Senior SQL DBA

Job description

Q - What did the DBA say to the Developer? A - It doesn't matter, he wasn't listening anyway Q - What did the Developer say to the DBA? A - It doesn't matter, the answer is "No". Enough with the humor! Let's get to the point. DistantJob is hiring a **Senior SQL DBA** for one of our clients, a growing US-based SaaS company serving 150+ enterprise clients on a highly customized, multi-tenant platform. This isn't a "big data" role — the databases themselves are modest in size. The real challenge is complexity: each client runs on their own database instance, and while most of the schema and logic is standardized, a meaningful portion is customized per client. That means no two performance issues look exactly alike, and a one-size-fits-all runbook doesn't cut it here. **What you'll do:** - Serve as the primary point of contact for critical database issues during US business hours, diagnosing and resolving performance, reliability, and availability problems - Partner with developers to design, review, and optimize SQL queries, stored procedures, and database logic — and coach the team on performance best practices - Proactively monitor database health across client environments, building alerting thresholds, runbooks, and dashboards to catch risks before they become incidents - Own the database side of test-environment readiness — syncing test databases, validating configuration, and building automation to reduce manual setup work - Review and approve database-related pull requests, maintaining coding standards and evaluating changes for performance, risk, and backward compatibility - Perform routine database maintenance (backups, patching, capacity planning) during business hours to avoid production disruption - Document recurring issues, resolutions, and operational procedures for the team **What we're looking for:** - 7+ years of experience as a DBA, with real production support experience — not purely development-side database work - Strong SQL Server / T-SQL skills, including query optimization and execution plan analysis - Comfort working across highly customized, multi-instance environments rather than a single standardized database - Genuine interest in both reactive incident response and proactive, collaborative dev support — this role is a mix of both, and that balance is expected to shift over time as processes mature - Azure and .NET/ORM familiarity a plus **Schedule:** Primarily CST hours (EST also considered) — this role exists specifically to extend coverage into the US afternoon. **Why this role:** You'll join a team that's intentional about long-term growth for this position — not just filling a support ticket queue, but building someone into a trusted, embedded part of the development process. If you meet these qualifications and are ready to contribute your expertise to a dynamic team, we encourage you to apply!