Senior Data System Software engineer: Oracle Database 26ai and client drivers System Test Engineering
Database Product Development | Senior Lead or Principal Level
Role summary This role combines hands-on Oracle database development with component, integration, system, stress, and performance testing. The engineer will build automated test solutions for Oracle Database 26ai, Oracle client drivers, converged database features, and the major Oracle client drivers on Windows and Linux.
Team and missionThe SHARP VLDB organisation improves the scalability, high availability, reliability, and performance of Oracle Database and cloud services. The team designs realistic, high-volume and highly concurrent workloads that expose product defects and architectural limitations before release. Engineers work closely with database kernel, feature, client drivers, cloud, and support teams to reproduce issues, verify fixes, and strengthen product quality across on-premises and cloud deployments.
Role at a glance
Primary focus
Database feature development and cross-platform system test engineering
Target database
Oracle Database 26ai with vector and AI capabilities
Platforms
Windows Server and Linux, including cross-platform compatibility and interoperability
Database areas
XDB, JSON, Oracle Text, SQL and PL/SQL, multitenant and high availability
ODAC scope
ODP.NET Core, Managed and Unmanaged providers and related ODAC components
Client drivers
python-oracledb, node-oracledb, OCI-C driver and JDBC
Test coverage
Functional, integration, compatibility, upgrade, patch, system, stress, performance and resiliency
Design and develop production-scale database schemas, data generators, workload drivers, and application logic using SQL, PL/SQL, Python, Java, JavaScript or Node.js, C/C++, and C# as appropriate.
• Create highly automated end-to-end test suites that simulate large enterprise applications, high concurrency, long-duration operation, mixed workloads, and very large databases.
• Review Oracle Database 26ai feature designs and translate functional and architectural requirements into test strategies, coverage matrices, test specifications, and reusable automation.
• Validate Oracle Database 26ai vector and AI capabilities, including vector data types, vector indexes, similarity search, hybrid vector and text scenarios, embedding workflows, concurrency, correctness, performance, and upgrade compatibility.
• Develop comprehensive coverage for XDB and XML processing, JSON data management and APIs, and Oracle Text indexing, search, synchronization, security, and mixed-workload interoperability.
• Test ODAC and ODP.NET components across Windows and Linux, including platform-appropriate ODP.NET Core, Managed, and Unmanaged provider scenarios, connection management, pooling, transactions, data type mappings, high availability, security, and framework integration.
• Build a consistent cross-driver test matrix for python-oracledb, node-oracledb, OCI C, and JDBC to validate feature parity, protocol behavior, data type support, error handling, failover, performance, and backward compatibility.
• Exercise client and server combinations across Windows and Linux, including installation, configuration, networking, TLS, authentication, character sets, file systems, process and memory behavior, and operating-system-specific regressions.
• Test Release Updates, one-off patches, client upgrades, rolling maintenance, database upgrades, and mixed-version scenarios while preserving data correctness and service availability.
• Execute tests on standalone databases, multitenant CDB and PDB environments, RAC and ASM clusters, Data Guard configurations, Exadata, and cloud or Autonomous Database environments as applicable.
• Develop monitoring and diagnostics for database, operating system, network, application, and client layers; analyze traces, dumps, logs, wait events, execution plans, memory usage, and performance profiles.
• File high-quality defects with reproducible evidence, isolate failures to the responsible layer, collaborate with development teams on root cause, and verify fixes across platforms and client stacks.
• Enhance test frameworks based on customer escalations and field defects, and participate in feature reviews, certification exercises, documentation reviews, and quality readiness assessments.
Area
Technologies
Expected coverage
Database features
XDB XML, JSON, Oracle Text, SQL, PL/SQL, Multitenant
Correctness, interoperability, security, concurrency, upgrade and performance
AI and vector
Vector types, indexes, similarity and hybrid search, AI workflows
Accuracy, scale, performance, resiliency and client accessibility
ODAC and .NET
ODP.NET Core, Managed and Unmanaged providers
Windows and Linux component behavior, pooling, transactions, HA and data types
Client drivers
python-oracledb, node-oracledb, OCI C and JDBC
Feature parity, compatibility, error handling, failover and throughput
Platforms
Windows Server, Linux, RAC, ASM, Data Guard and cloud
Installation, networking, security, resource behavior and lifecycle operations
• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electronics, or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
• Strong Oracle Database development experience with SQL, PL/SQL, schema and physical design, transaction processing, concurrency, diagnostics, and performance tuning.
• Experience developing or testing database client applications using at least two of the following: Python, Node.js, C/C++, Java, or C# and .NET.
• Practical knowledge of client-server database architecture, Oracle Net connectivity, connection pooling, transactions, data type conversion, error handling, and high-availability behavior.
• Strong Windows and Linux engineering skills, including services and processes, networking, file systems, security, automation, resource monitoring, and troubleshooting.
• Experience designing automated functional, integration, system, stress, or performance tests and diagnosing failures across multiple software layers.
• Ability to read feature designs, identify risk areas, create measurable coverage, and produce maintainable test code and clear defect reports.
• Experience with source control and continuous integration practices, such as Git, build pipelines, automated regression execution, and artifact management.
• Clear written and verbal communication, strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and the ability to collaborate across geographically distributed engineering teams.
•Expert Oracle Design/Development/Principal DBAs (OR) Lead/Principal Oracle DB Developers with sound
Oracle DB Application Development cum DBA Full-Life cycle experience ranging from 4-12 years.
• Oracle Database 23ai or 26ai, AI Vector Search, machine learning or embedding-based applications, and performance evaluation of AI-assisted database workloads.
• ODAC, ODP.NET, .NET and .NET Core, Entity Framework Core, ADO.NET, ASP.NET, IIS, Visual Studio, and Windows application diagnostics.
• python-oracledb Thin and Thick modes, node-oracledb, OCI C interfaces, JDBC Thin or OCI modes, and cross-driver compatibility testing.
• Oracle XDB and XML, native JSON capabilities, Oracle Text, search indexing, document-oriented applications, and mixed JSON relational workloads.
• Oracle RAC, ASM, Data Guard, Multitenant, Exadata, Autonomous Database, Database Cloud Services, or Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
• PowerShell, shell, Python automation, REST APIs, container platforms, orchestration, observability, and infrastructure-as-code tools.
• Experience analyzing customer escalations or post-release defects and converting them into durable automated regression coverage.
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