Senior Database Engineer
<>Senior Database EngineerLocation: Remote; occasional travel to Jacksonville, Miami, or Northern California Position Summary We are seeking a Senior DBA/Database Engineer with strong hands-on experience in SQL Server performance engineering, database optimization, and scalability. This is an engineering-focused role requiring someone who can diagnose performance issues and implement the technical solution, not just administer or monitor databases. The ideal candidate has a strong foundation in SQL/database optimization and has progressed into senior DBA/database engineering responsibilities.
Key Responsibilities
Diagnose and resolve SQL Server performance issues involving CPU, memory, I/O, blocking, deadlocks, locks/latches, tempdb, and transaction logs. Analyze execution plans, wait statistics, DMVs, Query Store, Extended Events, and PerfMon to identify root causes and bottlenecks. Perform advanced T-SQL, stored procedure, query, indexing, and statistics optimization. Resolve parameter sniffing, plan regressions, memory grants, spills, and non-SARGable queries. Design and optimize partitioning, HA/DR, Always On Availability Groups, and SQL Server Replication. Support large-scale, high-concurrency OLTP environments and multi-TB databases. Review application/ORM-generated SQL and provide performance recommendations to development teams. Build automation using T-SQL and PowerShell/dbatools. Lead production troubleshooting, RCA, performance improvements, and capacity planning. Mentor DBAs and developers and communicate technical findings to leadership. Required Qualifications 10+ years of hands-on SQL Server DBA/Database Engineering experience. 5+ years in a senior performance-focused role. Expert knowledge of SQL Server 2016 2022 internals. Advanced T-SQL, stored procedure optimization, and execution-plan analysis. Strong experience with Query Store, Extended Events, DMVs, and wait-statistics analysis. Proven experience resolving database performance bottlenecks, contention, blocking, and deadlocks. Hands-on experience with partitioning, Always On AGs, and replication. Experience with high-volume OLTP / large-scale databases. Financial services, banking, or payments experience preferred. Strong communication skills and ability to work directly with engineering and business stakeholders. Preferred Azure SQL / SQL Server on Azure or AWS Cloud performance and cost optimization Database DevOps / CI/CD PostgreSQL, Cosmos DB, or Snowflake PowerShell/dbatools PCI-DSS, SOX, GLBA, or similar regulated environments