Lead SQL DBA

Title: Lead SQL DBA

Location: New York City, Hybrid

Employment: Full-time

About the role

A global financial services firm is hiring a Lead SQL DBA to oversee a critical SQL Server environment and manage a small team of database administrators in New York City. This role is ideal for someone who combines strong SQL Server platform depth with proven people leadership and can step into an existing team with minimal ramp-up.

You will lead day-to-day database operations while also serving as a senior technical voice across architecture, escalations, resilience, performance, and modernization efforts. The environment is hybrid, with a large on-prem footprint and a growing cloud presence, so the right person will be comfortable operating across both while helping shape the team s long-term direction.

Responsibilities

Lead and develop a team of database administrators across production operations and people management

Oversee SQL Server platform health, uptime, resiliency, performance, and capacity planning

Serve as a senior escalation point for incidents, production issues, and service reliability concerns

Guide HA/DR strategy, backup and recovery planning, and recovery target alignment

Partner with application owners and IT stakeholders on database design, risk, and operational decisions

Support modernization, upgrade, and cloud migration planning where appropriate

Drive documentation, operational discipline, and compliance readiness across the environment

Mentor engineers and support sound SQL development and tuning practices

Role Requirements

Strong SQL Server administration background in enterprise production environments

Recent people management experience leading DBA teams

Ability to bridge management responsibilities with technical credibility

Experience with HA/DR, backup and recovery, performance tuning, and incident management

Strong communication skills and comfort working with technical and non-technical stakeholders

Experience supporting hybrid environments with substantial on-prem exposure

Ability to assess operational risk and escalate clearly with mitigation strategies

Familiarity with monitoring, tuning, and database operational tooling

Comfortable participating in a 24x7 support and escalation model

Nice to Have

Experience with Azure database technologies or broader Microsoft cloud services

Prior cloud migration or modernization experience

Exposure to PostgreSQL, Oracle, or other database platforms

Experience in regulated industries such as financial services, healthcare, or insurance

Familiarity with automation tools such as PowerShell or Ansible

How We Work

Hybrid schedule based in New York City

Highly collaborative environment with close partnership across infrastructure and application teams

Mix of strategic leadership and day-to-day operational ownership

Emphasis on communication, accountability, and practical decision-making

Strong focus on resilience, control, and service quality

Keywords for Posting SEO

SQL Server DBA, Lead DBA, Database Administration, SQL Server, High Availability, Disaster Recovery, Performance Tuning, Capacity Planning, Database Operations, Production Support, Azure SQL, Hybrid Cloud, PowerShell, Ansible, Incident Management, Database Reliability, Stored Procedures, Backup and Recovery, Enterprise Infrastructure, Team Leadership

Compensation & Benefits

Base salary range of $160, 000 to $220, 000

Annual discretionary bonus target up to $40, 000

Medical, dental, and 401(k) benefits