Senior DBA / Database Architect

Job Summary

We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Database Administrator / Database Architect with deep expertise in Microsoft SQL Server and Azure cloud database platforms to lead the design, administration, and optimization of our data environment.

This role combines hands-on database administration, data architecture leadership, and support for data integration pipelines. You will partner closely with our Enterprise Architect, developers, product teams, and customer onboarding teams to ensure our data platform is secure, scalable, performant, and aligned with evolving business needs.

A key aspect of this role includes working with new customers during onboarding to ingest historical data, design and implement data pipelines, and support successful go-live readiness. This requires the ability to understand external data structures, map and transform data into our platform, and ensure data quality, integrity, and performance from initial ingestion through production use.

As a small and highly collaborative organization, this role requires someone who is comfortable wearing multiple hats—balancing strategic architecture with hands-on execution across database operations, performance optimization, and data integration.

Duties & Responsibilities

Azure SQL & Infrastructure Management

• Administer and manage Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instances (MI) across multiple environments (dev/test/prod)
• Design and maintain secure, scalable, and highly available database architectures in Azure
• Configure and manage replication and data movement between Managed Instances and Azure SQL Database
• Ensure optimal connectivity, networking, and access controls across Azure environments

Database Architecture & Strategy

• Partner with the Enterprise Architect and engineering teams to define and evolve data architecture standards and best practices
• Lead design and governance of: Database schema, Data models, Naming conventions and database object standards
• Define and implement multi-tenant database strategies, including: Tenant isolation models (shared vs isolated architectures), Cross-tenant data sharing and access patterns, Data partitioning and scalability approaches.
• Establish best practices for data lifecycle management, governance, and consistency
• Evaluate and recommend new Azure data services and architectural patterns

Data Pipelines & Integration (ETL Support)

• Support and contribute to data integration pipelines and ETL processes for both operational and analytical workloads
• Partner with engineering teams to ensure efficient, reliable, and scalable data movement
• Assist in troubleshooting and optimizing data ingestion, transformation, and loading processes
• Help define best practices for data quality, validation, and pipeline performance
• Collaborate on integration of external and internal data sources

Customer Data Onboarding & Migration

• Own (or lead) end-to-end data onboarding and migration for new customer implementations
• Work directly with customers and project managers to define data requirements and drive execution
• Map, transform, and validate incoming data into the platform
• Troubleshoot and resolve data issues during onboarding
• Ensure successful delivery and go-live of customer data

Security & Compliance

• Implement and manage: Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) with Customer Managed Keys (CMK)
• Design and enforce secure data access patterns, including: Data masking, Data de-identification strategies, Role-based access controls (RBAC)
• Ensure compliance with applicable data security and regulatory requirements

Performance Tuning & Query Optimization

• Analyze and optimize complex T-SQL queries, stored procedures, and database workloads
• Collaborate with developers to identify and resolve performance bottlenecks from APIs and services
• Implement and maintain performance strategies such as: Read Committed Snapshot Isolation (RCSI), Indexing and partitioning strategies, Execution plan analysis, Database Maintenance Plans
• Proactively monitor and improve system performance
• Leverage tools such as Query Store, DMVs, and Azure monitoring to analyze and optimize performance

Automation & Job Management

• Design and manage Elastic Jobs and automated database operations
• Develop scripts (T-SQL, PowerShell, etc.) to automate maintenance and operational tasks
• Standardize and streamline database management processes

Database Operations & Reliability

• Monitor database health, performance, and availability across environments
• Troubleshoot and resolve production issues and incidents
• Manage: Backup and restore strategies, Disaster recovery and failover configurations, High availability and business continuity.

Collaboration & Technical Leadership

• Work closely with developers, DevOps, product, and data teams
• Provide guidance and mentorship on database and data best practices
• Participate in design reviews and architectural discussions
• Contribute to a culture of continuous improvement and shared ownership
• Document standards, processes, and architectural decisions
• Support and influence CI/CD processes for database deployments, schema management, and release automation

Skills and Abilities

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Comfortable operating in a dynamic, fast-paced, small-team environment
• Ability to balance strategic architecture with hands-on execution
• Strong communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences
• Self-starter with a mindset of ownership, curiosity, and adaptability
• Advanced SQL, analytics, and report development, along with strong relational database design principles.
• Ability to support and collaborate with code-first development teams (e.g., using Entity Framework).
• Ability to work with diverse data formats and transport methods, including CSV/XML/JSON flat files, SFTP exchanges, APIs, and structured database extracts.
• Experience reviewing pull requests and acting as a code owner for SQL migrations and database-related logic.
• Strong understanding of the Software Development Lifecycle and agile development practices.
• Ability to drive and advocate for the centralization of shared business logic within the database to enable reuse across applications and tools.
• Strong troubleshooting and performance-tuning skills.
• Strong communication and teamwork abilities, with comfort partnering closely with developers and architects.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and provide technical leadership.
• High attention to detail and a strong commitment to data integrity, reliability, and security.
• Willingness to learn, adapt, and contribute to evolving tools, technologies, and methodologies.

Knowledge

• Deep knowledge of: Azure SQL Database & Managed Instance architecture, High availability, disaster recovery, and scaling strategies, Indexing, partitioning, and query performance tuning
• Experience with: Elastic Jobs, RCSI (Read Committed Snapshot Isolation), Data masking and de-identification techniques, Familiarity with Azure data tools (e.g., Data Factory or similar) is a plus
• Understanding of Azure networking and security (VNETs, private endpoints, firewalls)
• Strong experience with Microsoft SQL Server and T-SQL in production environments
• Deep understanding of relational database design, data modeling, and SQL best practices
• Hands-on experience administering SQL Server environments, including database creation, access management, and security configuration.
• Understanding of data controls, constraints, and safeguards implemented at the database level.
• Familiarity with cloud data services and tooling (Microsoft Azure preferred).
• Knowledge of CI/CD concepts related to database deployments, schema changes, and release automation.
• Understanding of migration-based and state-based database object management approaches.
• Awareness of data security, compliance, and best practices.
• Familiarity with Confluence, Jira, BitBucket, and/or Azure DevOps is a plus.
• Knowledge of healthcare interoperability concepts (HL7, FHIR, or similar), if applicable to customer integrations.

Education and/or Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• 8 years of experience with Microsoft SQL Server (DBA and/or database architecture)
• 3 years of experience with Azure SQL Database and/or Managed Instances
• Strong expertise in: T-SQL development and query optimization, Database performance tuning and troubleshooting, Experience designing and supporting multi-tenant database architectures
• Hands-on experience with: TDE and Customer Managed Keys (CMK), Replication across Azure database services
• Experience supporting or contributing to ETL/data pipeline processes