IT Database Administrator

First Horizon Bank•University Park, TX

1d•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced Azure Database Administrator to design, implement, secure, and optimize cloud database platforms supporting mission-critical applications for our associates and clients. The ideal candidate brings hands-on expertise across Azure SQL Database/Managed Instance, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, and Cosmos DB, with strong performance tuning, automation, and governance skills.

Requirements

5+ years of hands-on database administration experience, including: SQL Server (Azure SQL Database/Managed Instance): performance tuning, maintenance, backup/restore, HA/DR.
PostgreSQL: configuration, tuning, extension management, replication, backup/restore.
Cosmos DB: partitioning strategy, RU management, indexing, consistency, global distribution.
Strong Azure expertise: Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, Alerts, Key Vault, Private Link, VNets, RBAC, Managed Identities, Defender for Cloud.
Proficiency with scripting and automation: PowerShell and Azure CLI (Python/Bash a plus).
Experience with infrastructure-as-code (Bicep/ARM/Terraform) and CI/CD integration (Azure DevOps/GitHub).
Proven track record in security hardening, auditing, and compliance-oriented database management.
Solid understanding of networking concepts impacting databases (latency, bandwidth, DNS, private endpoints).

Nice To Haves

Experience with hybrid environments (on-prem SQL Server/PostgreSQL/CosmosDB) and migration to Azure.
Familiarity with AKS or containerized workloads interacting with databases.
Knowledge of data governance, retention, and archival strategies.
Exposure to streaming and integration patterns (Event Hubs, Kafka) and ETL/ELT workflows.
Experience supporting highly regulated environments with robust controls and documentation.

Responsibilities

Provision, configure, and maintain Azure database services: Azure SQL Database/Managed Instance, Azure Database for PostgreSQL (Flexible Server/Single Server), and Cosmos DB (including MongoDB API).
Manage backups, restores, disaster recovery, and geo-replication; establish RPO/RTO targets and failover procedures/runbooks.
Monitor health, capacity, and cost; implement alerting and proactive remediation using Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and related tooling.
Maintain schema changes, index strategies, and maintenance routines (reindex, vacuum/analyze for PostgreSQL, etc).
Conduct query optimization and tuning (execution plans, indexing, partitioning, caching strategies).
Optimize Cosmos DB partition keys, RU throughput, consistency levels, and indexing policies.
Tune PostgreSQL settings (autovacuum, checkpointing, work_mem, pg_stat_statements) and SQL Server configurations (tempdb, memory, MAXDOP, I/O).
Implement least privilege access, RBAC/ABAC, and Managed Identities; integrate with Azure AD and Privileged Identity Management.
Enforce encryption in transit and at rest; manage secrets with Azure Key Vault; configure network isolation (VNets, private endpoints, firewall rules, NSGs).
Enable auditing, data masking, and threat detection; maintain compliance with relevant industry standards and internal governance.
Collaborate with InfoSec, risk, and audit teams to ensure policy adherence and support periodic reviews.
Automate administrative tasks using PowerShell, Azure CLI, and scripting (Python/Bash as needed).
Implement infrastructure-as-code for database provisioning and configuration (Bicep/ARM/Terraform).
Integrate database changes into CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps/GitHub), supporting migration scripts, validation, and rollback strategies.
Plan and execute migrations between on-prem and Azure or across Azure services using Azure Database Migration Service, pg_dump/pg_restore, and native SQL tools.
Validate data integrity and performance post-migration; coordinate cutover with application teams and associates.
Document data retention policies, archival strategies, and lifecycle management.
Troubleshoot production issues across the data stack; perform root cause analysis and implement permanent fixes.
Create clear operational documentation, runbooks, and knowledge base articles.
Partner with application development, SRE, architecture, security, and platform teams to deliver stable, scalable solutions for our clients.
Advise on schema design, data modeling, and capacity planning.
Provide guidance on best practices for multi-tenant architectures, sharding, and high availability patterns.