Sr. Database Platform Engineer (SQL Server & Azure)

Senior Database Platform Engineer (SQL Server & Azure)

Type: Contract-to-Hire

Location: Denver, CO; Houston, TX; or Midland, TX

Compensation: $50 to $80 per hour (depending on experience)

Work Model: Remote with occasional onsite collaboration in Denver, Houston, or Midland

Why This Role

This is not a traditional maintenance DBA role. The organization is at a critical inflection point. The on-prem SQL Server estate is mission critical and needs immediate, confident ownership. At the same time, the company is committed to moving to Azure and specifically Azure SQL Managed Instance, but lacks a true technical leader to define and drive that direction.

We are looking for a senior-level database professional who wants to own today's platform and architect tomorrow's. Someone who has already led a cloud migration, formed opinions the hard way, and is comfortable saying "this is how it should be done" and then executing.

If you are motivated by stabilization, modernization, and reducing manual work through standardization and automation, this role was built for you.

What You Will Do

Own and Stabilize the On-Prem SQL Environment

In the first phase of the role, you will take full ownership of a largely on-premises SQL Server environment supporting critical business workloads. This includes performance tuning, capacity planning, high availability, disaster recovery, and operational reliability.

You will:

• Act as the senior authority for SQL Server operations and production health
• Diagnose and resolve performance issues through deep query, indexing, and execution plan analysis
• Design, support, and improve HA and DR solutions including Always On Availability Groups, clustering, and replication
• Lead upgrades, patching, and legacy SQL modernization with minimal disruption
• Provide calm, methodical escalation support for high severity incidents

Lead Cloud Modernization with Azure SQL Managed Instance

This role carries clear ownership of the database cloud strategy. Azure is the destination, and Azure SQL Managed Instance is the target platform.

You will:

• Architect, build, and operate a greenfield Azure SQL Managed Instance environment
• Define configuration standards, monitoring, security, and operational practices for MI
• Lead on-prem to Azure migration planning and execution, including validation and cutover
• Partner with infrastructure, security, and application teams to align cloud databases with enterprise standards
• Clearly articulate tradeoffs, risks, and long-term benefits of design decisions

Reduce Tickets and Build Platforms Through Automation

The long-term goal is fewer manual DBA tickets and more scalable platforms.

You will:

• Help define database standards that support self-service provisioning
• Contribute to infrastructure-as-code and automation efforts for database creation and lifecycle management
• Work with DevOps teams to move database provisioning into pipelines
• Standardize patterns that reduce human involvement while improving reliability
• Build and maintain PowerShell or similar automation to support operations and compliance

Participate in Enterprise Operations

This is a senior operational role, not just design on a whiteboard.

You will:

• Participate in change management, release processes, and maintenance windows
• Work with enterprise scheduling tools such as ActiveBatch and Azure DevOps
• Support SOX controls, audits, access reviews, and audit-ready documentation
• Collaborate closely with infrastructure, application, DevOps, and security teams

What We Are Looking For

Required Experience

• 8 years of hands-on SQL Server DBA experience in production environments
• Deep expertise in performance tuning, query optimization, and index strategy
• Strong experience with HA and DR architectures including Always On Availability Groups
• Proven ownership of on-prem SQL Server environments at scale
• Hands-on Azure experience including SQL Server on VMs and Azure SQL Managed Instance
• Demonstrated experience leading or owning a cloud migration, not just participating
• PowerShell scripting for automation and operational tooling
• Strong change management discipline and production judgment

Preferred Experience

• Exposure to infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and Azure DevOps
• Familiarity with monitoring tools such as SolarWinds DPA, SQL Sentry, Grafana, or similar
• Experience in SOX or compliance-driven environments
• Microsoft SQL or Azure database certifications

Who Thrives Here

This role is ideal for someone who:

• Is comfortable stepping into ambiguity and creating structure
• Enjoys owning both stability and modernization
• Thinks in platforms and systems, not just tickets
• Has opinions formed through real production experience
• Communicates clearly with both technical peers and business stakeholders
• Wants to be the person driving cloud direction, not waiting for it

Engagement Details

• Contract with strong intent to convert to full-time
• Direct hire considered immediately for an exceptional candidate
• Primarily remote, with some in-person collaboration expected throughout the year

This is a senior DBA role with a clear modernization mandate. You will be trusted to own critical systems today and lead the transition to a cloud-first database platform over the next one to two years.

If that responsibility sounds more exciting than intimidating, this is likely a great fit.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, or military or veteran status. We consider all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local laws, including the California Fair Chance Act, City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance.