Sr. SQL DBA

Location: Riverside, CA (Hybrid Onsite) Employment Type: Contract-to-Hire Compensation: Up to $144,000/year (conversion salary) Work Authorization: W2 ONLY. No C2C, 1099, or sponsorship available.

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced SQL Server Database Administrator (DBA) to join a large enterprise technology team in Riverside, California. This role is responsible for the administration, maintenance, monitoring, performance tuning, backup/recovery, and high availability of a complex Microsoft SQL Server environment supporting critical business applications and data warehouse systems.

This is a contract-to-hire opportunity and an excellent fit for a senior-level DBA who has worked within large enterprise environments and is comfortable managing sophisticated SQL Server infrastructure while partnering closely with application support teams to troubleshoot production issues.

Key Responsibilities

• Administer and maintain enterprise Microsoft SQL Server environments, including both clustered and standalone SQL Server instances.
• Manage daily database administration activities, including monitoring, maintenance, performance optimization, and troubleshooting.
• Support and maintain SQL Server clustering and high availability solutions across mission-critical systems.
• Perform database backups, restoration testing, disaster recovery planning, and recovery operations.
• Execute SQL Server patching, upgrades, and maintenance activities while minimizing operational impact.
• Monitor database health, performance, storage utilization, and system availability across a large SQL Server footprint.
• Troubleshoot application-related database issues and collaborate with infrastructure, networking, and application teams to resolve complex production incidents.
• Write and optimize SQL queries to support troubleshooting, reporting, and data validation activities.
• Support enterprise data warehouse environments and assist with database performance tuning initiatives.
• Develop and maintain documentation for database configurations, operational procedures, and disaster recovery processes.
• Participate in scheduled after-hours maintenance windows and provide on-call support as needed.

Technical Environment

Current SQL Server Infrastructure Includes:

• 6 SQL Server clusters
• 27 standalone SQL Server instances
• Approximately 300 databases
• Enterprise Microsoft Windows Server environment
• SQL Server clustering and high availability architecture
• SQL Server data warehouse platforms

Required Qualifications

• 5-10+ years of SQL Server Database Administration experience within a large enterprise environment.
• Expert-level experience administering Microsoft SQL Server databases.
• Strong experience with SQL Server clustering and high availability solutions.
• Hands-on experience with SQL Server monitoring, maintenance, and performance tuning.
• Extensive knowledge of backup, recovery, and disaster recovery processes.
• Experience performing SQL Server patching, upgrades, and lifecycle management.
• Strong understanding of Windows Server environments supporting SQL Server.
• Experience supporting complex enterprise network and infrastructure architectures.
• Advanced SQL query writing and troubleshooting skills.
• Experience supporting SQL data warehouse environments.
• Ability to diagnose and resolve complex database and application performance issues.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting highly available, mission-critical production environments.
• Experience managing large-scale environments with hundreds of databases.
• Familiarity with enterprise monitoring and database management tools.
• Experience working closely with application development and support teams.
• Strong documentation, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field preferred.
• Equivalent combination of education and relevant experience will be considered.

Why This Opportunity?

• Contract-to-hire with long-term career potential.
• Opportunity to support a large-scale enterprise SQL Server environment.
• Work with complex infrastructure including clustered environments and approximately 300 databases.
• Competitive compensation up to $144,000 annually upon conversion.
• Hybrid work schedule in Riverside, CA.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, or military or veteran status. We consider all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local laws, including the California Fair Chance Act, City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, and San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.