We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Azure SQL Server DBA to manage, optimize, and ensure the health and performance of our critical database systems.

With 810 years of hands-on experience as a SQL Server DBA, this individual will play a key role in tuning, monitoring, and maintaining database environments in Azure.

The ideal candidate will be proficient in performance optimization, cost management, and database hygiene, and will have a strong focus on ensuring high availability, scalability, and security in enterprise-grade environments.

This role is critical in supporting our organizations data-driven initiatives and ensuring our database systems align with business objectives.

Key Responsibilities :

Database Performance Tuning and Optimization :

- Analyze and optimize SQL queries, stored procedures, and indexes to improve database performance and execution times.

- Conduct execution plan analysis and resolve performance bottlenecks, deadlocks, and concurrency issues.

- Implement and maintain efficient indexing strategies to ensure quick data retrieval and responsiveness.

Monitoring and Maintenance :

- Set up and maintain database monitoring solutions using Azure Monitor, SQL Profiler, Query Store, and other tools to identify and resolve issues proactively.

- Oversee regular maintenance tasks, such as backups, restores, index maintenance, and

integrity checks, to ensure database hygiene.

- Monitor database health, performance, and capacity to ensure uptime and scalability.

Cost Management and Optimization :

- Evaluate database resource usage and optimize workloads to reduce Azure SQL costs, including resizing databases, consolidating workloads, and optimizing queries.

- Implement strategies to control database provisioning costs and scale resources efficiently based on workload patterns.

High Availability and Disaster Recovery (HA/DR) :

- Design, implement, and maintain HA/DR solutions, such as Always On Availability Groups, geo-replication, and failover clusters, to meet uptime and recovery SLAs.

- Develop and test backup and recovery procedures to ensure business continuity.

- Collaborate with engineering teams to minimize downtime during upgrades, migrations, or maintenance activities.

Security and Compliance :

- Implement database security best practices, including role-based access control (RBAC), Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), and data masking.

- Ensure compliance with regulatory standards such as GDPR, SOX, and other relevant -frameworks.

- Monitor and audit database activity to identify and resolve unauthorized access or security vulnerabilities.

Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement :

- Work closely with engineering, product, and business teams to gather requirements and provide database solutions aligned with application needs.

- Support application developers by providing guidance on data modeling, query optimization, and schema design.

- Serve as the subject matter expert for database technologies, providing insights and recommendations for improvements.

Database Hygiene and Best Practices :

- Enforce database hygiene through routine tasks like maintenance plan execution, query optimization, and efficient storage management.

- Document best practices, procedures, and configurations to ensure consistency and scalability across environments.

Qualifications :

Education :

- Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.

Experience :

- 8 - 10 years of experience as a SQL Server DBA, with a focus on Azure SQL Database and SQL Server Managed Instances.

- Proven expertise in tuning and optimizing queries, stored procedures, and indexing for performance.

- Strong experience with Azure database services, including monitoring, cost optimization, and scaling.

- Hands-on experience designing and implementing HA/DR solutions for critical business applications.

Technical Skills :

- SQL Server Expertise : Advanced proficiency in managing and optimizing Azure SQL Database and SQL Server (2012/2014/2016/2019).

- Performance Tuning : Strong knowledge of execution plans, query optimization, and index strategies.

- Azure Tools : Proficient with Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Azure Automation, and Application Insights.

- Scripting : Hands-on experience with T-SQL, PowerShell, and automation scripts.

- Monitoring & Troubleshooting : Expertise with tools such as SQL Profiler, Query Store, and Extended Events.

- Security : Familiarity with TDE, RBAC, and auditing features.

- HA/DR : Knowledge of Always On Availability Groups, geo-replication, and log shipping.

Soft Skills :

- Problem Solving : Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills to address database challenges.

- Communication : Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

- Organization : Ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver high-quality results in a fast-paced environment.

- Attention to Detail : Focused on maintaining database health, security, and compliance.

Preferred Qualifications :

- Experience in financial services or other highly regulated industries.

- Familiarity with modern DevOps practices, such as CI/CD pipelines for database changes.

Certifications such as :

- Microsoft Certified : Azure Database Administrator Associate.

- Microsoft Certified : Azure Solutions Architect Expert (preferred but not required)