Lead, Database Administration

RTD • City of Poughkeepsie, NY

4d • Onsite

About The Position

The Supervisor of Database Administration leads and manages the organization’s database administration team with a primary focus on Microsoft SQL Server platforms and secondary expertise in Oracle database technologies. This role ensures the reliability, performance, security, and availability of enterprise database systems, while driving modernization, automation, and cloud integration. The Supervisor provides technical and people leadership, setting priorities, establishing standards, and mentoring staff to support business objectives and deliver consistent, high-quality database services.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or scientific field.
• 5 years progressive Microsoft SQL Server DBA with hands-on expertise in clustering Always on Availability Groups, replication, and performance tuning.
• 7 years of experience with Microsoft database administration.
• 5 years of experience with Oracle database administration.
• 3 years of experience in a supervisory or technical leadership role in database management. Examples of technical leadership include but not limited to oversight of IT programs, JavaScript or lead role on technical ID issues.
• Expert-level proficiency in Microsoft SQL Server (2016 or later), including installation, configuration, security, performance tuning, replication, and high availability (Always On, clustering, log shipping, mirroring).
• Solid understanding of DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and Git based change management.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of modern technologies, tools, and methodologies related to integration development.
• Working knowledge of Oracle 12c/19c administration, performance tuning, and backup/recovery.
• Experience with cloud-hosted databases (Azure SQL, AWS RDS).
• Familiarity with scripting/automation using T-SQL, PowerShell, Bash, or Python.
• Proven ability to lead a team of DBAs in a fast-paced, mission-critical environment.
• Strong analytical, communication, and collaboration skills.
• Ability to balance daily operations with long-term strategic initiatives.
• OR An equivalent combination of education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and supervise the database administration team, fostering collaboration and technical excellence.
• Assign tasks, manage workloads, and ensure adherence to service level expectations.
• Conduct staff performance evaluations, training, and career development planning.
• Manage vendor contracts and vendor relationships.
• Oversee the installation, configuration, patching, and maintenance of Microsoft SQL Server databases (on-premises and cloud), with responsibility for high availability, clustering, replication, and disaster recovery solutions.
• Provide secondary oversight of Oracle databases, ensuring performance, compliance, and stability.
• Monitor performance, optimize queries and indexes, and implement best practices for database tuning.
• Create and maintain documentation of processes, DBA tasks, and business application workflows.
• Execute and manage database archiving and purging as per requirements across multiple databases and systems.
• Develop guidelines and routines for the best database practices and assist business users with reporting needs.
• Implement and enforce database security, encryption, and access control policies.
• Maintain and test database backup, recovery, and high-availability strategies for SQL Server and Oracle.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory and organizational requirements (e.g., SOX, HIPAA, PCI).
• Drive database modernization initiatives, emphasizing SQL Server upgrades, consolidation, and migration to cloud services (Azure SQL, AWS RDS).
• Provide direction on database lifecycle management, automation, and capacity planning.
• Research emerging technologies and recommend improvements for scalability, resiliency, and efficiency.
• Partner with application, infrastructure, and cybersecurity teams to ensure seamless integration of database services.
• Embed DBAs within Agile teams, participate in sprint planning, daily standups, and retrospectives.
• Estimate database work in story points and break down database changes into sprint-sized deliverables.
• Act as a point of escalation for critical SQL Server and Oracle database issues.
• Provide reporting and communication on database performance, risks, and project progress to stakeholders.
• All job-related duties as assigned

Benefits

• RTD Employee Benefits: https://www.rtd-denver.com/careers/benefits
• RTD Represented Employee Benefits: Please refer to the Labor Agreement included in the above link for details.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees