Senior Database Administrator

The Job

This is a CONFIRE position only. CONFIRE is a separate entity from San Bernardino County and the Fire Protection District. CONFIRE, JPA is recruiting for a Senior Database Administrator who will be responsible for the administration, maintenance, security, performance, and availability of CONFIRE's enterprise database environments and data management systems. This position requires advanced technical expertise in database administration, performance optimization, high availability solutions, disaster recovery planning, data integration, and database security. The Senior Database Administrator ensures the reliability, integrity, and accessibility of mission-critical data supporting public safety communications, emergency response operations, administrative services, and business applications through collaboration with internal stakeholders, member agencies, vendors, and technology partners. The primary work location for this position is CONFIRE's Rialto Office; however, you may occasionally be required to work at the communications centers in Hesperia or San Bernardino.

CONFIRE, JPA is a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) located in San Bernardino County California established to provide communications, dispatch, computer information systems support (IS), and geographic information systems (GIS) to CONFIRE member and contract agencies. The CONFIRE Communications Center's (Comm Center) primary function is to provide 24-hour/365 day direct fire, EMS, and rescue dispatch services to CONFIRE agencies. Beyond the direct fire dispatch role, Comm Center also functions as the San Bernardino County (XBO) Operational Area dispatch, which provides large incident coordination for fire, local government, and emergency medical resources on a countywide basis.

Conditions of employment:

• Certifications: Relevant database and technology certifications such as Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate, Microsoft SQL Server certifications, Oracle Database certifications, AWS database certifications, or other industry-recognized credentials are highly desirable at the time of hire. Ongoing certification maintenance may be required to support evolving technologies and operational requirements.
• Work Availability: Must be available to work a flexible schedule, including evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed, to support critical infrastructure and respond to network incidents. Must be available to report to CONFIRE facilities in Rialto or Hesperia as required.
• On-Call and Emergency Response: Participation in an on-call rotation is required. The role may necessitate returning to work outside of regular hours to respond to network outages or mission-critical issues.
• Travel: Travel between CONFIRE sites and member agency locations may be required. A valid California driver license and proof of automobile liability insurance must be presented at time of hire and maintained throughout employment.

Job Description:

Under general direction of the Information Technology Manager, the Senior Database Administrator is responsible for the administration, maintenance, performance tuning, security, and availability of CONFIRE's enterprise database environments. This position supports mission-critical systems and applications used for public safety communications, operational reporting, administrative functions, and related business systems.

The Senior Database Administrator serves as the lead technical resource for database architecture, optimization, backup and recovery, disaster recovery planning, data integrity, and database-related troubleshooting. The incumbent also provides advanced support for data integration, ETL processes, data warehousing, and production data pipelines, while working closely with application developers, system administrators, and business users to ensure reliable and efficient database operations.

Duties may include, but are not limited to:

1. Administer, monitor, maintain, and support enterprise database environments, with primary emphasis on Microsoft SQL Server and related database technologies.
2. Install, configure, patch, upgrade, and maintain production, development, test, and reporting database instances.
3. Design, maintain, and optimize database schemas, indexes, stored procedures, functions, views, triggers, and queries to support mission-critical applications.
4. Analyze and tune slow-running queries, database workloads, and execution plans to improve application performance and resource utilization.
5. Use performance monitoring and diagnostic tools to identify bottlenecks and recommend corrective action.
6. Support database environments used for operational reporting, analytics, data warehousing, and business intelligence.
7. Monitor and support ETL and ELT pipelines, including production data movement processes, scheduling, error handling, and troubleshooting.
8. Support data integration tools and workflows used to move, transform, and validate data across internal and external systems.
9. Maintain and improve database monitoring, alerting, and maintenance processes.
10. Develop, implement, and test backup, restore, replication, clustering, failover, and disaster recovery procedures.
11. Ensure databases are protected through access controls, encryption, auditing, and other security best practices.
12. Implement and maintain database security standards, documentation, and administrative procedures.
13. Coordinate with vendors, developers, and internal staff on database-related problems, enhancements, and system changes.
14. Participate in planning and implementation of system migrations, upgrades, and new application deployments.
15. Support high availability solutions and ensure database services remain available to meet operational needs.
16. Perform capacity planning, workload forecasting, and resource analysis to support long-term growth and performance.
17. Provide technical guidance and mentoring to IT staff on database-related matters.
18. Research and evaluate database tools, performance monitoring solutions, and emerging technologies for possible use by CONFIRE.
19. Prepare documentation, technical reports, recommendations, and procedures related to database administration and data management.
20. Participate in after-hours support, scheduled maintenance windows, and emergency response activities as required.
21. Provide vacation or temporary relief as required.
22. Perform other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Requirements

Candidates must meet all the following requirements:

Education: A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, Database Administration, Software Engineering, or a closely related field.

-AND-

Experience: Five (5) years of increasingly responsible professional experience in database administration, performance tuning, and enterprise data support.

-OR-

Experience Substitution: Nine (9) years of increasingly responsible professional experience in database administration, performance tuning, and enterprise data support, including experience administering enterprise database environments, implementing backup and recovery strategies, and troubleshooting complex database systems.

License/Certification: Possession of a valid California Class C Driver License or ability to provide alternative transportation as required.

Desired Qualifications

• Extensive experience with Microsoft SQL Server in an enterprise environment.
• Strong background in database performance tuning, query optimization, indexing, and workload analysis.
• Experience supporting mission-critical systems with high availability and disaster recovery requirements.
• Experience with ETL, ELT, and data warehousing concepts and tools.
• Experience monitoring and debugging production data pipelines.
• Experience with Azure SQL, cloud-based database platforms, or hybrid environments.
• Familiarity with database monitoring tools and performance analytics solutions.
• Experience with Oracle, PostgreSQL, or other relational database systems.
• Strong working knowledge of T-SQL and database scripting for automation and administration.
• Experience with PowerShell, Python, or similar scripting tools.
• Knowledge of database security controls, access management, and encryption practices.
• Experience supporting public safety, government, or public-sector systems is highly desirable.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively in a fast-paced environment.

Selection Process

Application Procedure: To be considered for this excellent opportunity, please complete and submit the online employment application and supplemental questionnaire as soon as possible as this recruitment may close at any time with or without notice. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of the application and/or supplemental questionnaire. To ensure timely and successful submission of your online application, please allow ample time to complete your application and consider having your profile created and or updated before applying for the position. Applicants will be automatically logged-out if they have not submitted the application and all required materials prior to the posted deadline. Once your application has been successfully submitted, you will receive an onscreen confirmation and an email. We recommend that you save and/or print these for your records.