Practice Lead: AWS (Remote)

Practice Lead: AWS

The Practice Lead for AWS is a hands-on leader dedicated to helping customers get the most out of open-source databases running on AWS and the broader AWS ecosystem around them (EKS, Aurora, RDS, ElastiCache, MSK, and the like). While the primary focus is on database environments, the Lead provides architectural guidance across the surrounding infrastructure whenever it affects database performance, cost, or reliability.

As a recognized thought leader, the Practice Lead stays at the forefront of how the AWS platform is evolving, offering strategic advice and direct assistance with complex implementations and migrations.

This is a dedicated, AWS-specific role. We may stand up equivalent practices for other hyperscalers (Azure, GCP) down the road, but for now, the scope is intentionally focused on AWS, and we want deep, real expertise in that ecosystem rather than shallow coverage across three clouds at once.

Our Philosophy: Meet the Customer Where They Are

This role is built around a simple idea: we meet customers where they are, and for a large and growing number of them, that's AWS. The Practice Lead should default to AWS solutions wherever they're the natural, appropriate fit for the customer, and be genuinely enthusiastic about it, not begrudgingly supportive of it. At the same time, "natural fit" is doing real work in that sentence. If a fully managed AWS service isn't the right call for a given customer's cost, portability, or technical requirements, the Practice Lead should say so plainly and recommend the better path, even if that path runs through self-managed or Percona-supported open-source instead.

The job isn't to force AWS onto customers who don't need it, and it isn't to steer people away from AWS out of some reflexive preference for open source either. It's to give customers a straight, technically grounded recommendation and let the right answer win. That's our value of putting the customer ahead of Percona, in practice.

Key Responsibilities

• Customer Advocacy: Act in the best interest of the customer. You will champion Percona's expertise and, where it fits, Percona software and services, but the customer's outcome always comes first, regardless of which tools or platform features get them there.

• Existing Customer Growth: This role isn't just about net-new logos. A meaningful part of the job is looking after Percona's existing customer base as it relates to AWS, in two directions. First, customers already running in AWS environments today: helping them get more value out of that setup, whether that's performance tuning, cost optimization, or adopting additional AWS or Percona services they aren't using yet. Second, customers who aren't on AWS today but are actively migrating there: making sure that transition goes smoothly, that Percona's support and services move with them, and that we don't lose ground with a customer just because their infrastructure is changing.

• Product & Partnership Influence: Act as a strategic advisor to internal Percona teams to improve our software and services for customers running on AWS. You will work closely with our internal Cloud Partnership team on our formal relationship with AWS (co-sell motions, partner programs, joint go-to-market), while you own the technical depth and credibility that makes that partnership valuable in the first place.

• Business Growth: This is a results-oriented role. Success is measured by the revenue and profitability of the AWS Practice, its contribution to Percona subscriptions (Support, Managed Services, etc.), partnership revenue, and overall customer satisfaction.

• Thought Leadership: Drive Percona's presence in the AWS and open source database space through content creation, professional networking, and speaking engagements at industry conferences and AWS-specific events (re:Invent and the like).

• Service Design: Architect professional service offerings and packages, such as migration assessments, cost optimization reviews, and architecture audits, designed for high market impact and successful customer adoption.

• Sales & Marketing Enablement: Serve as a "Super Expert" Solutions Architect during pre-sales cycles. You will work closely with Marketing on technical campaigns and enable the Sales team to win deals with significant AWS components.

• Practice Building: As the business scales, you will be responsible for hiring and mentoring a dedicated team to expand the AWS Practice.

What we are looking for

• AWS expertise: Deep knowledge of AWS and its database ecosystem, including relevant managed services and the infrastructure surrounding them. You understand the trade-offs between managed and self-managed solutions and can make recommendations based on customer needs.

• Open-source database expertise: Strong understanding of open-source database technologies, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB and Valkey, with experience helping organisations deploy, optimise and scale these technologies in cloud environments such as AWS.

• Practice-building experience: A track record of building and scaling a consulting, services or technology practice, ideally with responsibility for commercial performance, revenue and profitability.

• Entrepreneurial mindset: Strong work ethic, initiative and a willingness to get hands-on. You’re comfortable building something from the ground up while balancing strategic priorities with day-to-day execution.

• Customer and commercial focus: The ability to build trusted customer relationships, identify growth opportunities and translate technical expertise into tangible business value.

• Strategic thinking and execution: Able to develop a clear vision, turn it into actionable plans and deliver measurable results.

• Communication and influence: An effective communicator who can explain complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences, build stakeholder confidence and remain composed under pressure. Fluent in written and spoken English.

• Community and thought leadership: A recognised contributor or emerging thought leader in the open-source database or wider cloud ecosystem.

• Sales and business development: Experience supporting technical pre-sales, software sales or business development is desirable but not essential.

• Remote working and travel: Comfortable working in a remote-first environment and travelling

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Why Percona?

At Percona, we believe an open world is a better world. Our mission is to enable everyone to innovate freely, by providing the best open source database software, support, and services. We make databases and applications run better through a unique combination of expertise and open source software built with the community for you. Our technical teams are experts in MySQL, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, and MariaDB.

Percona is proud to be a remote-only and globally dispersed workforce – we have colleagues in more than 50 countries! We offer a collaborative, highly-engaged culture where your ideas are welcome and your voice is heard.

Our staff receives generous benefits including flexible work hours and various paid time off programs, all your equipment for your remote office, funds for career development (external training, certifications, conferences), ongoing connectivity allowances, and the opportunity to participate in our equity incentive plan. We also have benefits that support a healthy work/life balance such as The Percona Adventure Team, Work-from-Anywhere, FlowDays, FryDays, and overall flexibility. We also support being socially responsible through our PAVE volunteering program and Women Transforming Technology.

If you love the idea of working with a high-growth tech company that is one of the best in the business and known globally as a leader in the open-source database space, let’s talk!

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