Manager Database Administration

Job Title: Manager SQL DBA

Location: Remote

Duration: Long term Contract

JOB DESCRIPTION:

The Manager, Database Administration is responsible for leading the strategy, design, and execution of database platform operations supporting our enterprise SaaS solutions. This role owns SQL Server database systems to ensure high availability, scalability, performance, and security across production and non-production environments. As a Technical Manager, this position not only leads and develops a team of Database Administrators, but is also the technical SME and expected to maintain Databases. The Manager partners closely with Engineering, Architecture, Security, and Product, and is accountable for the reliability, automation, and operational excellence of the database platforms that run our business. This position reports to the Director of Enterprise Technology.

Deliverables and Performance Measures

• Lead and develop a high-performing team of Database Administrators, including hiring, performance management, mentoring, and career development. Define and execute the DBA roadmap aligned to product and platform strategy. Specific deliverables and measures include:
• Partner with the DevOps team on CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions) to support automated database deployment, schema change management, and safe release and rollback for all our SaaS products.
• Own SQL Server database operations across production and non-production environments — including performance tuning, indexing, capacity planning, patching cadence, backup/recovery (RTO/RPO), and Always On high-availability and disaster recovery.
• Participate in incident response for database events, including on-call rotation, post-incident reviews, and corrective-action follow-through.
• Partner with the Security team to embed database security practices — access controls, encryption, secrets management, vulnerability remediation, and compliance with SOC 2 and other applicable frameworks.
• Partner with the Senior Cloud Engineers and Director to manage database-related cloud spend and FinOps practices in Azure; track utilization, right-size database workloads, and report cost trends to leadership.
• Establish and maintain operational documentation, change-management discipline, and audit-ready evidence for internal and external reviews.
• Collaborate with Architecture, Engineering, Product, and Client Services to plan releases, capacity, and platform improvements that support business growth.
• Continuously improve automation, observability, and self-service capabilities to reduce toil and accelerate delivery.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in SQL Server database administration or database engineering roles supporting PaaS and SaaS platforms.
• 2+ years of direct people-management experience leading DBA or database engineering teams, including hiring, performance management, and career development.
• Knowledge and experience with Microsoft Azure, including IaaS, PaaS, networking, identity (Entra ID), and Azure SQL.
• Working knowledge of CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, or equivalent) and automated database deployment for multi-environment SaaS platforms.
• Deep SQL Server database administration expertise — performance tuning, HA/DR (Always On Availability Groups, replication, log shipping), backup/recovery, and security hardening — along with experience supporting other database models.
• Experience implementing monitoring, logging, and alerting using enterprise observability platforms (e.g., Dynatrace, Datadog, Azure Monitor, Application Insights).
• Demonstrated ability to operate within compliance frameworks such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, or similar.
• Strong problem-solving, written and verbal communication, and stakeholder-management skills; able to translate technical detail for technical and non-technical audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting SaaS platforms in insurance, financial services, or other regulated industries.
• Relevant certifications: Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate, Azure Solutions Architect Expert, or equivalent.
• Experience with scripting and automation in PowerShell, Python, or Bash.
• Familiarity with database security practices — encryption, auditing, and secrets management (Azure Key Vault, HashiCorp Vault).
• Experience with FinOps practices and Azure cost optimization at scale.
• Exposure to additional database platforms (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB) or Azure SQL Managed Instance migrations.
• Working knowledge of containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes / AKS).
• Experience integrating ITSM/change-management tooling (ServiceNow, Jira Service Management) into delivery workflows.