Techniques are described for schema lifecycle management. In one example, a method includes dividing, with one or more processing devices, a plurality of statements of a data definition language (DDL) script into a plurality of groups, the plurality of groups configured to be executed in parallel by a persistence layer. The method further includes assigning, with the one or more processing devices, one or more of the plurality of groups to a plurality of worker applications. The method further includes executing, with the one or more processing devices, constituent statements of the plurality of statements of the DDL script within each group of the plurality of groups by the plurality of worker applications in a session.