MS SQL Server Database Administrator

Job description / Role

This is primarily a MS SQL Server DBA role responsible for providing operational database services. This is largely a production DBA role, and will include responding to database related alerts and escalations, reviewing service related reports on a daily basis to ensure issues are identified and resolved within established SLAs and proactively escalating any issues that cannot be resolved within the established timeframes.

The role will require initiating, coordinating and performing changes on production systems by adhering to the defined change control process and, from time to time, will require you to churn a few TSQL queries to help assist application teams, managers and customers with information they are looking for.

- Ensure availability of MS SQL Server databases and related services. In case of failures, troubleshoot SQL Server service outages as they occur, including after-hours and weekends.
- Ensure successful completion of database backups.
- Ensure successful completion of SQL Server Agent jobs, both, related to application (example: ETL jobs), database maintenance jobs (example: integrity checks, index and statistics updates). In case of failures, troubleshoot failed SQL Server Agent jobs.
- Monitor and troubleshoot SQL Server transactional replication, Service Broker, File Stream.
- Monitor and troubleshoot SQL Server Always on Availability groups and Failover Clustered Instances.
- Monitor and troubleshoot SSIS packages.
- Install, perform upgrades and configure SQL Servers including Integration services, reporting service and analysis services.
- Manage and troubleshoot access to SQL Server databases.
- Review/audit overall system security and data integrity
- Trace queries taking longer to complete and provide necessary inputs for tuning those T-SQL queries to improve performance.
- Troubleshoot and resolve database integrity issues, performance issues, blocking and deadlocking issues, connectivity issues and security issues.
- Develop queries to help assist application teams, managers and customers with ad hoc reports.
- Participate in change control activities, review and deploy database change scripts provided by vendors.
- Take part in DBA team on-call rotation.

Requirements

- Bachelors degree
- MCTS, MCITP in any of the following SQL Server 2005 / 2008 R2 / 2012
- At least 5 years of experience in MS SQL Server database administration covering MS SQL Server 2005, 2008 R2 and 2012.
- Experience installing, patching, configuring, securing, maintaining, monitoring and troubleshooting MS SQL Server in both stand-alone and clustered environments.
- Experience installing, configuring and managing MS SQL Server Reporting services, Analysis services and Integration services.
- Knowledgeable in MS SQL Server recommendations and best practices.
- Experience supporting very large databases, sizes ranging from a few gigabytes to multi-terabytes.
- Experience in troubleshooting and resolving database problems.
- Experience managing and troubleshooting table partitioning
- Experience managing and troubleshooting service broker.
- Experience managing and troubleshooting file stream.
- Experience with backups, restores and recovery models.
- Experience with SQL Server database maintenance procedures, with a good understanding of indexes, index management, and statistics.
- Experience in capacity planning and performance monitoring for resource utilization and bottle-necks, performance tuning and optimization of TSQL workload.
- Experience of High Availability (HA) and Disaster Recovery (DR) options for MSSQL Server covering and not limited to Always on Availability Groups, transactional replication, Failover Clustered Instances, SAN Replication.
- Knowledge of MS SQL Server DMVs and KPIs and relevant experience in automating MS SQL Server monitoring and base lining using scripts.
- Exposure to Oracle database administration, virtualization technologies and SAN storage essentials for a DBA will be a plus.
- Knowledgeable in ITIL framework and relevant experience in incident, problem, change and service request management.

About the Company

Our client is one of the fastest-growing public safety and security solutions organizations in the world, our client has operations across the globe, operating in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Russia, and more. Led by a unique vision, the organization offers innovative solutions in the areas of critical assets, safe city, urban management, border protection, intelligent transportation, law enforcement, and natural disaster preparedness, helping safeguard people, assets and infrastructure.

Our main projects in the UAE include the implementation of an advanced integrated security solution for critical assets, safe city, border protection and others, that consist of critical sites in the sea and on land. The end to end turnkey system incorporates state-of-the-art technology for detection, identification and interception for enhanced protection of critical assets, safe city, border, and others.