Senior AI-First Database Architect

WEX, Inc.; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

WEX, Inc. seeks a Senior Database Architect in Chicago to modernize legacy SQL Server systems and design AI-native data architectures, vector stores, and semantic models for AI agents.

Lead deconstruction of large stored procedures, craft migration playbooks, architect data platforms across SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Snowflake and vectors, and mentor engineers in domain-driven design.

Qualifications

• 8-12 years in database engineering and architecture, with enterprise SQL Server exposure.
• Deep SQL Server expertise: T-SQL, stored procedures, indexing, and performance tuning.
• Modernization experience: decompose procedures and migrate logic to services.
• Multi-platform data architecture across relational and NoSQL and analytics platforms.
• Event-driven patterns: CDC, outbox, event sourcing, CQRS in production.
• Data modeling: canonical models, dimensional modeling, schema evolution.
• Ability to design vector-based data solutions for AI retrieval and reasoning.

Responsibilities

• Analyze and decompose large SQL Server stored procedures with embedded logic.
• Design patterns separating business rules from data access for thin data layers.
• Lead refactoring to align structures with domain-driven design and events.
• Implement event-driven patterns: CDC, outbox, and event sourcing where apt.
• Architect vector DB solutions and embedding pipelines for AI consumption.
• Create migration playbooks and tooling for stored procedure modernization.
• Collaborate with AI/ML teams to align data architecture with agent needs.

Skills

SQL Server

Stored procedures

Data modeling

AI data infrastructure

Vector databases

Event-driven patterns

C# / Java / Python

Tools

Azure SQL

Cosmos DB

Snowflake

Pinecone

Weaviate

pgvector

Kafka

Job description

WEX, Inc. seeks a Senior Database Architect in Chicago to modernize legacy SQL Server systems and design AI-native data architectures, vector stores, and semantic models for AI agents.

Lead deconstruction of large stored procedures, craft migration playbooks, architect data platforms across SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Snowflake and vectors, and mentor engineers in domain-driven design.