NBS Database Administrator

Nelnet Business Services (NBS), a division of Nelnet, Inc., provides payment technology and education services to more than 1,200 higher education institutions, nearly 12,000 K-12 schools, and millions of individual students, families, and supporters across the globe. Our culture of service enables us to form long-lasting and trusted partnerships, while our focus on creativity and innovative solutions empowers our customer communities to thrive.

The NBS Database Administrator is a highly visible role with significant opportunity for technical growth and increasing ownership. This position plays a hands-on role in supporting and advancing the MongoDB Atlas environment behind a growing portfolio of NBS microservices. The person in this role will build deeper MongoDB and NoSQL expertise while helping support a platform that continues to expand in scale and importance.

The work goes well beyond routine database administration. This role works across the database lifecycle with responsibilities that include network access and security, backup and recovery, performance tuning, upgrades, capacity planning and production troubleshooting. The position works closely with development and technical teams to solve problems, improve performance and help keep application services reliable and available.

The MongoDB Atlas environment supports shared services used across the NBS product suite. It spans test, preview and production workloads with dozens of application databases, hundreds of collections and more than 1,000 indexes. The role also provides opportunities to gain experience with Redis, Microsoft SQL Server, Azure SQL, Azure SQL Managed Instance and supporting cloud technologies.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Supports the day-to-day administration and operational health of MongoDB Atlas across production, test and preview environments.
• Monitors MongoDB Atlas alerts and performance metrics. Reviews cluster health and resource utilization. Uses logs and monitoring tools to identify potential issues before they affect applications.
• Assists with cluster performance and capacity management.  Reviews workload trends, storage growth, cluster sizing and autoscaling behavior.
• Analyzes query and index performance using MongoDB Atlas monitoring and diagnostic tools.  Reviews slow-running operations, query plans and index utilization to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Works closely with development teams to investigate inefficient queries and application behavior. Helps evaluate indexes and tuning changes that improve MongoDB performance and stability.
• Supports the administration of MongoDB databases, collections and indexes. Also manages users, roles, network access controls and security settings using established NBS standards.
• Assists with MongoDB Atlas backup and restore activities. Supports point-in-time recovery, disaster recovery testing and recovery validation.
• Supports MongoDB Atlas maintenance and platform changes. This includes upgrades, version changes, scaling events and configuration changes. Performs post-change validation to confirm platform health.
• Participates in incident response and production troubleshooting. Uses database activity, application errors, logs and performance metrics to help identify root cause and restore service.
• Troubleshoots application connectivity and database access issues. Works with development teams, application support and Cloud Operations when issues involve networking, authentication or supporting infrastructure.
• Supports database security and access management. Assists with access requests, role assignments, permission changes and employee termination reviews. Follows least-privilege access standards.
• Supports database change management processes. Reviews, tests and documents approved changes before implementation.
• Participates in platform improvement work.  Helps evaluate new MongoDB Atlas capabilities, automation opportunities and operational practices that can improve reliability or efficiency.
• Assists with related data platforms including Redis, Microsoft SQL Server, Azure SQL and Azure SQL Managed Instance. Responsibilities may include monitoring, maintenance, performance troubleshooting, backup and recovery, migrations and connectivity testing.
• Documents procedures, configurations, troubleshooting steps and recurring support tasks. Records operational and incident findings to support team knowledge sharing.
• Continues to build technical knowledge of MongoDB Atlas and related cloud database technologies. Develops deeper skills in query performance, indexing, security, monitoring, backup and recovery.

Salary range for this role is: $85,000-$107,500

EDUCATION

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Technology or a related field. Equivalent education and experience may be considered.

Preferred: Relevant database, cloud, MongoDB or technology-related certifications. Hands-on experience supporting database systems in a professional environment is also preferred.

EXPERIENCE

Five or more years of experience working with database systems, data platforms or related technical database environments is preferred. Experience supporting production or cloud-hosted database environments is especially valuable.

One or more years of hands-on experience with MongoDB or MongoDB Atlas is strongly preferred. Production MongoDB Atlas experience is especially valuable and will help a candidate become effective in the role more quickly.

Experience with relational database technologies such as Microsoft SQL Server, Azure SQL or Azure SQL Managed Instance is beneficial. Experience with cloud platforms, monitoring tools or application troubleshooting is also valuable.

COMPETENCIES - SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE/ABILITIES

• Demonstrates curiosity and a strong desire to learn new database technologies, cloud platforms and business systems.
• Takes initiative and ownership when investigating technical issues.  Willing to dig into unfamiliar problems and follow them through to resolution.
• Excited to build deeper expertise in MongoDB, MongoDB Atlas and NoSQL technologies.
• Enjoys working as part of a collaborative technical team. Comfortable sharing knowledge, asking questions and learning from others.
• Motivated by opportunities to grow technical skills and take on increasing levels of responsibility.  Strong analytical, troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.
• Effective oral and written communication skills.  Able to document technical findings and communicate issues clearly.  Organized and detail-oriented with good time management and follow-through.
• Strong understanding of database concepts. This includes databases, collections or tables, indexes, queries, security, backup and recovery.
• Understanding of document-oriented and NoSQL database concepts. A demonstrated ability to learn MongoDB technologies is important to success in this role.
• Understanding of database performance concepts. This includes query behavior, indexing, resource utilization and performance monitoring.
• Familiarity with cloud-based database platforms such as MongoDB Atlas, Azure SQL, Azure SQL Managed Instance, Amazon Web Services database services or similar technologies.
• Familiarity with monitoring and troubleshooting tools.  Able to use metrics, logs and alerts to assist with technical investigations.
• Basic understanding of cloud networking and application connectivity. Familiarity with authentication, access control and security concepts is also expected.
• Basic understanding of the software development lifecycle. Familiarity with change management, incident management and Agile methodologies is beneficial.
• Participate in an on-call rotation and respond to production incidents as needed.
• Required to complete the MongoDB University MongoDB Atlas Administrator Path within the first three months of employment.
• Required to successfully complete the MongoDB Atlas Administrator Exam and earn the MongoDB Associate Atlas Administrator certification within the first six months of employment.

Our benefits package includes medical, dental, vision, HSA and FSA, generous earned time off, 401K/student loan repayment, life insurance & AD&D insurance, employee assistance program, employee stock purchase program, tuition reimbursement, performance-based incentive pay, short- and long-term disability, and a robust wellness program. Click here to learn more about our benefits: Benefits & Perks - Nelnet Inc

Nelnet is committed to providing a welcoming and respectful workplace where all associates have the opportunity to succeed. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we ensure that all qualified applicants are considered for employment. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion/creed, national origin, gender, sex, marital status, age, disability, use of a guide dog or service animal, sexual orientation, military/veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law. We value the unique contributions of every team member and believe that a positive work environment benefits everyone.  

Qualified individuals with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations in order to apply or compete for positions at Nelnet may request such accommodations by contacting Corporate Recruiting at 402-486-5725 or corporaterecruiting@nelnet.net.

Nelnet is a Drug Free and Tobacco Free Workplace.

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