It all started when engineer Fred Luddy wrote code that automated a tedious task for his coworker, Phyllis. She cried tears of joy. That moment inspired Fred to build a company that could do that for everyone—freeing people from busywork so they could focus on meaningful work. Today, ServiceNow is the AI control tower for business reinvention. Our ServiceNow AI platform brings together any AI, any data, and any workflow— helping 85% of the Fortune 500® work smarter, faster, and better. We're building an AI-native culture where technology and talent are unstoppable together. And we're just getting started.
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Job Description
Team:
ServiceNow is seeking an experienced Sr Manager for our Database Engineering team.
This leader will drive engineering excellence across database performance, incident management, reliability engineering, observability, and capacity planning. The role requires deep technical expertise in PostgreSQL-based/equivalent architectures, large-scale distributed systems, and customer-facing production environments, combined with strong people leadership and operational rigor.
The ideal candidate has experience leading high-performing engineering teams responsible for solving complex performance challenges, responding to critical customer escalations, and building sustainable solutions that improve platform resilience at scale.
You should have experience with large scale Web applications and MySQL/MariaDB environments and a knack for problem solving and optimization databases, application and performance issues. Qualified candidates will be responsible for leading a team of highly skilled engineers that push the limits of scalability.
Do you
Have experience in leading a team of engineers and people management?
Enjoy problem solving and an analytical mindset to help determine the reasons why things fail?
Have a technical background in roles including DBA, systems/cloud engineering or DevOps?
Know Linux operating systems and Databases to the level of troubleshooting and diagnostics?
Have an attitude of continuous improvement and strive to remove in-efficient process?
Answer 'yes' to these questions and we want to hear from you. Hit the Apply button and let's have a chat about the role and your skills and experiences.
Let’s start with the role
As a Manager of the SWAT team your responsibilities will be:
Define and execute the strategy for database performance, scalability, and efficiency across large-scale production environments.
Lead initiatives to improve query performance, reduce latency, optimize workload distribution, and eliminate systemic bottlenecks.
Establish performance benchmarks, tuning standards, and engineering best practices.
Partner with application, platform, and infrastructure teams to ensure performance considerations are incorporated into every stage of the software lifecycle.
Establish performance, reliability, and availability goals for critical database services.
Champion proactive monitoring, observability, and automation to improve operational health.
Lead the resolution of complex production issues and customer-critical escalations.
Drive deep root cause analysis and ensure sustainable corrective actions are implemented.
Partner with engineering leaders to shape RaptorDB platform strategy and architecture.
Build and develop a world-class team of performance and reliability engineers.
Team management, recruitment, career development, objective setting, projects prioritization and performance review
Experience of managing an ‘on call’ team covering 24 x 7
Drive a culture of intolerance of repetitive manual activities by promoting efforts towards automation, thus enabling scaling and removing in-efficiency.
Drive initiatives with partner teams to improve the reliability of the ServiceNow application and platform.
Act as part of the escalation crisis management team to orchestrate actions towards sustainable solutions.
Analysis and evaluation of existing processes to drive continuous improvement and efficiencies.
Provide training, documentation and support to partner teams that interface with SWAT.
Onboarding of new hires to enable their success in their roles.
Onboarding of new technologies, systems and automations into the team.
10+ years of experience in database engineering, performance engineering, site reliability engineering, or large-scale platform operations.
5+ years of engineering leadership experience managing high-performing technical teams.
Deep expertise in PostgreSQL and distributed database architectures.
Strong understanding of query optimization, execution planning, indexing strategies, replication, concurrency control, and workload management.
Experience leading major incident response and customer-critical production escalations.
Experience with large-scale SaaS or cloud-native platforms supporting enterprise customers.
Strong analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Experience working in software, platform and infrastructure delivered as a service.
Knowledge of principles and methods involving ITIL.
Outstanding interpersonal skills and strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
Uncompromising attention to detail.
Bachelor's degree in Computing Science or related technical field, or equivalent work experience.
These are not a 'must', but please highlight them on your resume if you have:
Experience operating PostgreSQL at hyperscale.
Experience building automation frameworks for operational excellence and incident reduction.
Demonstrated ability to influence technical strategy across multiple engineering organizations.
Experience of using ServiceNow
Work Personas
We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.
Equal Opportunity Employer
ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, gender identity, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements.
Accommodations
We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact [email protected] for assistance.
Export Control Regulations
For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities.
From Fortune. ©2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license.
Skills Required
- 10+ years of experience in database engineering, performance engineering, site reliability engineering, or large-scale platform operations
- 5+ years of engineering leadership experience managing high-performing technical teams
- Deep expertise in PostgreSQL and distributed database architectures
- Strong understanding of query optimization, execution planning, indexing strategies, replication, concurrency control, and workload management
- Experience leading major incident response and customer-critical production escalations
- Experience with large-scale SaaS or cloud-native platforms supporting enterprise customers
- Strong analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills
- Experience working in software, platform, and infrastructure delivered as a service
- Knowledge of ITIL principles and methods
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field, or equivalent work experience
- Experience operating PostgreSQL at hyperscale
- Experience building automation frameworks for operational excellence and incident reduction
- Ability to influence technical strategy across multiple engineering organizations
- Experience using ServiceNow
ServiceNow Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare is described as comprehensive, with employer‑verified medical, dental, vision, life and disability coverage plus mental‑health support. Feedback suggests plan breadth and quality are a standout element of the package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time off options include flexible PTO, paid holidays, paid volunteer time, and additional company “Wellbeing Days.” Feedback suggests employees value the breadth of recharge time available.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Ownership programs feature a 15%‑discount Employee Stock Purchase Plan alongside role‑based equity (e.g., RSUs) and performance bonuses. Feedback suggests these elements meaningfully lift total compensation beyond base pay.
ServiceNow Insights
What We Do
As the AI platform for business transformation, we're putting AI to work across organizations — freeing people for work that matters. Making old tech work with new tech. Reaching across departments, from the front office to the back office and every office in between. Our ambition? To become the AI defining enterprise software company of the 21st century (or "AI DESCO21C," as we like to call it). With more than 8,400+ customers, we serve approximately 90% of the Fortune 500®, and we're proud to be a Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® and World's Most Admired Companies™. Explore your future career with us, visit www.careers.servicenow.com From Fortune. ©2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license.
Why Work With Us
By joining ServiceNow, you are part of an ambitious team of change-makers who have a restless curiosity and a drive for ingenuity. We're committed to helping our people do their best work and live their best lives so we can fulfill our purpose together. At the fastest-growing enterprise software company, you can grow your career faster.
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