Data Engineering Manager

Location: Boston, MA (Hybrid – onsite 3 days/week)
Reports To: Director of Engineering
Salary Band: $170,000-180,000

The Manager, Database Engineering will lead the modernization of GCC's legacy DB2 environment and guide the transformation to a modern, distributed relational database architecture. This role is responsible for shaping the long-term database strategy, ensuring scalable and secure backend systems, and enabling modernization efforts across our website, backend integrations, and enterprise platforms. This leader will bring deep technical expertise, hands-on execution capability, and the ability to mentor and elevate a high-performing engineering team.

• Provide technical leadership and hands-on oversight for modernizing GCC's System-i DB2 database environment into cloud-ready, distributed relational architectures.
• Drive large-scale database modernization initiatives aligned to enterprise architectural goals.
• Lead end-to-end delivery of database solutions including design, development, automated testing, deployment, and ongoing operations.

• Architect scalable, secure, high-availability database solutions supporting microservices and cloud-native applications.
• Establish and enforce best practices for schema design, data modeling, indexing, and query optimization.
• Implement automated CI/CD pipelines, schema versioning, and infrastructure-as-code practices for database deployments.

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of database engineers, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Partner closely with application development, DevOps, cloud infrastructure, and security teams to ensure seamless integration across the technology ecosystem.

Data Security, Compliance & Performance

• Maintain rigorous security controls, encryption standards, and compliance (GDPR, PCI, etc.).
• Oversee monitoring, performance tuning, and capacity planning to ensure reliability and optimize performance across all environments.

• 5+ years in database engineering roles, including at least 2 years in a leadership or management capacity.
• Strong experience with legacy DB2 and modern RDBMS platforms (PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MySQL), including hands-on migration experience.
• Expertise in designing and optimizing relational databases, including indexing strategies, query tuning, and performance troubleshooting.
• Experience with distributed architectures and microservices-based system design.
• Hands-on experience deploying databases in cloud environments (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and integrating with DevOps pipelines.
• Strong understanding of database security, encryption, and regulatory compliance.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to present technical strategies to senior stakeholders.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field—or equivalent experience.

• Experience with data migration tools and legacy-to-modern transformation strategies.
• Familiarity with event-driven architectures and patterns.
• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and database orchestration/automation within containerized environments.
• Contributions to open-source projects or demonstrated thought leadership in database engineering.

At Grand Circle Corporation, we offer a comprehensive and competitive Total Rewards package designed to support the well-being, growth, and long-term success of our associates. The base salary range for this role is $170,000 – $180,000 annually for employees based in Boston, MA. Final compensation may vary based on relevant experience, skills, internal equity, and geographic location. In addition to base pay, this role is eligible for an annual incentive bonus and first-class benefits, which include:

• Competitive base salary and annual performance-based bonus
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) plan with company match
• Generous paid time off, including vacation, holidays, and sick time
• Travel benefits and discounts across our global destinations
• Professional development opportunities and access to learning resources
• Hybrid work environment with meaningful in-person collaboration

Grand Circle Corporation is the leader in international travel, adventure, and discovery for Americans aged 50+. Headquartered in Boston, MA, we are a $600M global enterprise with 30 regional offices and more than 2,000 associates. Since our founding, over two million Americans have traveled with our award-winning brands—Grand Circle Travel, Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT), and Grand Circle Cruise Lines.

We bring together human insight and digital expertise to anticipate the needs of our customers. Our team members are innovative, technologically sophisticated, and motivated to achieve. With trips in nearly 100 countries, you'll have the opportunity to shape the digital infrastructure behind life-changing travel experiences around the world.

Preferred

• Bachelors or better in Computer Science
• Bachelors or better in Computer Engineering
• Bachelors or better in Information Technology

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.