SQL DBA – Senior Technical Lead

Job Title: SQL DBA Senior Technical Lead

Location: Vancouver, BC
Work Arrangement: Onsite
Employment Type: Full-Time

Job Description

We are seeking an experienced SQL DBA Senior Technical Lead with 10 15 years of enterprise database administration experience and strong hands-on expertise in Microsoft SQL Server. The role will lead SQL Server DBA operations, production support, database availability, performance tuning, backup and recovery, security, disaster recovery, and operational governance.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end Microsoft SQL Server DBA operations and L2/L3 production support
• Administer SQL Server environments including installation, configuration, upgrades, patching, migrations, cloning, database refreshes, SQL Agent jobs, storage, and capacity management
• Manage high availability and disaster recovery solutions including Always On Availability Groups, Failover Cluster Instances, log shipping, replication, and database mirroring
• Plan and validate full, differential, and transaction log backups, restore testing, point-in-time recovery, and DR exercises
• Monitor database health, availability, performance, storage, SQL Agent jobs, alerts, blocking, deadlocks, wait statistics, and logs
• Perform SQL Server performance tuning using execution plans, Query Store, index optimization, statistics maintenance, query optimization, and resource analysis
• Troubleshoot database availability, backup failures, transaction log growth, storage issues, SQL Agent failures, application connectivity, and authentication problems
• Manage SQL Server security including logins, users, roles, access controls, auditing, encryption awareness, and vulnerability remediation
• Support Windows Server environments including services, event logs, file systems, permissions, PowerShell scripting, and deployment activities
• Coordinate with application, infrastructure, security, backup, Windows/Unix, vendor, and customer teams
• Lead technical reviews, guide DBA team members, perform peer reviews, and support task allocation
• Participate in incident, problem, service request, change, release, and knowledge management processes
• Prepare and maintain SOPs, runbooks, architecture notes, implementation plans, deployment procedures, DR evidence, RCA documents, and knowledge articles
• Ensure compliance with operational standards, SLAs, security requirements, and database governance policies

Required Qualifications

• 10 15 years of IT experience with strong hands-on Microsoft SQL Server DBA experience
• Strong experience with SQL Server 2016/2019/2022 or later
• Expertise in SQL Server installation, configuration, patching, upgrades, migrations, refreshes, backup/recovery, monitoring, and performance tuning
• Strong experience with SQL Server Management Studio, SQL Server Agent, Always On Availability Groups, and Failover Clustering
• Strong knowledge of backup, restore, disaster recovery, and point-in-time recovery
• Experience supporting mission-critical databases and 24x7 production environments
• Strong T-SQL troubleshooting and performance tuning skills
• Experience with execution plans, indexes, statistics, Query Store, wait events, blocking, deadlocks, and workload analysis
• Experience with Windows Server administration and PowerShell scripting
• Strong understanding of database security, access controls, auditing, and compliance
• Excellent troubleshooting, technical leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills

Technical Skills

• Microsoft SQL Server 2016/2019/2022+
• SQL Server Management Studio
• SQL Server Agent
• Always On Availability Groups
• Failover Cluster Instances
• Log Shipping
• Replication
• Database Mirroring
• Backup & Recovery
• Disaster Recovery
• T-SQL
• Stored Procedures / Functions
• Query Store
• Extended Events
• Execution Plans
• Index & Statistics Tuning
• Wait Statistics
• Blocking & Deadlock Analysis
• Performance Monitoring
• Windows Server
• PowerShell
• Database Security & Auditing
• CommVault
• ServiceNow / JIRA / BMC Remedy

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Azure SQL, SQL Server on Azure VM, or Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server
• Experience with cloud readiness and database modernization
• Experience with enterprise backup platforms such as CommVault
• Experience in utility, regulated infrastructure, or managed services environments
• Exposure to NERC CIP-adjacent environments
• Strong ITIL and service management knowledge
• Experience supporting SLA reporting, RCA, audits, runbooks, and operational governance

Key Competencies

• SQL Server Database Administration
• High Availability & Disaster Recovery
• Performance Tuning
• Backup & Recovery
• Database Security
• Production Troubleshooting
• Technical Leadership
• Incident & Problem Management
• Risk & Compliance
• Operational Governance
• Team Mentoring