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Role Description

The Senior SQL Database Administrator is responsible for the engineering, automation, performance, and reliability of the organization’s SQL Server platforms. This role goes beyond traditional DBA operations and focuses on automation, Infrastructure-as-Code, self-healing platforms, and proactive performance engineering. The successful candidate will be a hands-on expert who builds scalable, secure, and highly available SQL environments across on-premises and cloud platforms.

This role reports to the SQL Database Manager.

What you will do

• Database Engineering & Operations
  • Design, deploy, and operate highly available and resilient SQL Server environments (Standalone, Failover Cluster Instances, Always On Availability Groups).
  • Own the end-to-end lifecycle of SQL Server instances: build, patch, upgrade, decommission.
  • Ensure database platforms meet availability, performance, security, and recoverability requirements.
  • Act as a senior escalation point for complex database incidents and performance issues.
• Automation & Platform Engineering (Core Focus)
  • Design and implement automation-first DBA processes, minimizing manual intervention.
  • Build and maintain automation using:
    • PowerShell
    • T-SQL
    • CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, or equivalent)
  • Automate:
    • SQL builds and configuration
    • Patching and upgrades
    • Backups, restores, and DR testing
    • Monitoring, alerting, and health checks
  • Implement Infrastructure as Code (ARM, Bicep, Terraform, DSC where applicable) for database platforms.
  • Promote “DBA as a service” capabilities for engineering teams.
• Performance, Tuning & Reliability
  • Lead advanced performance troubleshooting and query optimization.
  • Analyze execution plans, wait statistics, and IO patterns.
  • Design and implement indexing, partitioning, and data-growth strategies.
  • Proactively identify and remediate performance and capacity risks.
  • Support performance testing and release readiness for critical applications.
• Security & Compliance
  • Implement and maintain SQL security best practices:
    • Least privilege access
    • Encryption (TDE, TLS, Always Encrypted where applicable)
    • Auditing and logging
  • Support compliance with organizational and regulatory requirements (e.g. SOX, ISO 27001, internal security standards).
  • Work closely with security teams to address vulnerabilities and hardening requirements.
• Cloud & Hybrid Platforms
  • Operate SQL Server across on-premises and cloud environments:
    • Azure SQL Managed Instance / Azure SQL DB
    • SQL Server on Azure IaaS (VMs)
  • Optimize cost, performance, and availability in cloud platforms.
  • Support migration and modernization initiatives (on-prem → cloud, lift-and-shift, re-platform).
• Collaboration & Leadership
  • Partner with application, data, and platform engineering teams to design database-friendly architectures.
  • Provide guidance and mentoring to junior DBAs and engineers.
  • Contribute to standards, patterns, and documentation for database engineering.
  • Participate in architecture and design reviews for new systems.

Qualifications

• Extensive hands-on experience as a Senior SQL Server DBA in production environments.
• Deep expertise in:
  • SQL Server internals
  • T-SQL development
  • Performance tuning and troubleshooting
• Strong automation and scripting skills (PowerShell essential).
• Experience implementing CI/CD pipelines for database and platform changes.
• Proven experience operating high-availability and disaster-recovery SQL solutions.
• Strong understanding of Windows Server and underlying infrastructure.

Requirements

• Experience with Azure SQL (Managed Instance, Azure SQL DB).
• Experience with Terraform, ARM, or Bicep for database infrastructure.
• Familiarity with monitoring platforms (e.g. Azure Monitor, SQL Sentry, Redgate, Prometheus).
• Experience supporting large-scale or mission-critical platforms.
• Exposure to DevOps / SRE practices applied to data platforms.

Personal Attributes

• Strong engineering mindset with a bias for automation.
• Calm and methodical under pressure.
• Pragmatic problem solver with attention to detail.
• Collaborative, proactive, and continuously improving.

What Success Looks Like

• Manual DBA tasks are eliminated or heavily automated.
• Database environments are stable, predictable, and well-monitored.
• Incidents are rare, and recovery is fast and well-rehearsed.
• Engineering teams can safely consume database services at scale.

Benefits

• Hybrid working
• Matching 401K plan
• Medical, dental, vision, life, disability
• Generous time off (including parental leave)
• Continued support for professional development
• Gym subsidy
• My day (additional days leave for personal interests/wellness/charity work)