Senior Database Administrator (MSSQL / Azure)

Position: Senior MS SQL Server & Azure Cloud DBA

Location: Hybrid- Montreal, QC

Job type: Full-time/Permanent hiring

We are seeking an expert Senior MS SQL Server & Azure Cloud DBA with 8 to 14 years of deep, hands-on L3 database administration experience. In this role, you will own the health, performance, security, and scalability of our SQL environments across both on-premises data centers and the Microsoft Azure cloud ecosystem (Azure SQL Database, Managed Instances, and IaaS VMs). You will act as the highest level of technical escalation for critical performance bottlenecks and database architecture design.

Core Responsibilities

• Cross-Environment Administration: Administer and support SQL Server across on-premises, Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, and SQL Server on Azure VMs.
• Advanced Performance Diagnostics: Lead deep-dive diagnostics and query-plan tuning using Query Store, DMV analysis, Extended Events, wait statistics, and Azure monitoring.
• High Availability & Disaster Recovery (HA/DR): Architect, deploy, and maintain Always On availability groups, failover clustering, replication, and geo-replication topologies.
• Cloud Infrastructure Optimization: Manage Azure SQL service tiers, elastic pools, scaling mechanics, private connectivity, and financial cost-performance optimization.
• Enterprise Security & Compliance: Implement rigorous least-privilege models using Microsoft Entra authentication, managed identities, transparent data encryption, and vulnerability auditing.
• Preventative Automation: Automate routine database health checks, provisioning, backups, and maintenance routines using PowerShell, T-SQL, and Azure CLI.
• Incident Ownership: Drive resolution for high-priority (P1/P2) service outages, perform comprehensive root-cause analysis, and mentor L1/L2 engineering support teams.

Required Skillsets

• Experience: 8–14 years of dedicated database administration experience with a proven track record as an L3 MSSQL and Azure Cloud DBA.
• MS SQL Ecosystem: Elite knowledge of Microsoft SQL Server internals, query optimizer behavior, locking/blocking/deadlocks, and TempDB tuning.
• HA/DR: Absolute mastery of Always On, transaction log shipping, database replication, and point-in-time recoveries.
• Automation: Proficiency writing robust scripting logic using PowerShell, T-SQL, and Azure CLI.
• Education: Graduate degree or equivalent professional background.

Preferred / Good to Have Skills

• Hands-on familiarity with Azure SQL automatic tuning, Database Advisor tools, and cost forecasting.
• Experience deploying database changes via Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) pipelines.
• Demonstrated capability navigating high-pressure, live outage scenarios while communicating clearly with non-technical stakeholders.