Senior DBA - Remote work

Job Title: Senior DBA- Techno Functional Role

Job Location: Remote [Continental USA]

We are seeking an experienced and technically strong DBA Lead to provide strategic and operational leadership to the Database Administration team at Cognizant. The ideal candidate brings deep hands‑on expertise in Microsoft SQL Server administration, combined with proven people management, stakeholder engagement, and service delivery capabilities. This is a Techno Functional role that requires an individual who can operate confidently at both a technical and leadership level — driving best practices, managing vendor and contractor performance, and ensuring high‑quality DBA services across a complex enterprise environment.

This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans.

Provide day-to-day leadership for the DBA team, identifying work priorities, managing workloads, and ensuring timely task execution.

Clarify performance expectations and help team members achieve success through coaching, mentoring, and timely feedback.

Recognize accomplishments and apply appropriate disciplinary action when required, in line with applicable HR policies.

Ensure team adherence to standard DBA practices, policies, and Cognizant delivery frameworks.

Develop and maintain cordial, effective partnerships with business area stakeholders and other IS employee‑partners.

regularly review service delivery performance and work collaboratively to close any gaps.

Vendor & Contractor Management

Supervise vendor and contractor performance, ensuring delivery is competent and aligned with contractual terms and conditions.

Monitor contractor service billings for accuracy; Oversee timely implementation of vendor‑supplied patches and new releases in line with change management processes.

Ensure Cognizant best practices are followed for the delivery, implementation, and maintenance of all DBA infrastructure and services.

Apply critical thinking and project management discipline in day‑to‑day execution and resource and workload planning.

Ensure timely correction of bugs, vendor‑supplied patches, and new releases related to DBA infrastructure.

Ensure appropriate training and knowledge transfer takes place within the team to maintain and grow delivery capability.

Monitor team performance against SLAs and work cross‑functionally to address service gaps in a cost‑effective and timely manner.

Approximately 10 years of related experience, including management and operation of enterprise DBA services and DBA infrastructure.

Demonstrated experience managing, coaching, and mentoring a team of database administrators.

Proven track record managing vendor relationships, contractor performance, and service billings.

SQL Server Administration (Core) — all levels:

SQL Server health checks, session monitoring, and error log analysis

Database objects, Dynamic Management Views (DMVs), and alert monitoring and resolution

Database Backup & Restore — all levels:

SQL Server Agent Jobs — all levels:

Job creation, scheduling, failure diagnosis, and notification configuration

T‑SQL and PowerShell Scripting — all levels:

Writing and optimizing T‑SQL scripts for administration and data tasks

PowerShell automation for routine DBA workflows

Database Encryption — L2/L3:

Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), certificate management, and key rotation

SQL Server Patching — L2/L3:

CU/SP assessment, non‑production testing, and coordinated production rollout

SQL Server Upgrade & Migration — L2/L3:

In‑place and side‑by‑side version upgrades, compatibility testing, and migration validation

Performance Tuning & Optimization — L2/L3:

Blocking and deadlock resolution, query tuning, execution plan analysis

Log Shipping, Database Mirroring, and Always On Availability Groups (AG)

Failover procedures, health monitoring, and listener configuration

SQL Server Replication — L2/L3:

Transactional, Snapshot, and Merge replication — setup, monitoring, and troubleshooting

Linked server configuration, SPN registration, and constrained delegation troubleshooting

Microsoft Azure SQL & Azure IaaS — preferred:

Azure SQL Database, SQL on Azure VMs, and Azure SQL Managed Instance

Azure Monitor, Azure Backup, and Azure Advisor for database workloads

Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate

Microsoft Certified: SQL Server — MCSA / MCSE Data Management & Analytics

ITIL Foundation Certification

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off

Long‑term/Short‑term Disability

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Based on this role’s business requirements, this is a remote position in USA. This may change based on the project you’re engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Your application and candidacy will not be considered based on race, color, sex, religion, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

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