL

webMethods

Cloud

RDBMS

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related

Tools

SQL Server

Oracle

PostgreSQL

MySQL

Job description

SWORD Group, being a leader in IT software solutions and services, has 3800+ IT/Digital & Software specialists present over 5 continents to accompany you in the growth of your organization in the digital age. SWORD is present in the MEA region through its offices in KSA, UAE, Lebanon, and Cyprus counting more than 450 skilled consultants in the region. As a leader in technological and digital transformation, SWORD Group has since the year 2000 acquired a solid reputation in software solutions and in complex IT & business project management. With SWORD you have the guarantee of strong close and qualified local commitment, the aim of which is to automate your business processes and optimize/maximize the usage of business data.

About the Role

We are hiring an experienced Application Database Designer to design, implement, and optimize database architectures that support software applications. Translate business requirements into logical and physical data models by defining tables, relationships, constraints, and indexes to ensure performance, scalability, and data integrity. Collaborate with software engineers to integrate databases into application workflows, resolve performance issues, and implement security controls to protect persistent data.

Key Responsibilities

• Candidate should have strong experience in data modelling, schema design, normalization, indexing, and query optimization across databases such as PostgreSQL, MSSQL, Oracle, and Redis.
• You will collaborate with solution architect, DBAs, developers, and business analysts to translate business requirements into efficient, scalable, and maintainable database structures.
• The Application Database designer will be proficient in RDBMS and will create logical and physical DDL for all system enhancements.
• Hands-on experience with ETL processes, data integration (webMethods) and database performance tuning is highly desirable.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills are essential to ensure data integrity, consistency, and optimal performance of enterprise database systems.
• Support database migration and modernization initiatives from on-premise to cloud platforms
• Collaborate with development, DevOps, and infrastructure teams to support database architecture, scalability, and integration in cloud or hybrid environments
• Enforce database governance, security hardening, access control, encryption, and auditing.
• Support presales, readiness assessments, and architectural discussions by providing expert input on database modernization strategies.
• Undertake data migration from legacy system database to new Database by architecting the migration plan, preparing migration strategies, preparing migration scripts, executing scripts and successfully migration the data.

Desired Candidate Profile:

• Bachelor s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field
• 10+ years of hands-on experience as a Database Design, with increasing levels of responsibility
• Expert-level knowledge of Microsoft SQL Server, along with a strong understanding of at least one other major RDBMS platform (e.g., Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL).
• Proven experience with backup and recovery, HA/DR design, and replication strategies
• In-depth understanding of database security, access control, and compliance best practices.
• Ability to handle complex database environments with multiple integrations and high transaction volume.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills with a proven ability to mentor and lead technical teams

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certifications in AWS, Azure, or GCP database services, as well as Microsoft database services.
• Experience working in DevOps or SRE environments, integrating databases into CI/CD pipelines
• Scripting or automation experience in Python, PowerShell, Shell, or similar
• Knowledge of data privacy regulations and compliance frameworks (GDPR, HIPAA, ..)
• Knowledge of local and international compliance and regulatory frameworks (NCA, SAMA, ISO 27001)

Why Work with us?

• Opportunity to work on cutting-edge projects impacting enterprise-scale systems
• Being part of a Dynamic and Supportive Environment focused on Employee Wellness
• Gain International Exposure and Multicultural Experience
• Learn from a Diversified Team of experts across the world