Director Database Reliability Engineering - DB2/LUW/UDB

Description and Requirements
Role Value Proposition:
At MetLife, our Database Infrastructure Services (DIS) team within Global Infrastructure is dedicated to making a difference. We prioritize our customers' perspectives and continuously strive to enhance and simplify their experience. Whether you're focused on safeguarding our customers' and employees' data, developing top-tier database solutions, or utilizing data and analytics to transform insights into customer-centric solutions, your work has a significant impact. Each of us plays a crucial role in bringing MetLife's mission of building a more confident future to life. Interested in joining our team? We'd love to have you!
The Opportunity:
As Director of Database Reliability Engineering (DBRE), you will play a pivotal role in leading the transformation of our DB2/LUW/UDB database administration team into a modern, automated and scalable Database Reliability Engineering discipline.
This leader will drive strategy, technical execution, and cultural change to enable adoption of site reliability principles, automation-first approaches, Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), and modern observability and AIOps tooling to modernize DB2/LUW/UDB operations. By fostering collaboration across teams and championing cutting-edge technologies, you will be at the forefront of driving transformative improvements to our infrastructure while enhancing customer experience and delivering value to stakeholders.
Success in this role requires a strong technical background in enterprise database technologies, proven leadership experience, and a passion for transforming traditional teams into forward-looking, resilient infrastructure groups. This role is pivotal in laying the foundation for data platforms that support real-time applications, AI/ML workloads, and enterprise-scale analytics.
Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the vision, strategy, and execution to transform a legacy DBA team into a modern Database Reliability Engineering organization.
• Define and implement a vision for self-service, end-to-end automation, Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), and cloud/container ready DB2/LUW/UDB services.
• Champions the adoption of AIOps and modern observability tools to enable intelligent, self-healing systems.
• Drive cultural change and upskilling within the team to embrace automation, agile practices, and reliability engineering.
• Serve as subject matter leader and product owner of the reliability, scalability, and performance of platforms.
• Serve as technical subject matter leader and global product owner for IBM DB2/LUW/UDB.
• Ensure database platforms and services meet all MetLife security and compliance requirements.
• Demonstrates strong ownership and accountability.

Essential Business Experience and Technical Skills:
Required:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Systems, or another related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
• 8+ years of experience in enterprise database administration, software development, or infrastructure engineering, with deep expertise in IBM DB2/LUW/UDB.
• 3+ years of people leadership or a transformation-focused role.
• Experience with modern observability or AIOps platforms.
• Familiarity with Azure DevOps, GitOps, Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) tools (e.g., Ansible, Terraform), scripting languages (e.g., Python), and/or container orchestration (Kubernetes, OpenShift).

Preferred:

• Experience working in regulated industries (e.g. finance, insurance, healthcare).
• Ability to bridge technical strategy with operational execution across business and engineering stakeholders.
• Familiarity with IBM Cloud Pak for Data or hybrid-cloud data infrastructure strategies.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Effective verbal and written communication.
• Experience coordinating across time zones and driving alignment on deliverables.

At MetLife, we're leading the global transformation of an industry we've long defined. United in purpose, diverse in perspective, we're dedicated to making a difference in the lives of our customers.
Location Expectation: This is a hybrid role requiring a minimum of 3 days per week in office.
The expected salary range for this position is $121,100 - $161,500. This role may also be eligible for annual short-term incentive compensation. All incentives and benefits are subject to the applicable plan terms.
Benefits We Offer
Our U.S. benefits address holistic well-being with programs for physical and mental health, financial wellness, and support for families. We offer a comprehensive health plan that includes medical/prescription drug and vision, dental insurance, and no-cost short- and long-term disability. We also provide company-paid life insurance and legal services, a retirement pension funded entirely by MetLife and 401(k) with employer matching, group discounts on voluntary insurance products including auto and home, pet, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and accident insurance, as well as Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and digital mental health programs, parental leave, volunteer time off, tuition assistance and much more!
About MetLife
Recognized on Fortune magazine's list of the "World's Most Admired Companies", Fortune World's 25 Best Workplaces™, as well as the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®, MetLife, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the world's leading financial services companies; providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to individual and institutional customers. With operations in more than 40 markets, we hold leading positions in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Our purpose is simple - to help our colleagues, customers, communities, and the world at large create a more confident future. United by purpose and guided by our core values - Win Together, Do the Right Thing, Deliver Impact Over Activity, and Think Ahead - we're inspired to transform the next century in financial services. At MetLife, it's #AllTogetherPossible . Join us!
MetLife is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All employment decisions are made without regards to race, color, national origin, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information, citizenship status (although applicants and employees must be legally authorized to work in the United States), uniformed service member or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law ("protected characteristics").
If you need an accommodation due to a disability, please email us at [email protected]. This information will be held in confidence and used only to determine an appropriate accommodation for the application process.
MetLife maintains a drug-free workplace.
$121,100 - $161,500
#BI-Hybrid