Senior Database Architect

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Senior Database Architect

Houston, TX
Full Time

Description:

The Senior Database Administrator (DBA) is responsible for the availability, performance, security, and operational integrity of Verdun’s relational database platforms, with a primary focus on Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL. This role is hands‑on and operations‑driven, emphasizing production support, database reliability, performance tuning, and incident response across both platforms. In addition to the core DBA responsibilities, this position owns the administration and maintenance of SSAS Tabular models, SSIS ETL pipelines, and database deployment processes using Redgate tools. The Senior DBA partners closely with application, reporting, and infrastructure teams to ensure stable, secure, and performant database environments that support business‑critical systems on a 24/7 basis.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the following satisfactorily; other duties may be assigned.

Core DBA Operations (SQL Server & PostgreSQL)

• Administer, monitor, and support SQL Server and PostgreSQL environments across development, test, and production.
• Perform routine and advanced DBA tasks, including backups, restores, patching, upgrades, index and statistics maintenance, vacuuming, and integrity checks.
• Proactively monitor database health, availability, replication, and performance; respond to and resolve production incidents.
• Troubleshoot query performance issues, blocking, locking, deadlocks, and resource contention.
• Manage database security, authentication, roles, and permissions in accordance with internal standards and compliance requirements.
• Plan and execute capacity management, storage growth, and performance scalability initiatives.
• Support and test high‑availability and disaster recovery strategies for both platforms.
• Manage replication, failover, and backup strategies for PostgreSQL environments.
• Analyze and optimize PostgreSQL query performance using EXPLAIN/ANALYZE and indexing strategies.
• Support schema changes, deployments, and operational maintenance in PostgreSQL production environments.
• Collaborate with development teams to ensure PostgreSQL best practices are followed in application design and usage.

SQL Server, SSAS Tabular & SSIS

• Administer and tune SQL Server instances supporting transactional, reporting, and analytical workloads.
• Design, deploy, and maintain SSAS Tabular models , including DAX measures, relationships, and refresh strategies.
• Tune Tabular models for performance, scalability, and efficient processing.
• Develop, maintain, and support SSIS ETL packages used for production data integration.
• Implement logging, monitoring, and error handling for ETL processes and resolve SSIS job failures.

Deployment, Tooling & Operational Support

• Use Redgate tools (SQL Compare, SQL Data Compare, SQL Monitor, Source Control) on a daily basis for deployments, monitoring, and change management.
• Support controlled database releases, schema comparisons, and rollback strategies across environments.
• Maintain clear documentation for operational procedures, recovery processes, and system configurations.
• Participate in on‑call rotations and provide after‑hours support for critical production issues.
• Perform root cause analysis and implement preventative controls to improve platform stability.
• Perform other related DBA duties as assigned.

Qualifications & Skills

The qualifications and skills listed below are representative of those required to complete the essential duties listed above.

Education & Experience

A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field.

A minimum of 5 years of hands‑on DBA experience, with production responsibility for SQL Server and PostgreSQL.

Technical Skills

A successful candidate will have strong technical expertise in the following areas:

SQL Server

• Expert‑level experience administering SQL Server in production environments.
• Advanced T‑SQL skills for troubleshooting, indexing, and performance tuning.
• Strong experience supporting SSAS Tabular and SSIS in enterprise environments.
• Familiarity with SQL Server HA/DR concepts and operational monitoring.
• Strong hands‑on experience administering PostgreSQL in production.
• Knowledge of PostgreSQL internals, configuration tuning, and maintenance operations.
• Experience with replication, backups, restores, and performance troubleshooting.
• Ability to support PostgreSQL schema changes and operational releases safely and efficiently.

SSAS Tabular & DAX

• Proven experience developing and maintaining Tabular models.
• Strong understanding of DAX and Tabular engine performance optimization.
• Experience supporting Power BI or similar reporting tools through SSAS semantic models.

SSIS

• Strong experience building and supporting SSIS ETL pipelines in production.
• Familiarity with scheduling, monitoring, and troubleshooting ETL workflows.

Redgate Tooling

• Daily hands‑on use of Redgate tools for SQL Server deployments, monitoring, and source control.
• Experience implementing database DevOps and structured release processes.

Other Skills

Full knowledge of the Microsoft software suite.

Strong understanding of relational database design and data warehousing concepts.

Experience supporting enterprise reporting and analytics platforms.

Familiarity with source control and release management practices.

Experience with database monitoring and deployment tooling.

Certificates and Licenses

Microsoft SQL Server or PostgreSQL certifications preferred.