Senior SQL Server Database Administrator

Job Description

Senior SQL Server Database Administrator
On behalf of our client, Procom is currently seeking a Senior SQL Server Database Administrator

We are seeking an experienced Senior SQL Server Database Administrator (DBA) to join our Enterprise DBA team on a contract basis.

This is a hands-on senior technical role responsible for supporting, maintaining, troubleshooting, and improving Microsoft SQL Server environments across a large enterprise portfolio.
The successful candidate will be expected to operate with a high degree of independence, take ownership of complex technical issues and assigned initiatives, and provide senior-level expertise across SQL Server operations, performance, high availability, disaster recovery, security, upgrades, migrations, and platform modernization.

As a senior contractor, you will be expected to become productive quickly, independently assess technical issues, recommend appropriate solutions, and drive work through to completion while collaborating effectively with DBAs, infrastructure teams, application teams, vendors, and other stakeholders.

The role includes participation in the team's out-of-hours on-call rotation. The successful candidate will be expected to rapidly develop sufficient familiarity with the environment and operational procedures to supplement the existing on-call rotation as quickly as practical.

A strong focus on operational discipline, documentation, knowledge transfer, and repeatable processes is essential.



Senior SQL Server Database Administrator Job Details:

• Provide senior-level administration and operational support for enterprise Microsoft SQL Server environments, taking ownership of complex technical issues through diagnosis, resolution, and documentation.
• Rapidly become familiar with the SQL Server estate, critical applications, operational procedures, and escalation paths in order to join and supplement the DBA out-of-hours on-call rotation as quickly as practical.
• Proactively monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize SQL Server health, performance, availability, capacity, and reliability, including complex performance and production issues.
• Administer and support HA/DR, backup and recovery, and replication technologies, including Always On Availability Groups, clustering, replication, log shipping, and Commvault.
• Lead and execute SQL Server installations, patching, upgrades, migrations, configuration changes, and modernization activities across production and non-production environments.
• Maintain appropriate SQL Server security and compliance controls, and support vulnerability remediation, access management, and audit requirements.
• Partner with application, infrastructure, and other technical teams on database deployments, incidents, changes, troubleshooting, and production readiness.
• Develop and improve T-SQL, PowerShell, automation, monitoring, standards, and repeatable DBA processes to improve operational efficiency and consistency.
• Produce and maintain high-quality technical documentation, operational procedures, troubleshooting guides, and runbooks.
• Provide knowledge transfer and technical mentoring to permanent DBA team members and proactively identify opportunities to improve the reliability, supportability, and management of the SQL Server estate.

Senior SQL Server Database Administrator Mandatory Skills:

• 8+ years of hands-on SQL Server DBA experience, with significant experience operating at a senior level in complex enterprise environments.
• Demonstrated ability to independently administer and troubleshoot business-critical production SQL Server environments.
• Deep knowledge of Microsoft SQL Server administration, ideally across SQL Server 2016 through current supported versions.
• Strong understanding of SQL Server architecture, including the database engine, memory management, storage, transaction logging, tempdb, locking, concurrency, and query processing.
• Advanced experience troubleshooting SQL Server performance using DMVs, wait statistics, execution plans, Query Store, Extended Events, indexing analysis, and other diagnostic techniques.
• Strong experience designing and supporting backup, restore, and disaster recovery strategies, including point-in-time recovery and recovery validation.
• Significant hands-on experience with Always On Availability Groups and/or Windows Server Failover Clustering.
• Strong practical experience supporting and troubleshooting SQL Server replication.
• Experience performing SQL Server installations, cumulative updates, patching, version upgrades, migrations, and server/database consolidation activities.
• Strong knowledge of SQL Server security, including authentication, authorization, roles, permissions, service accounts, encryption, and least-privilege principles.
• Strong T-SQL scripting and troubleshooting skills.
• Experience automating DBA activities using PowerShell and/or other scripting technologies.
• Experience using enterprise database monitoring platforms such as SolarWinds, SentryOne, Redgate, or equivalent tools.
• Hands-on experience administering SQL Server backup and recovery through Commvault, including backup configuration, troubleshooting, point-in-time restores, and recovery validation.
• Experience operating within formal ITIL-aligned incident, problem, request, and change management processes, preferably using ServiceNow.
• Demonstrated experience producing clear, usable technical documentation and operational runbooks.
• Previous experience participating in an out-of-hours/on-call support rotation for business-critical database environments.

Preferred Skills

• Experience administering Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance.
• Experience migrating workloads between on-premises SQL Server and Azure SQL platforms.
• Experience with SQL Server infrastructure running on VMware or other virtualized enterprise infrastructure.
• Experience with enterprise monitoring and observability platforms such as SolarWinds and SCOM.
• Experience working with vulnerability management and remediation processes and tools.
• Familiarity with DevOps and database deployment practices, including source control and CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience developing repeatable automation and standardized SQL Server deployment and configuration processes.
• Experience participating in SQL Server estate modernization, consolidation, lifecycle management, or large-scale migration programs.
• Microsoft SQL Server or Azure certifications are beneficial but are not a substitute for demonstrated senior-level hands-on experience.

Senior SQL Server Database Administrator Assignment Length

12 month with possible extension/s.

Senior SQL Server Database Administrator Start Date

ASAP

Senior SQL Server Database AdministratorAssignment Location 

The role can be fully remote from BC, or very occasionally go to the office if the consultant is Calgary AB based. Working hours are MST timezone.