Senior Database Administrator

About the role

A hands-on Senior Database Administrator who specializes in performance optimization and database tuning across multiple platforms, with a strong focus on Microsoft SQL Server. This role encompasses the full spectrum of database administration—maintenance, monitoring, backup, recovery, and security—while also requiring deep expertise in ETL and data warehousing concepts, including monitoring and debugging production-grade ETL pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Analyze, tune, and optimize database performance for mission-critical SQL Server environments.
• Perform deep analysis of slow-running queries, indexes, and workloads using advanced performance monitoring tools.
• Partner with developers to improve SQL code efficiency, optimize schema design, and ensure scalable architecture.
• Implement, maintain, and support database monitoring tools for proactive detection and resolution of performance issues.
• Administer and support SQL Server databases, including user access, backups, patching, and replication.
• Provide performance reviews and configurations for Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL systems as needed.
• Develop and maintain documentation for performance standards, baselines, and tuning methodologies.
• Participate in capacity planning, workload forecasting, and resource utilization reviews.
• Ensure high availability and disaster recovery strategies are performance-optimized and cost-effective.
• Manage multiple concurrent projects and tune databases supporting several enterprise products.
• Monitor and support data pipelines built in Airflow and dbt.
• Work on AWS to implement monitoring and error handling on ETL/ELT tools such as Glue and DMS.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
• 5–7 years of experience as a DBA with a strong emphasis on SQL Server performance tuning and optimization.
• Expertise in query tuning, indexing strategies, query store analysis, execution plan interpretation, and hardware resource analysis.
• Familiarity with dynamic management views (DMVs), SQL Profiler, Extended Events, and Query Store.
• 2+ years of experience with Snowflake and dbt for data warehousing.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience with AWS cloud services (S3, Glue, DMS, Lambda, Redshift, etc.).
• Solid understanding of ETL/ELT pipelines and data orchestration with a strong focus on Airflow.
• Strong background in T-SQL and scripting for automation (e.g., PowerShell or Python).
• Experience with HA/DR design (Always On, log shipping, clustering) and its impact on performance.
• Ability to translate performance insights into actionable recommendations for developers and infrastructure teams.
• Ability to leverage AI for DBA tasks as well as implementing AI to improve current processes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with CI/CD pipelines for data engineering workflows.
• Experience with cloud-based databases (Azure SQL, AWS RDS, or Google Cloud SQL).
• Working knowledge of Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL administration and performance troubleshooting.
• Familiarity with database monitoring and analytics tools such as SolarWinds DPA, Redgate SQL Monitor, or SentryOne.
• Certifications such as Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate or SQL Server Performance Tuning Specialist.
• Participation in performance benchmarking and scalability testing of enterprise applications.

Work Environment

Dynamic and collaborative IT organization supporting diverse business applications. May require periodic after-hours or weekend support during performance testing or maintenance windows.