JOB SUMMARY:The SQL Server Database Administrator is responsible for managing, securing, optimizing and modernizing a hybrid Microsoft data platform. This role supports SQL Server running on virtual machines, Azure SQL Managed Instance, and Azure SQL Database.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:- Administer SQL Server environments hosted on virtual machines, Azure SQL Managed Instance and Azure SQL Database across production and nonproduction workloads.
- Install, configure, patch, upgrade and maintain SQL Server instances and related database services.
- Design, implement, test and document backup; restore, high-availability and disaster-recovery solutions aligned with business recovery objectives.
- Monitor database health, capacity, availability, and performance; troubleshoot blocking, deadlocks, query regressions, resource contention and connectivity issues.
- Optimize queries, indexes, statistics, execution plans, storage, compute and service tiers to improve performance and control cost.
- Implement database security controls, including least-privilege access, role-based permissions, encryption, auditing, vulnerability remediation and secrets management.
- Automate recurring administration, monitoring, deployment and maintenance tasks using T-SQL, PowerShell, Azure Automation or equivalent tools.
- Plan and execute database migrations and modernization initiatives among SQL Server on Azure virtual machines, Azure SQL Managed Instance and Azure SQL Database.
- Partner with application, cloud infrastructure, security, data governance, data engineering and business intelligence teams on solution design, release planning, incident response and capacity forecasting.
- Maintain operational documentation, runbooks, architecture diagrams, standards and change records; participate in an on-call support rotation as required.
- Perform other job-related duties as required or assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS:- Working knowledge of SQL Server 2025 AI features including semantic search, RAG, NLP and SSMS CoPilot.
- Demonstrated knowledge with SQL Server on virtual machines, Azure SQL Managed Instance, and Azure SQL Database.
- Advanced proficiency in T-SQL, database performance tuning, indexing, backup and recovery, high availability, disaster recovery, security, monitoring, capacity management and maintenance of SQL Server and related services in virtual machine environments.
- Ability to support business-critical production databases and leading complex incident troubleshooting through resolution.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, sound change-management practices, and the ability to collaborate across technical and business teams.
- Successful completion of Health Care Sanctions background check.
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:- Bachelor's degree in information technology, computer science, business information systems.
- A current Azure Database Administrator Associate certification.
- A minimum of seven years of professional database administration experience in enterprise environments.
- A minimum of three years of hands-on experience administering SQL Server data platforms in Microsoft Azure.
- Experience operating and supporting data integration solutions with Azure Data Factory preferred.
- Experience with Azure Synapse Analytics, including dedicated or serverless SQL workloads preferred.
- Experience with Microsoft Fabric, including OneLake, lakehouses and Fabric Data Warehouse preferred.
- Experience administering Power BI environments, including gateways, semantic models, refresh schedules, access controls, capacity, monitoring and governance preferred.
- Experience with infrastructure as code, source control, CI/CD pipelines and automated database deployment practices preferred.
- Experience supporting regulated, security-sensitive, or highly available enterprise environments and industries such as Healthcare, Financial Services or Oil and Gas preferred.
- Experience with other RDBMS platforms such as Oracle, PostgreSQL or MongoDB preferred.