Position Overview
At PNC our people are our greatest differentiator and competitive advantage in the markets we serve. We are all united in delivering the best experience for our customers. We work together each day to foster an inclusive workplace culture where all of our employees feel respected valued and have an opportunity to contribute to the companys success. As a Software Engineer Principal within PNCs Technology organization you will be based in Pittsburgh PA Strongsville OH or Denver CO
The Software Engineer Principal Oracle Application DBA is a senior technical authority responsible for SQL performance optimization query tuning and database efficiency for high volume fraud transaction processing platforms. This role is deeply embedded with Fraud Transactions Engineering teams and focuses on ensuring that transaction critical queries execute predictably efficiently and at scale.
This position plays a direct role in protecting customer transactions by enabling real time and batch fraud detection systems to operate with low latency high throughput and production stability.
Primary Focus of the Role
This role is deliberately specialized and centered on:
SQL tuning and execution plan optimization
Diagnosing and eliminating query driven performance bottlenecks
Optimizing database access patterns for transaction heavy fraud workloads
Partnering with engineers to design performant schemas and queries
Key Responsibilities
SQL Optimization & Query Performance
Serve as the principal expert for SQL tuning and performance optimization across fraud transaction databases.
Analyze execution plans wait events and query behavior to identify inefficiencies and systemic patterns.
Optimize complex long running and high frequency queries supporting real time fraud decisioning and batch processing.
Define and enforce best practices for query design indexing strategies and data access patterns.
Application Embedded Database Engineering
Work directly with Fraud Transactions Engineering teams during design development and support to ensure queries are performant by design.
Review application SQL stored procedures and schema changes prior to production deployment.
Partner with engineers to refactor inefficient queries and data models that impact throughput or latency.
Provide hands on guidance during performance incidents to rapidly isolate query level root causes.
Database Performance & Stability
Monitor and proactively improve database performance for transaction intensive workloads.
Identify and remediate query patterns that contribute to contention resource exhaustion or instability.
Drive improvements in observability related to SQL execution response times and resource usage.
Reduce repeat incidents by addressing underlying query and design issues not just symptoms.
Standards Governance & Technical Leadership
Establish and maintain SQL performance standards for fraud platforms.
Act as a technical authority and mentor for engineers and DBAs on performance centric database practices.
Influence platform level decisions related to data access scalability and workload management.
Communicate complex performance findings clearly to engineering leadership and stakeholders.
Required Qualifications
Bachelors degree in Computer Science Engineering or equivalent experience.
Experience working with Oracle databases with deep specialization in SQL tuning and performance optimization.
Expert level understanding of Oracle execution plans indexing strategies and query optimization techniques.
Proven experience supporting high volume transaction heavy production systems.
Strong ability to collaborate with application engineers and influence design decisions.
PNC is an in-office company that fosters a supportive culture where employees can thrive and achieve balance. We encourage candidates to connect with their recruiter and hiring manager to understand workplace expectations and ensure the role aligns with their goals.
PNC will not provide sponsorship for employment visas or participate in STEM OPT for this position.
Job Description
- Aligns business strategy with software solutions.
- Proposes designs & codes software solutions to address complex business needs. Oversees technical and procedural documentation required.
- Leads complex problem solving.
- Provides technical guidance and support to colleagues and solution development.
- Displays an innovative approach to apply modern principles methodologies and tools to advance business initiatives and capabilities.
PNC Employees take pride in our reputation and to continue building upon that we expect our employees to be:
- Customer Focused - Knowledgeable of the values and practices that align customer needs and satisfaction as primary considerations in all business decisions and able to leverage that information in creating customized customer solutions.
- Managing Risk - Assessing and effectively managing all of the risks associated with their business objectives and activities to ensure they adhere to and support PNCs Enterprise Risk Management Framework.
Qualifications
Successful candidates must demonstrate appropriate knowledge skills and abilities for a role. Listed below are skills competencies work experience education and required certifications/licensures needed to be successful in this position.
Preferred Skills
Application Development Business Management Customer Solutions Database Administration Design Group Problem Solving Oracle Process Improvements Red Hat Ansible Red Hat OpenShift Release Management Software Solutions User Experience (UX) Design
Competencies
Application Design Architecture Packaged Application Integration Product and Vendor Evaluation Software Process Improvement (SPI) System Development Life Cycle Technical Troubleshooting
Work Experience
Roles at this level typically require a university / college degree with 5 years of industry-relevant experience. Specific certifications are often lieu of a degree a comparable combination of education job specific certification(s) and experience (including military service) may be considered.
Education
Bachelors
Certifications
No Required Certification(s)
Licenses
No Required License(s)
Pay Transparency
Base Salary: $106000.00 $165600.00
Salaries may vary based on geographic location market data and on individual skills experience and education. This role is incentive eligible with the payment based upon company business and/or individual performance.
Application Window
Generally this opening is expected to be posted for two business days from 12/05/2025 although it may be longer with business discretion.
Benefits
PNC offers a comprehensive range of benefits to help meet your needs now and in the future. Depending on your eligibility options for full-time employees include: medical/prescription drug coverage (with a Health Savings Account feature) dental and vision options; employee and spouse/child life insurance; short and long-term disability protection; 401(k) with PNC match pension and stock purchase plans; dependent care reimbursement account; back-up child/elder care; adoption surrogacy and doula reimbursement; educational assistance including select programs fully paid; a robust wellness program with financial incentives.
In addition PNC generally provides the following paid time off depending on your eligibility: maternity and/or parental leave; up to 11 paid holidays each year; 9 occasional absence days each year unless otherwise required by law; between 15 to 25 vacation days each year depending on career level; and years of service.
To learn more about these and other programs including benefits for full time and part-time employees visit.
Disability Accommodations Statement
If an accommodation is required to participate in the application process please contact us via email at . Please include accommodation request in the subject line title and be sure to include your name the job ID and your preferred method of contact in the body of the email. Emails not related to accommodation requests will not receive responses. Applicants may also call and say Workday for accommodation assistance. All information provided will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations.
At PNC we foster an inclusive and accessible workplace. We provide reasonable accommodations to employment applicants and qualified individuals with a disability who need an accommodation to perform the essential functions of their positions.
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
PNC provides equal employment opportunity to qualified persons regardless of race color sex religion national origin age sexual orientation gender identity disability veteran status or other categories protected by law.
This position is subject to the requirements of Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) and for any registered role the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act) and/or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) which prohibit the hiring of individuals with certain criminal history.
California Residents
Refer to the California Consumer Privacy Act Privacy Notice to gain understanding of how PNC may use or disclose your personal information in our hiring practices.