Database Engineer IV (Lead)

About the role

A Database Engineer IV (Lead) provides technical leadership and strategic direction for the organization’s database platforms, services, and long-term data architecture. This role defines enterprise database standards, guides modernization initiatives, and ensures database solutions align with organizational technology, security, and compliance objectives.

Responsibilities

• Implements proactive database maintenance practices, including automated jobs, integrity checks, performance monitoring, and alerting.
• Troubleshoots and resolves database errors, failed jobs, data integrity issues, and deployment or configuration problems.
• Designs and implements best practice, standardized database administration functions, including backup and restore strategies, disaster recovery planning and testing, high availability, and failover solutions.
• Defines and maintains enterprise database architecture standards, strategies and technical roadmaps.
• Leads the design and implementation of secure, highly available and scalable database platforms.
• Oversees complex database initiatives, including modernization and cloud migration efforts.
• Establishes governance models, lifecycle management processes and operational best practices.
• PARTNERS WITH IT SECURITY TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH REGULATORY AND ORGANIZATIONAL SECURITY STANDARDS.
• Provides technical leadership, mentorship and professional development guidance to database engineering staff, and utilizes matrix-management leadership cross-functionally to lead within the department and organization.
• LEADS RESPONSE EFFORTS FOR CRITICAL DATABASE INCIDENTS AND DIRECTS ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS AND CORRECTIVE ACTIONS.
• LEADS AND DRIVES CAPACITY PLANNING, PERFORMANCE FORECASTING AND COST OPTIMIZATION INITIATIVES.
• EVALUATES VENDOR TOOLS, PLATFORMS AND SOLUTIONS AND PARTICIPATES IN TECHNOLOGY SELECTION AND PLANNING.
• REPRESENTS DATABASE ENGINEERING IN ENTERPRISE PLANNING, CROSS FUNCTIONAL INITIATIVES AND LEADERSHIP DISCUSSIONS.
• ENSURES COMPREHENSIVE DOCUMENTATION AND KNOWLEDGE CONTINUITY ACROSS DATABASE PLATFORMS AND SERVICES.

Requirements

• DEEP EXPERTISE IN MICROSOFT SQL SERVER (MSSQL) ADMINISTRATION, ARCHITECTURE, AND OPERATIONS ACROSS MULTIPLE ENVIRONMENTS.
• PROVEN EXPERIENCE LEADING OR OWNING CORE DATABASE ADMINISTRATION FUNCTIONS, INCLUDING BACKUP AND RESTORE STRATEGIES, DISASTER RECOVERY PLANNING AND TESTING, HIGH AVAILABILITY, AND FAILOVER SOLUTIONS.
• STRONG EXPERTISE IN DATABASE AND SERVER PERFORMANCE TUNING, INCLUDING QUERY OPTIMIZATION, EXECUTION PLAN ANALYSIS, INDEX DESIGN AND MAINTENANCE, AND STATISTICS MANAGEMENT.
• DEMONSTRATED ABILITY TO IDENTIFY, ANALYZE, AND RESOLVE DATABASE PERFORMANCE BOTTLENECKS, BLOCKING, DEADLOCKS, AND RESOURCE CONTEST.
• EXPERIENCE ADMINISTERING SQL SERVER COMPONENTS SUCH AS SQL SERVER ANALYSIS SERVICES (SSAS), SQL SERVER INTEGRATION SERVICES (SSIS), AND SQL SERVER REPORTING SERVICES (SSRS).
• STRONG UNDERSTANDING OF DATABASE SECURITY BEST PRACTICES, INCLUDING ROLE-BASED ACCESS CONTROL, LEAST PRIVILEGE, ENCRYPTION, AUDITING, AND COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS.
• EXPERIENCE WITH AUTOMATION AND SCRIPTING FOR DATABASE ADMINISTRATION USING TOOLS SUCH AS POWERSHELL, PYTHON, OR SIMILAR SCRIPTING LANGUAGES.
• EXPERIENCE USING GIT OR OTHER VERSION CONTROL SYSTEMS TO MANAGE DATABASE OBJECTS AND DEPLOYMENT WORKFLOWS.
• FAMILIARITY WITH AGILE AND DEVOPS PRACTICES, WORKING CLOSER WITH DEVELOPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE TEAMS.
• STRONG LEADERSHIP, COMMUNICATION, AND DOCUMENTATION SKILLS, INCLUDING THE ABILITY TO MENTOR DEVELOPERS AND OTHER TECHNICAL STAFF.
• ABILITY TO HANDLE SENSITIVE PATIENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL DATA IN A CONFIDENTIAL AND COMPLIANT MANNER.
• WILLINGNESS AND ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN ON-CALL ROTATIONS AND PROVIDE AFTER-HOURS SUPPORT WHEN REQUIRED.

Qualifications

• EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or equivalent field experience.
• MINIMUM EXPERIENCE: 8 years of database administration experience, or equivalent experience with a minimum of 8 years’ related work experience.

Skills

• Deep expertise in Microsoft SQL Server (MSSQL) administration, architecture, and operations across multiple environments.
• Proven experience leading or owning core database administration functions, including backup and restore strategies, disaster recovery planning and testing, high availability, and failover solutions.
• Strong expertise in database and server performance tuning, including query optimization, execution plan analysis, index design and maintenance, and statistics management.
• Demonstrated ability to identify, analyze, and resolve database performance bottlenecks, blocking, deadlocks, and resource contention.
• Experience administering SQL Server components such as SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS).
• Strong understanding of database security best practices, including role-based access control, least privilege, encryption, auditing, and compliance requirements.
• Experience with automation and scripting for database administration using tools such as PowerShell, Python, or similar scripting languages.
• Experience using Git or other version control systems to manage database objects and deployment workflows.
• Familiarity with Agile and DevOps practices, working closely with development and infrastructure teams.
• Strong leadership, communication, and documentation skills, including the ability to mentor developers and other technical staff.
• Ability to handle sensitive patient and organizational data in a confidential and compliant manner.
• Willingness and ability to participate in on-call rotations and provide after-hours support when required.