Senior SQL Server Database Administrator

Role: Senior SQL Server Database Administrator

Location: Remote, Arizona

Employment Type: 3-6 months, Possible to hire

Must be available to work during 8am 5PM AZ time (M-F)

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced Senior SQL Server Database Administrator to manage, optimize, and support enterprise Microsoft SQL Server environments. This role is responsible for database availability, performance, security, and recoverability across production and nonproduction systems.

Hands-on Databricks experience is required, including supporting data pipelines and integrations between SQL Server and Databricks.

Key Responsibilities

1. Administer SQL Server databases, including installation, configuration, patching, upgrades, and maintenance.
2. Monitor database health, capacity, and performance; proactively identify and resolve issues.
3. Troubleshoot slow queries, blocking, deadlocks, connectivity problems, and resource bottlenecks.
4. Optimize T-SQL queries, stored procedures, indexes, and execution plans.
5. Implement backup, restoration, and disaster recovery procedures, including regular recovery testing.
6. Manage high availability solutions, including Always On Availability Groups and failover clustering.
7. Maintain database security through access controls, permissions, encryption, and auditing.
8. Plan and execute database migrations and upgrades while minimizing business disruption.
9. Develop, maintain, and troubleshoot data pipelines connecting SQL Server and Databricks.
10. Support Databricks workflows, Delta Lake tables, and SQL workloads, including performance optimization and production troubleshooting.
11. Automate administrative tasks using SQL Server Agent, T-SQL, and PowerShell.
12. Partner with application developers and data engineers on database design, integrations, and deployment reviews.
13. Support SSIS packages and ETL/ELT workflows where applicable.
14. Maintain documentation, operational runbooks, and change records.
15. Provide technical leadership and participate in on-call support for critical production incidents.

Required Qualifications

1. Seven or more years of database administration experience, including substantial hands-on experience with Microsoft SQL Server.
2. Demonstrated hands-on experience with Databricks is mandatory, including Databricks SQL, Delta Lake, workflows, and production data pipelines.
3. Experience integrating SQL Server data with Databricks and troubleshooting data movement, processing failures, and performance issues.
4. Working knowledge of Apache Spark and Python/PySpark for supporting Databricks processing workloads.
5. Demonstrated experience supporting business-critical production databases.
6. Strong knowledge of SQL Server architecture, T-SQL, indexing, query optimization, and execution plan analysis.
7. Experience diagnosing performance issues using Query Store, Extended Events, and dynamic management views.
8. Proven experience with backup and recovery, high availability, and disaster recovery.
9. Experience managing database security and enterprise access controls.
10. Working knowledge of Windows Server, storage, and networking concepts affecting database operations.
11. Experience with PowerShell or other scripting methods for administrative automation.
12. Strong communication, documentation, and problem-solving skills.
13. Ability to work independently and collaborate with technical and business stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

1. Experience with Azure Databricks, Azure Data Factory, and Azure Data Lake Storage.
2. Experience with Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, or SQL Server on Azure virtual machines.
3. Familiarity with Databricks Unity Catalog, data governance, and access management.
4. Familiarity with SSIS, SSRS, and Power BI environments.
5. Experience supporting large databases, transactional applications, and reporting workloads.
6. Experience with deployment automation, source control, and change management.
7. Relevant Microsoft or Databricks certifications.
8. Bachelor s degree in computer science, information systems, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.