Database Administrator

Penn State University • Benner Township, PA

17h • Remote

About The Position

Penn State IT is seeking a creative, analytical, and innovative Database Administrator who is passionate about building and maintaining reliable database solutions. This role collaborates closely with system administrators, developers, quality analysts, solution architects, business analysts, and data professionals to ensure high-quality data products are delivered to support organizational needs. The Database Administrator will support both existing and emerging data platforms across on-premises and cloud environments while helping design scalable, secure, and high-performing database solutions.

Requirements

• Experience working with enterprise relational databases in a 24x7 production environment, collaborating with data engineers and other technical teams.
• Strong proficiency with MS SQL Server or comparable relational database platforms, including database creation, administration, and optimization.
• Experience developing and implementing backup, restore, and disaster recovery strategies for enterprise database systems.
• Hands-on experience with performance tuning, query optimization, and diagnosing slow or inefficient queries.
• Ability to troubleshoot database performance and functionality issues in complex production environments.
• Knowledge of database security practices, including encryption, access control, and compliance requirements.
• Strong understanding of database design and architecture, including schema design, normalization, table design, and partitioning strategies.
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, fast-paced environment with a proactive, team-oriented mindset.
• Bachelor's Degree
• 3+ years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience accepted

Responsibilities

• Perform daily, weekly, and monthly operational support on database solutions (ie: MS SQL Server MongoDB, MySQL, Azure SQL, AWS, and Google database services).
• Oversee routine database maintenance on all operational systems, including backup and recovery, performance tuning, monitoring, and physical sizing.
• Monitor system performance, assess space utilization and growth, and recommend upgrades and enhancements to software and/or hardware to ensure optimal database performance.
• Work in collaboration with IT Security to define policies and procedures that ensure compliance across database operations.
• Contribute to the Architecture, Design, and Delivery of database solutions as assigned by the Systems Delivery team.
• Contribute to and maintain comprehensive documentation for database architecture, configurations, and operational procedures.
• Contribute to the development of standards and practices that promote the reuse of existing or common data stores, data elements, and components.
• Assist developers with the release and deployment of database objects into existing databases.

Benefits

• Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being.
• In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans and substantial paid time off which includes holidays, vacation and sick time.
• One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees