Database Engineering Manager (SQL) - Asheville, NC

Pivotal Solutions; Asheville (NC); On-site; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Pivotal Solutions seeks an experienced SQL Engineering Manager to lead our SQL Engineering team and ensure a reliable, scalable data platform across critical applications. You will mentor engineers, build partnerships with stakeholders, and drive architectural standards.

The role is about 70% leadership, strategy, and delivery and 30% technical guidance and architecture, with a focus on SQL Server, performance optimization, CI/CD, and operational excellence to support growth.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading, mentoring, or managing database or software engineers.
• Demonstrated success with hiring, coaching, performance management, career development, and difficult conversations.
• Deep production experience with Microsoft SQL Server, including database architecture, schema design, query optimization, indexing strategies, and T-SQL development.
• Experience improving engineering workflows through source control, CI/CD, deployment automation, monitoring, and operational tooling.
• Experience leading delivery across roadmap initiatives, operational support, technical debt, and cross-functional dependencies.
• Experience partnering effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain technical tradeoffs clearly.
• Demonstrated ability to influence priorities across multiple teams and build trusted working relationships.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a high-performing SQL Engineering team.
• Create clear expectations through regular feedback, career development, succession planning, and performance management.
• Recruit, hire, and retain exceptional engineers while fostering accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement.
• Build an environment where engineers are empowered to make decisions while maintaining high technical standards.
• Provide architectural leadership across Microsoft SQL Server environments supporting mission-critical business systems.
• Guide database architecture, schema design, T-SQL development, performance optimization, and engineering best practices.
• Establish practical standards around source control, peer review, testing, CI/CD, deployment automation, monitoring, and operational excellence.
• Improve platform reliability through root-cause analysis, automation, observability, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with Analytics Engineering and Product teams to establish reliable data contracts and protect downstream systems during database changes.

Skills

Leadership

Mentoring

Microsoft SQL Server

T-SQL

CI/CD

Performance optimization

Architectural guidance

Stakeholder management

Communication

Job description

Our SQL Engineering team owns the Microsoft SQL Server platform behind many of the organization's most critical operational and customer-facing applications. The team partners closely with Application Engineering, Database Administration, Infrastructure, Analytics Engineering, and business leaders to ensure our data platform remains reliable, scalable, secure, and ready to support continued growth.

As SQL Engineering Manager, you'll be responsible for the long-term success of both the team and the platform.

Success in this role is built around three core responsibilities:

• Lead People by developing a high-performing SQL Engineering team through coaching, accountability, hiring, and career development.
• Lead Through Partnership by building trusted relationships across Engineering and the business, balancing competing priorities, and helping stakeholders make thoughtful technology decisions.
• Lead Technically by providing architectural guidance, establishing engineering standards, and ensuring our SQL platform remains stable, maintainable, and positioned for future growth.

This role is approximately 70% leadership, strategy, and delivery and 30% technical guidance and architecture.

Your Primary Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a high-performing SQL Engineering team.
• Create clear expectations through regular feedback, career development, succession planning, and performance management.
• Recruit, hire, and retain exceptional engineers while fostering accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement.
• Build an environment where engineers are empowered to make decisions while maintaining high technical standards.

Technical Leadership

• Provide architectural leadership across Microsoft SQL Server environments supporting mission-critical business systems.
• Guide database architecture, schema design, T-SQL development, performance optimization, and engineering best practices.
• Establish practical standards around source control, peer review, testing, CI/CD, deployment automation, monitoring, and operational excellence.
• Improve platform reliability through root-cause analysis, automation, observability, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with Analytics Engineering and Product teams to establish reliable data contracts and protect downstream systems during database changes.

Skills For Success

• Builds high-performing engineering teams through coaching, accountability, and trust.
• Demonstrates excellent stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration.
• Makes thoughtful technical decisions that balance innovation with operational stability.
• Communicates complex technical concepts clearly to technical and business audiences.
• Creates predictable engineering execution through prioritization, planning, and strong operational discipline.
• Understands how database architecture, application behavior, infrastructure, and business processes work together.
• Promotes continuous improvement without introducing unnecessary complexity.
• Remains calm and decisive when navigating competing priorities and production challenges.

Required Qualifications

• Proven experience leading, mentoring, or managing database or software engineers.
• Demonstrated success with hiring, coaching, performance management, career development, and difficult conversations.
• Deep production experience with Microsoft SQL Server, including database architecture, schema design, query optimization, indexing strategies, and T-SQL development.
• Experience improving engineering workflows through source control, CI/CD, deployment automation, monitoring, and operational tooling.
• Experience leading delivery across roadmap initiatives, operational support, technical debt, and cross-functional dependencies.
• Experience partnering effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain technical tradeoffs clearly.
• Demonstrated ability to influence priorities across multiple teams and build trusted working relationships.