IT Operations
Enterprise IT
You're building enterprise-scale systems that power Fortune 500 operations, not fixing laptops. This path creates CIOs who understand both boardroom strategy and data center reality.
The Career Arc
Rotational · L1–L3
Build the Enterprise IT craft. Prove you can wield the tools of IT Operations.
Transformational · L4–L7
Deliver Enterprise IT outcomes — each IT Operations tour at this altitude has a defined mission and success criteria.
- L4 : Lead database initiatives
- L5 : Develop database strategy
- L6 : Shape database vision
- L7 : Shape enterprise database vision and data platform strategy
Manage a Team?
Great Enterprise IT managers are practitioners first. The IT Operations IC responsibilities in L4–L7 are your foundation — your management responsibilities are additive:
- • Hire for problem-solving under pressure—outages don't wait
- • Coach your team to think business-first—IT serves the mission
- • Run 1:1s that develop breadth—not just depth in one system
- • Give feedback that builds calm under fire—direct, supportive, timely
- • Remove blockers—fight for budget, tooling, and executive buy-in
Foundational · L8–L9
Shape the IT Operations organization from the Enterprise IT chair — build institutions, not just products.
L1 — Associate DBA Rotational
Mission
Learn database fundamentals
This tour of duty
Support your first database operations
Own the outcomes
- • Learn database fundamentals including SQL, administration, and backups
- • Execute database operations with guidance
- • Write basic SQL queries and scripts
- • Document database configurations and procedures
- • Support database monitoring and alerting
- • Participate in DBA operations to learn administration
Enterprise IT at L1 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Analyzing query performance
- • Drafting backup scripts
- • Generating documentation
L2 — Junior DBA Rotational
Mission
Support database operations
This tour of duty
Own database domains and ensure reliability
Own the outcomes
- • Manage database operations independently
- • Troubleshoot database issues and restore service
- • Write database automation and maintenance scripts
- • Design simple database configurations
- • Contribute to backup and recovery procedures
- • Support on-call rotations for database incidents
Enterprise IT at L2 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Building monitoring dashboards
- • Analyzing performance patterns
- • Creating runbooks
L3 — Senior DBA Rotational
Mission
Own database domains
This tour of duty
Lead database improvements
Own the outcomes
- • Own database domains end-to-end
- • Design database architectures for application needs
- • Lead database optimization and tuning projects
- • Lead database capacity planning
- • Mentor junior DBAs on administration practices
- • Drive database reliability and performance improvements
Enterprise IT at L3 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Modeling database scenarios
- • Synthesizing performance data
- • Generating architecture docs
L4 — Staff DBA / Manager, IT Operations Transformational
Mission
Lead database initiatives
This tour of duty
Develop automation that improves efficiency
Own the outcomes
- • Lead DBA initiatives across platforms
- • Design database architectures at enterprise scale
- • Mentor DBAs on database thinking and optimization
- • Define database standards for the organization
- • Drive cross-team database coordination
- • Own reliability for critical databases
Enterprise IT at L4 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Analyzing DBA patterns
- • Building automation playbooks
- • Creating training
L5 — Senior Staff DBA / Senior Manager, IT Operations Transformational
Mission
Develop database strategy
This tour of duty
Drive database strategy
Own the outcomes
- • Drive database strategy decisions organization-wide
- • Design database platforms that scale with data growth
- • Define database standards and best practices
- • Lead evaluation of database technologies
- • Mentor senior DBAs and shape database culture
- • Solve the most complex database challenges
Enterprise IT at L5 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Designing database strategies
- • Modeling capacity scenarios
- • Generating recommendations
L6 — Director, Database Administration Transformational
Mission
Shape database vision
This tour of duty
Own database vision
Own the outcomes
- • Set direction for database administration company-wide
- • Define database strategy and multi-year roadmap
- • Establish standards ensuring data reliability
- • Drive alignment on database investments
- • Represent DBA in executive discussions
- • Shape the vision for database evolution
Enterprise IT at L6 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Analyzing strategic opportunities
- • Building architecture frameworks
- • Creating executive content
L7 — Senior Director, Database Administration Transformational
Mission
Shape enterprise database vision and data platform strategy
This tour of duty
Build the team that scales DBA
Own the outcomes
- • Shape the company's database vision and strategy
- • Define innovative approaches to data management
- • Establish principles guiding database decisions
- • Influence industry database practices
- • Mentor directors and senior DBA leaders
- • Drive database innovation
Enterprise IT at L7 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Designing team capabilities
- • Building database systems
- • Creating hiring frameworks
L8 — VP, Database Administration Foundational
Mission
Scale DBA across organization
This tour of duty
Create the operating model for database excellence
Own the outcomes
- • Build and lead DBA teams
- • Define organizational structure for database administration
- • Establish hiring standards for DBAs
- • Create the operating model for DBA excellence
- • Partner with executives on data infrastructure investments
- • Develop DBA managers and leaders
Enterprise IT at L8 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Modeling DBA maturity
- • Analyzing efficiency
- • Generating operating models
L9 — SVP, Database Administration Foundational
Mission
Define database strategy
This tour of duty
Define the database strategy
Own the outcomes
- • Own database strategy organization-wide
- • Define multi-year roadmap for data platforms
- • Build culture that attracts top DBA talent
- • Partner with executives on data infrastructure strategy
- • Establish database excellence as competitive differentiator
- • Shape the future of database administration at the company
Enterprise IT at L9 — the competency bar
AI in this role
- • Building strategic planning systems
- • Analyzing technology trends
- • Creating architectures
What Hiring Managers Look For
L1-L3: You've automated manual processes and can articulate the business impact in dollars saved or hours recovered.
L4-L6: You've led cross-functional technology initiatives that required negotiating with business stakeholders who didn't report to you.
L7+: You've successfully navigated a major technology transformation while maintaining operational stability and can speak to board-level risk management.
Common Career Transitions
Enterprise IT → Product Engineering at L4-L5 for customer-facing system ownership
Enterprise IT → Cloud Architecture at L5-L6 for strategic infrastructure leadership
Enterprise IT → Technical Program Management at L6+ for large-scale delivery orchestration
Measure yourself against this ladder — pin it to your Career Record.
Build Your Career Record