Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Oracle Developer

🎯 Role Definition

An Oracle Developer is a specialized database developer and application programmer responsible for designing, developing, tuning, and maintaining Oracle-based applications and database systems. This role focuses on building scalable PL/SQL packages, Oracle Forms/APEX screens, data migration and integration solutions, performance tuning, backup/recovery strategies, and collaborating with business stakeholders to deliver secure, reliable, and high-performance data-driven solutions on-premises and in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Junior Database Developer — PL/SQL and SQL scripting experience
Application Developer with Oracle Forms/APEX exposure
ETL/Data Integration Developer with Oracle tools familiarity

Advancement To:

Senior Oracle Developer / Lead Database Developer
Database Architect / Data Platform Engineer
Oracle DBA (Performance/Cloud specialization) or Technical Lead

Lateral Moves:

Data Engineer (ETL/ELT pipelines with Oracle)
Application Architect (Oracle APEX, Java, or middleware stack)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Design, develop, and maintain complex PL/SQL packages, procedures, functions, triggers, and views, ensuring code is modular, well-documented, and adheres to enterprise coding standards to support mission-critical business applications.
Analyze business requirements and collaborate with product owners and business analysts to translate functional specifications into efficient Oracle database designs and normalized schemas that optimize data integrity and performance.
Perform SQL and PL/SQL performance tuning, including execution plan analysis, index design, partitioning strategies, and rewriting queries to reduce CPU and I/O, resulting in measurable application response time improvements.
Lead database design and data modeling sessions using logical and physical data models, ensuring alignment with normalization rules, referential integrity, and future scalability for high-volume transactional systems.
Implement and manage ETL/ELT processes using Oracle Data Integrator (ODI), SQL Loader, or custom PL/SQL scripts to migrate, cleanse, and transform data between legacy systems, third-party applications, and the Oracle database.
Create and maintain Oracle Forms and Oracle APEX applications, building responsive GUIs, form validation, and PL/SQL back-end logic that integrate seamlessly with enterprise workflows and user roles.
Develop and maintain automation scripts for database deployments, schema changes, and patching using version control (Git), CI/CD pipelines, and release management best practices to ensure repeatable and auditable releases.
Drive database backup, recovery, and disaster recovery planning using RMAN, Data Guard, or backup automation to ensure Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) are met for critical systems.
Configure and troubleshoot Oracle RAC and ASM environments to deliver high availability and load-balanced database services, coordinating with system administrators to resolve cluster and storage issues.
Integrate Oracle databases with middleware, Java applications, web services, and third-party APIs, developing secure data access layers and ensuring correct transaction handling across distributed systems.
Implement and enforce database security policies, including fine-grained access control, roles and privileges, encryption (TDE), and auditing to protect sensitive data and support compliance requirements (PCI, GDPR, SOX).
Conduct code reviews and peer mentoring, establishing best practices for PL/SQL development, query optimization, and database design while driving continuous improvement and knowledge sharing across the team.
Lead or participate in database migration projects to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), assessing lift-and-shift vs. replatform strategies, validating compatibility, and executing cutover plans with minimal downtime.
Design and implement data archiving and purging strategies to maintain database performance, reduce storage costs, and ensure regulatory compliance for historical data retention.
Troubleshoot complex production incidents, perform root cause analysis, and implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence; coordinate incident communications and post-mortem documentation.
Build and maintain database monitoring, alerting, and capacity planning dashboards using Oracle Enterprise Manager, AWR/ASH reports, or third-party monitoring tools to proactively detect performance regressions.
Optimize and tune batch processing and scheduled jobs, including large-scale ETL, reporting loads, and end-of-day processes to meet business SLAs without impacting OLTP systems.
Develop stored procedures and API layers for downstream reporting and BI consumers, enabling consistent and performant access patterns for analytics teams using Oracle SQL, materialized views, and result caching.
Participate in solution architecture reviews, provide database-level design guidance for new features, and assess the technical feasibility and impact of proposed application changes.
Prepare technical documentation, runbooks, deployment guides, and operational run procedures to support on-call teams and reduce time to restore in case of outages.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams (DevOps, Security, QA, Business Analysts) to support test environments, ensure application testing covers database changes, and sign off on production readiness.
Automate routine maintenance tasks, schema comparisons, and data synchronization processes to reduce manual effort and human error during deployments and migrations.
Evaluate new Oracle tools and database features (e.g., JSON support, In-Memory, Multitenant, Autonomous Database capabilities) and recommend adoption where they deliver measurable business value.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Assist QA engineers with database test data setup, test case validation, and performance test scenarios.
Provide on-call support on a rotating basis and contribute to incident response and escalation playbooks.
Mentor junior developers on PL/SQL best practices, code organization, and performance troubleshooting.
Help maintain CI/CD pipelines for database code and assist in automating schema migrations and rollbacks.
Liaise with vendors and third-party providers for Oracle licensing, support, and patch management.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Expert-level PL/SQL programming: stored procedures, packages, functions, triggers, bulk processing (BULK COLLECT, FORALL), and exception handling.
Advanced SQL query optimization and tuning: execution plans, index strategies, partitioning, hints, and rewriting complex joins and subqueries.
Oracle Database administration basics and collaboration: knowledge of RMAN, Data Guard, Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM), and AWR/ASH analysis.
Oracle Forms and Oracle APEX development: form design, dynamic actions, page processes, and integrating APEX with PL/SQL APIs.
Experience with Oracle RAC, ASM, multitenant architecture (CDB/PDB), and high-availability configurations.
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) experience: migrations, Autonomous Database, OCI networking, object storage, and cost optimization strategies.
ETL and data integration tools: Oracle Data Integrator (ODI), SQL*Loader, GoldenGate, or experience building custom ETL using PL/SQL.
Database security best practices: TDE, VPD, fine-grained auditing, role-based access control, and compliance-related controls.
Scripting and automation: Shell scripting, Python, or PowerShell used to automate deployments, health checks, and maintenance tasks.
Version control and CI/CD tools: Git, Jenkins, Azure DevOps, Liquibase, Flyway, or similar for schema management and pipeline automation.
Backup, recovery, and disaster recovery planning and testing (RMAN backups, Data Guard switchover/failover exercises).
Performance monitoring and diagnostics: Oracle Enterprise Manager, Statspack, AWR/ASH, OEM, or third-party monitoring tools.
Experience with JSON, XML, and LOB data types in Oracle, and techniques for semi-structured data handling.
Knowledge of application integration: JDBC/ODBC, RESTful APIs, and middleware (WebLogic, Tomcat) interactions with Oracle DB.
Data modeling and database design: logical/physical modeling, normalization, ER diagrams, and schema evolution strategies.

Soft Skills

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a methodical approach to root cause analysis and corrective actions.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills for translating technical concepts to business stakeholders and producing clear documentation.
Team collaboration and mentoring mindset: ability to guide junior developers and work effectively within agile cross-functional teams.
Time management and prioritization skills to balance competing demands in fast-paced production environments.
Customer-focused and service-oriented, with a commitment to meeting SLAs and driving continuous improvement.
Adaptability and willingness to learn new Oracle features, cloud services, and modern data engineering practices.
Attention to detail and quality-first approach to code reviews, testing, and deployments.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering, or a related technical discipline. Equivalent professional experience considered.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or Business Analytics.
Oracle certifications such as Oracle PL/SQL Developer Certified Professional, Oracle Database SQL Certified Associate, or Oracle Cloud certifications (OCI).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Computer Science
Information Systems
Software Engineering
Data Engineering / Database Technologies

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

3–8+ years of hands-on Oracle development experience; senior roles typically require 6–10+ years.

Preferred:

Proven track record delivering enterprise Oracle database applications, migrations to OCI, and performance tuning projects.
Experience in regulated industries (finance, healthcare, insurance) with a demonstrated understanding of compliance requirements and secure data handling.