Senior MS SQL Server Database Administrator (Remote Available)

Vanderbilt University Medical Center•Nashville, TN

1d•Remote

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced Senior MS SQL Server Database Administrator with solid experience to lead the design, implementation, maintenance, and optimization of our enterprise database environments. The ideal candidate brings deep technical knowledge, automation skills, strong performance tuning capabilities, and the ability to partner effectively with development, infrastructure, and security teams. This role will be responsible for ensuring high availability, scalability, and security of mission critical data systems.

Requirements

5+ years of hands‑on experience as a SQL Server DBA.
Bachelor's degree (required)
Strong proficiency with: SQL Server installation, configuration, clustering, AlwaysOn AGs.
Backup/restore strategies (native, maintenance plans, third‑party tools).
Query performance tuning and optimization.
SQL Server internals (indexes, statistics, locking, tempdb, I/O).
Proficiency in T‑SQL, PL/pgSQL, and writing performant stored procedures.
Solid understanding of Windows Server environments.
Experience with PowerShell, or other scripting languages for automation.
Familiarity with monitoring tools (e.g., Foglight, SolarWinds DPA, SentryOne, Redgate).

Nice To Haves

Experience with: Experience administering and tuning PostgreSQL
Replication, partitioning, and sharding strategies.
ETL tools and SSIS.
Replication, partitioning, and sharding strategies.
Linux environment.
Background supporting databases in cloud platforms (Azure SQL, AWS RDS, EC2‑hosted DBs).
Relevant certifications (MCSE, PostgreSQL certs).
Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills.
Excellent communication and cross‑team collaboration abilities.
Ability to work independently in complex, high‑availability environments.
Leadership and mentoring capabilities.

Responsibilities

Administer, configure, and maintain Microsoft SQL Server environments (2019+), including standalone, clustered, and AlwaysOn Availability Group architectures.
Perform database installations, upgrades, patches, backups, and disaster recovery tasks.
Monitor database performance proactively and troubleshoot issues using native and third‑party tools.
Implement and maintain automated processes for database health checks, alerts, and maintenance tasks.
Conduct deep‑dive query tuning, index optimization, and storage performance analysis.
Analyze execution plans and work closely with developers to improve SQL code efficiency.
Optimize database schema, data partitioning, and resource utilization for maximum throughput.
Enforce database security best practices, including encryption, role-based access control, and auditing.
Ensure compliance with corporate governance, regulatory, and data protection standards.
Participate in ongoing security assessments and vulnerability remediation.
Design scalable and resilient database architectures supporting high‑volume transactional systems.
Support data modeling, capacity planning, and environment standardization.
Serve as a SME for SQL Server technologies.
Mentor junior DBAs and engineering staff.
Partner with development teams on schema design, stored procedure optimization, and release readiness.
Create and maintain technical documentation, runbooks, and architecture diagrams.