Database Administrator (SQL Server — VMware & Azure) - Portugal Full Remote

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY

Join an international technology environment where database reliability, infrastructure resilience and operational excellence are critical to business operations. You will become part of an experienced Infrastructure DBA team supporting business-critical SQL Server environments across on-premises VMware and Microsoft Azure.

This is a hands-on opportunity for an experienced SQL Server DBA who enjoys solving complex technical problems, improving reliability and reducing repetitive operational work through automation. You will work closely with infrastructure, development and business teams while supporting both day-to-day operations and an evolving technology roadmap.

PROJECT & CONTEXT

You will be responsible for the administration, configuration, performance and reliability of SQL Server environments hosted across VMware and Azure. Your work will cover installation, patching, monitoring, backup and restore, security, access management and performance tuning.

A key part of the role is ensuring high availability and disaster recovery across the database estate, including technologies such as Always On Availability Groups, Failover Cluster Instances, log shipping, geo-replication and backup/restore testing.

The team follows reliability engineering principles, with a strong focus on reducing operational toil, improving monitoring and automation, conducting root-cause analysis and learning from incidents. You will use tools such as PowerShell/dbatools, T-SQL, SQL Agent, Elastic Jobs and Azure DevOps pipelines to automate recurring tasks and build more reliable operational processes.

Alongside BAU responsibilities, you may contribute to projects involving Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse, ETL and Dynamics-related data flows. You will also contribute to database CI/CD practices and support workloads moving from VMware to Azure, considering reliability, security and cost optimisation.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR (Required)

• Solid hands-on experience as a SQL Server DBA, covering administration, configuration, maintenance and performance tuning.
• Practical SQL Server experience across both VMware/on-premises and Microsoft Azure environments, including Azure SQL and/or SQL Server on Azure VMs.
• Experience with HA/DR, including Always On Availability Groups, FCIs, log shipping, geo-replication and backup/restore testing.
• Good understanding of reliability engineering principles, including SLIs/SLOs, toil reduction, RCA and post-incident reviews.
• Strong T-SQL skills, including writing, troubleshooting and optimising queries and stored procedures.
• Scripting and automation experience using PowerShell/dbatools, T-SQL and/or Python.
• Experience with ITSM processes, including incident, service request and change management.
• Experience working with Change Advisory Boards (CAB).
• Experience using Azure DevOps (ADO) boards for task tracking and delivery.
• Ability to create and maintain technical documentation, procedures and runbooks.
• Experience handling sensitive or PII data and following data protection controls such as GDPR and DPIA processes.
• Excellent troubleshooting and communication skills, particularly during incidents and technical changes.
• Professional working proficiency in English.
• Availability to work UK hours from Portugal, according to an agreed schedule.

NICE TO HAVE (Preferred)

• Experience with Redgate SQL Monitor, SQL Change Automation or Flyway.
• Experience with Azure Monitor and Log Analytics.
• Knowledge of Azure Data Factory and Azure Synapse Analytics.
• Experience with ETL and batch-processing environments.
• Exposure to Microsoft Dynamics data flows and integrations.
• Experience implementing database CI/CD using Azure DevOps pipelines.
• Exposure to Infrastructure as Code using Bicep or Terraform.
• Experience with Azure cost optimisation / FinOps for data platforms.
• Experience with VMware database environments.
• Relevant certifications such as Microsoft Azure Database Administrator Associate (DP-300), Azure Administrator (AZ-104), VMware VCP, ITIL Foundation or SRE Foundation.

Compensation: €2,300 – €3,050/month net, depending on experience and seniority level.

Why HumanIT people stay (4.4★ Glassdoor, 89% recommend)

• 15th month salary
• Health insurance covering your family
• Birthday off
• Mobility program for digital nomads
• Real work-life balance

Full benefits → https://www.humanit.pt/careers/#perks
What it's really like → https://www.humanit.pt/careers/#work-at