SQL Server DBA/Database Engineer

Full Time
Remote with team bonding travel
NO Sponsorship Provided

Recruit22 is partnering with a healthcare organization to identify a skilled Database Engineer with strong production support and engineering capabilities. This role blends hands‐on database engineering with operational responsibility, supporting secure, scalable, and high‐performing database environments across on‐premise and cloud platforms.

The SQL Server DBA/Database Engineer will work closely with Production DBAs, application development teams, and IT stakeholders to ensure database reliability, performance, and continuity of operations. This role also serves as a direct backup to the Production DBA, providing coverage for production support and operational needs.

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Database Platform Engineering & Administration

• Design, deploy, and support database environments across enterprise architectures, including single‐node systems, clustered and SAN‐based platforms for high availability and disaster recovery, and cloud‐hosted (Azure) database solutions.
• Support Microsoft SQL Server environments used for application databases, reporting, analytics, and custom development.
• Partner with IT and business stakeholders to plan and execute upgrades, patches, and maintenance activities, including regression testing and coordinated downtime.
• Support database environments across the full SDLC (Development, UAT, and Production).
• Integrate database changes into CI/CD pipelines and modern deployment workflows.
• Manage database versioning, schema changes, and deployment compatibility with application releases.
• Implement and enforce database security best practices, including role‐based access controls, encryption in transit and at rest, and alignment with healthcare compliance standards.
• Maintain expertise across multiple SQL Server versions, native tooling, and relevant third‐party database products.

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Production Support & Operational Excellence

• Serve as the primary backup for the Production DBA, providing full coverage for production database administration, incident response, and operational support.
• Perform proactive capacity planning to support availability, scalability, and cost efficiency.
• Monitor database health and performance, focusing on trend analysis and systemic issue prevention rather than reactive troubleshooting.
• Use database monitoring and observability tools (e.g., Redgate Monitor, SentryOne, or similar) to analyze workloads and identify performance risks.
• Partner with Production DBAs on escalations involving complex performance, stability, and availability issues.
• Troubleshoot issues spanning database engines, application workloads, and development tools.
• Participate in after‐hours or weekend support for planned releases, maintenance windows, or critical production incidents as needed.
• Design, test, and validate backup, restore, and disaster recovery strategies.
• Administer database objects including tables, indexes, views, stored procedures, functions, and replication technologies.
• Configure and maintain database replication solutions to support downstream systems and reporting platforms.
• Manage database users, roles, and permissions in alignment with audit and security requirements.

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Development, Performance & Optimization

• Act as a database subject‐matter expert for application and data development teams throughout design, build, and release phases.
• Review database designs and T‐SQL code for performance, scalability, maintainability, and adherence to standards.
• Identify inefficient queries, indexing strategies, and data access patterns using execution plans, DMVs, and performance metrics.
• Refactor and optimize T‐SQL code to resolve performance bottlenecks and reduce operational risk in production.
• Perform impact analysis for schema and code changes, including data volume growth, execution cost, and concurrency considerations.
• Collaborate with developers and architects to influence application design decisions that affect database performance and reliability.
• Support release planning to ensure database changes are delivered safely with minimal production impact.
• Demonstrate strong proficiency in writing, tuning, and maintaining complex T‐SQL, including stored procedures, functions, and set‐based solutions.

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Collaboration, Standards & Professional Practices

• Build effective working relationships with technical and business partners across the organization.
• Contribute to the definition and evolution of database engineering and development standards that promote security, performance, and long‐term maintainability.
• Participate in team‐based problem solving and knowledge sharing.
• Mentor developers or junior database professionals when appropriate.
• Perform all duties in accordance with organizational policies, procedures, and healthcare compliance requirements.
• Maintain reliable availability consistent with operational responsibilities.