Senior DevOps DBA - MS SQL Server

At Schuberg Philis we run and transform mission-critical platforms where reliability and craftsmanship matter. For a large programme, we are preparing the migration of a large landscape of mission-critical applications from on-premises to a hybrid cloud environment based on Azure. In the process, we will transform the setup to ensure resiliency and portability so that the environment meets very strict recoverability requirements.

To make that real, we need SQL DBAs who don’t stop at “keeping the database running”. We need people who can own the full spectrum: designing and automating the platform (infrastructure side) and protecting performance and stability when applications are onboarded and changed (application side).

A DBA expert but not limited to SQL with an innovative and automation mindset.

What you will do

You will work in an engineering team that designs, builds and operates SQL database platforms as part of a hybrid cloud landscape. The work includes decomposing shared SQL environments into smaller, dedicated workloads per application, reducing blast radius and improving recoverability, and implementing the patterns that make this reliable at scale.

In practice, that means you combine:

• Infrastructure & platform engineering: building SQL environments on Azure and where needed on-prem, implementing HA/DR and replication patterns, and automating everything with strong DevOps practices and security in mind.
• Application & performance ownership: troubleshooting and preventing performance issues when applications move and evolve, understanding what an application issue means at database level (blocking, indexing, query optimization), and keeping the environment protected as new workloads are onboarded.

Required skills

Infrastructure / platform

• Experience running SQL Server in Azure and understanding hybrid setups (Azure + on-prem/private cloud).
• High Availability / Disaster Recovery knowledge: Always On and HADR concepts; replication/geo-replication across regions with attention to data consistency.
• Strong automation mindset and ability to implement DevOps practices around SQL environments (“everything automated, secure as possible”).
• PowerShell is considered essential in this context.
• Infrastructure as Code experience or solid understanding of the concept.

Application / performance

• Proven ability in SQL performance troubleshooting and optimization: diagnosing blocking, missing indexes, inefficient queries and other bottlenecks.
• Ability to translate application behaviour into database implications (“if someone explains an app issue, you know what happens in the database”).
• Comfort supporting onboarding of new applications and protecting the environment against regressions.
• Understanding of database DevOps needs around schema changes and database upgrades.

What will make you successful in this role?

You want to play a part in the future of database automation. This can include CI/CD, configuration management (Terraform, Ansible), tooling, and good old scripting which enables you to automate everything that can be automated. In addition to that:

• You are a T-shaped engineer, meaning you are comfortable operating across platforms and having in-depth knowledge of databases.
• Solid experience working as a SQL DBA.
• Experience with managing applications in SQL instances, but also underlying infrastructure.
• Experience with scripting languages (Bash/Python/PowerShell).

How we work

Our environment values engineering ownership. You will work alongside cloud engineers and other specialists, but as the SQL DBA you are expected to be the person who can both design the platform and defend it under real load.