What are the responsibilities and job description for the Director, Database Reliability Engineering position at MetLife, Inc?
Description and Requirements
Role Value Proposition:
Join MetLife’s Database Infrastructure Services (DIS) team, where we are committed to redefining how database platforms support the future of our business. Our mission is to empower our customers and employees by building robust, scalable, and intelligent data solutions that drive confidence and innovation. We are seeking a visionary leader to inspire and guide our team through a transformative journey towards automation, advanced intelligence, and operational excellence.
As Director of Database Reliability Engineering, you will be the architect of our evolution from traditional, manual database operations to a modern, automation-first discipline. This role is designed for a hands-on technical leader who thrives on enabling and accelerating transformation through Infrastructure as Code (IaC), modern coding practices, and cutting-edge observability. In addition to automation, you will champion the adoption of AI and AIOps solutions to enhance the team’s ability to deliver real-time visibility, intelligent monitoring, and rapid incident response. Your leadership will empower teams to replace manual incident response with automated and AI-driven detection, response, and recovery—ensuring rapid containment and continuous reliability.
Key Responsibilities:
- Champion the end-to-end transformation of database operations, instilling a culture of automation, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Lead by example in adopting Infrastructure as Code, driving the development and implementation of self-service, scalable solutions that eliminate manual bottlenecks.
- Promote the integration of modern coding standards, test automation, and CI/CD practices to enhance code quality, velocity, and platform reliability.
- Advance observability across all database services by implementing real-time monitoring, analytics, and AI/AIOps-driven solutions for proactive issue detection and intelligent remediation.
- Leverage automation and AI technologies to streamline detection, response, and recovery processes, reducing operational risks and elevating service reliability.
- Inspire and mentor teams, cultivating technical excellence and fostering a forward-looking, collaborative environment.
- Ensure all database platforms and processes adhere to security, compliance, and business continuity standards.
Essential Business Experience and Technical Skills:
Required Skills:
- Advanced degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related technical field.
- 5 years of people leadership experience, including performance reviews, performance development, and coaching.
- Proven ability to lead enterprise transformation from traditional operations to automation-first, reliability-engineering ways of working.
- Strong experience implementing and using modern observability platforms (DataDog, DynaTrace, Elastic) and applying AI/AIOps to improve detection, response, and remediation.
- Hands-on expertise driving automation with Infrastructure as Code and modern DevOps practices (e.g., CI/CD, test automation, GitOps) using tools such as Terraform, Ansible, Azure DevOps, Python, and Kubernetes/OpenShift.
Preferred:
- Experience in regulated industries (e.g., finance, insurance, healthcare).
- Strong, extensive knowledge and hands-on experience in on-premise database administration (preference for IBM Db2).
- Familiarity with hybrid-cloud data strategies or enterprise-scale data platforms.
- Demonstrated success in global organizations, coordinating initiatives and deliverables across time zones.
- Experience with deploying AI and AIOps capabilities to improve database operations and incident management.
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.
Salary : $130,000 - $175,000