Database Services Manager (IT Director I) - 60025271

State of South Carolina•Lexington County, SC

12d•Onsite

About The Position

The South Carolina Department of Education is seeking a Database Services Manager to lead their enterprise database platform. This leadership role involves building and mentoring a team of database professionals, managing over 200 SQL Server instances that support K-12 education across the state, and driving the modernization roadmap from on-premises to cloud-native solutions. The position requires maintaining the current SQL Server environment while leading the migration to Azure, focusing on cloud adoption, modern data architectures, high-availability design, and platform modernization. The work directly impacts educators, students, and families throughout South Carolina.

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in communications, business administration, information technology, mathematics, statistics, management information science or a related field and experience in telecommunications, data processing and/or information technology.
Seven (7) years of progressive database administration experience.
At least three (3) years in a supervisory or team lead capacity managing DBA staff or contractor resources.
Expert-level experience administering Microsoft SQL Server environments including installation, configuration, performance tuning, high availability (Always On AG, FCI), and major version upgrade planning.
Demonstrated experience leading database migration or modernization projects, including planning, execution, and post-migration validation.
Hands-on experience with Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, or comparable cloud database platforms.
Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and executive leadership.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
Prior experience in state government, K-12 education, or a similarly regulated data environment with Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) or comparable student/citizen data privacy obligations.
Experience with K-12 education data systems, student information systems (PowerSchool, Infinite Campus, etc.), or education data standards (Ed-Fi, CEDS).
Experience managing DBA teams in enterprise IT environments.
Microsoft SQL Server or Azure Database Administrator certifications (Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate, or equivalent).
Prior experience in state government or public sector IT operations.
Hands-on experience with infrastructure-as-code, DevOps practices, and automated database deployment pipelines (Azure DevOps, Terraform, Bicep).
Experience with Oracle database administration or other enterprise database platforms.

Responsibilities

Lead the Database Engineering team, responsible for enterprise database operations, platform modernization, high-availability architecture, and data security.
Manage a team of database professionals and set the strategic direction for over 200 SQL Server instances supporting K-12 education applications.
Build and mentor a team of database professionals, setting strategic direction, developing talent, and fostering an environment of ownership and problem-solving.
Own and manage over 200 production SQL Server instances across development, UAT, staging, and production environments.
Ensure 99.99% uptime for systems serving thousands of educators and millions of student records through proactive monitoring, capacity planning, and change management.
Design and maintain high-availability architectures (Always On Availability Groups, Failover Cluster Instances) for rapid disaster recovery.
Document and test recovery procedures against defined RTO/RPO targets.
Reduce query execution time by 30%+ and improve system responsiveness through advanced tuning techniques.
Perform capacity planning, growth forecasting, and workload analysis.
Lead performance troubleshooting for complex production issues using tools like SQL Profiler and DMVs.
Automate maintenance schedules, health checks, and alerting.
Lead database migration and modernization initiatives from on-premises SQL Server to Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance.
De-risk major platform upgrades and version migrations through structured planning and execution.
Coordinate with application teams, infrastructure engineering, and business partners on migration sequencing and cutover planning.
Evaluate emerging database technologies and architectures and make recommendations for strategic investments.
Enforce FERPA compliance controls and federal security standards.
Own the database security posture, managing role-based access control for over 1,500 database accounts.
Implement encryption at rest and in transit, audit logging, and other technical safeguards.
Author security policies, procedures, and data governance standards.
Produce audit-ready documentation for state and federal reviews.

Benefits

Generous paid time off
Preeminent health care benefits
Professional development opportunities
Pension
401(k)
Health, Dental, Vision, Long Term Disability, and Life Insurance for Employee, Spouse, and Children
15 days annual (vacation) leave per year
15 days sick leave per year
13 paid holidays
State Retirement Plan and Deferred Compensation Programs