Senior Platform Engineer (DBA)

Location: BIS Headquarters Basel

Time Type: Full time

Job Description

Senior Platform Engineer (DBA)

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is hiring a Senior Platform Engineer (DBA) within the Platforms team in the Information Technology and Services (ITS) department

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Application deadline: Please note that the deadline for applications is 17 September 2026 at the end of day.

Please note that this role is offered as a 3-year fixed-term contract.

This role is based in Basel, Switzerland; however, thanks to our status as an international organisation, we can hire globally and welcome applications from candidates of all nationalities and located anywhere in the world. Relocation support is available for the successful candidate and their dependent family members.

Purpose of the job

Design, engineer, and maintain robust, secure, resilient, and scalable enterprise database platforms (Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL and Oracle) that power the BIS’s applications and data services.

The Senior Platform Engineer (DBA) serves as a technical authority across core infrastructure domains, driving modernisation and standardisation (including containerised patterns on Open Shift), ensuring platform reliability, compliance with security and governance requirements.

By joining the Platforms team within the ITS department, you will:

• Join a collaborative and specialist engineering team that embraces innovation, creativity and encourages knowledge sharing.

• Act as a technical adviser for database platforms, ensuring alignment with business needs and best practices.

• Lead modernization initiatives, including containerized database patterns, hybrid cloud adoption, and automation at scale.

Principal Responsibilities

• Enable adoption of modern database architecture, including containerised deployments on Open Shift. Provide standardised templates and base configurations, and plan for availability and scalability across Microsoft SQL, Oracle, and PostgreSQL.

• Design, implement, and optimise platform components, ensuring alignment with security, resilience, and performance standards. Lead the development of reference architectures and guide technical decisions across technology domains.

• Execute life-cycle management tasks, maintain observability baselines, and support incident and problem management. Drive continuous improvement through automation and standardisation.

• Contribute to modernisation efforts, including hybrid cloud adoption and integration of emerging technologies. Lead major programmes by developing road-maps and evaluating technologies to align with organisational goals.

• Develop scripts and contribute to Infrastructure as Code (IaC) modules, promoting automation-first approaches for provisioning and configuration. Support DevOps practices and CI/CD integration.

• Collaborate with infrastructure, security, and application teams to share knowledge and escalate issues. Provide technical guidance for complex projects and ensure alignment with architecture and security standards.

• Apply configuration baselines, identity hardening, and data protection controls. Collaborate on secure-by-design practices and define infrastructure control patterns to maintain compliance.

• Maintain high-quality documentation to support knowledge reuse. Provide technical mentorship and stay informed on industry trends and best practices.

Qualifications, skills and experience

• A bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, engineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience

• Deep domain expertise in database technologies (experienced with relational and/or cloud-native databases, platforms)

• Understanding of compute, virtualization, storage, network, backup, operating systems, and Data Centre technologies, with experience in collaborating with business units on database design, architecture, and maintenance

• Demonstrate hands-on expertise in cloud platforms, automation frameworks, scripting, and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools, with familiarity in CI/CD concepts and Git workflows

• Utilise Kubernetes and container management ecosystems to support scalable and efficient deployments

• Utilise knowledge of relational and cloud-native databases for platform administration, availability concepts, and life-cycle management

• Familiarity with enterprise monitoring tools and event correlation

• Integrate software systems and platforms within the organisation to enable seamless data exchange and improve operational efficiency

• Assess process performance and recommend improvements

• Certifications in Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, or other database technologies are an advantage

Please note that the BIS's corporate language is English, which is used for all internal and external communication.

Who we are:

Internationalism is at the core of our identity and the best representation of this is our workforce. With employees from over 66 countries and offices in nine locations, the BIS is a global organisation with a truly international workforce. By joining us, you will work in a unique, highly rewarding, and international work environment. We are committed to equal opportunities at the BIS and aim to build a workforce that reflects our global membership. We strive to attract the best talent and foster an inclusive environment. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates, including those with a breadth of professional experience. You can discover more about our inclusive working environment here. 

What the BIS offers:

We want your time at BIS to be a rewarding and career-enriching experience. We offer an agile and flexible working environment with hybrid working opportunities including home office and working from abroad days. To support our international applicants, we offer relocation support that extends to your dependent family members. In addition, we offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, including support for working families including childcare and education allowances (where applicable). Finally, we offer a genuinely unique international working environment, which will give you exposure to the global financial system and the opportunity to collaborate with passionate experts from all over the world.