A system, computer-implemented method, and computer-program product embodiments for rebuilding database indexes is disclosed. A pre-loader thread rebuilds a plurality of indexes in the background once a database is initialized. Simultaneously, a query processor receives queries from a user/client of a database. If an index that is required by the query processor has not yet been rebuilt by the pre-loader, a request to rebuild the index is sent to an asynchronous index loader. The asynchronous index loader places the request in a queue, processes the queue based on available system resources, and then rebuilds the requested indexes. Once the necessary indexes have been rebuilt, a wake-up signal is sent to the query processor which then proceeds to execute the query from a user/client.