Senior Engineer – Microsoft SQL Server Database Administration (Fixed Term)

Job Description Administer production and non-production Microsoft SQL Server environments, including instance configuration, database settings, recovery models, and routine maintenance Manage and monitor Always On Availability Groups and supporting Windows Server Failover Clustering infrastructure Monitor database synchronisation, investigate availability issues, and coordinate planned failovers and recovery activities Administer and troubleshoot SQL Server transactional replication and log shipping, resolving agent failures, synchronisation delays, and data delivery issues Manage full, differential, and transaction log backups, investigate backup failures, and perform database restores and recovery validation Coordinate SQL Server backup and recovery activities using enterprise backup platforms, including Commvault Perform daily database health checks covering availability, SQL Server services, SQL Server Agent jobs, backup status, storage capacity, and error logs Monitor database performance and investigate blocking, long-running queries, resource bottlenecks, and abnormal database growth Perform routine database maintenance, including index and statistics maintenance, integrity checks, and maintenance job monitoring Manage database access, logins, users, roles, and permissions in accordance with approved access requirements Plan database capacity requirements and coordinate storage expansion with infrastructure teams Provide database support for business-critical enterprise applications Investigate production incidents, perform root cause analysis, and implement corrective and preventive actions Coordinate database maintenance, patching, and infrastructure changes with application owners, vendors, and operational teams Maintain technical documentation, database health reports, recovery procedures, operational runbooks, and change records Participate in after-hours maintenance, on-call support, and major incident escalations Person Specification Possess a Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Networking, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience Have practical experience administering Microsoft SQL Server in enterprise production environments Demonstrate hands-on knowledge of Always On Availability Groups, Windows Server Failover Clustering, transactional replication, and log shipping Possess experience in SQL Server backup and recovery, recovery models, restore testing, and disaster recovery validation Demonstrate the ability to use T-SQL and SQL Server Management Studio for database administration, monitoring, and troubleshooting Have experience with SQL Server Agent jobs, database maintenance, performance monitoring, and capacity management Possess working knowledge of Windows Server administration, Active Directory, storage, and VMware environments supporting SQL Server Demonstrate strong troubleshooting, documentation, communication, and vendor coordination skills Possess the ability to support business-critical services within agreed service levels and change management procedures Relevant Microsoft SQL Server or Azure database certifications will be considered an added advantage Experience supporting logistics, terminal operations, or other continuously operating enterprise environments will be considered an added advantage Experience with enterprise backup platforms such as Commvault, Veeam, or Arcserve will be considered an added advantage Knowledge of PowerShell scripting for administrative automation and reporting will be considered an added advantage Experience coordinating database operations across production and disaster recovery sites will be considered an added advantage