Central 1 cooperatively empowers credit unions and other financial institutions to deliver banking choice to Canadians. Central 1 provides critical services at scale to enable a thriving credit union system. We do this by collaborating with our clients, developing strategies, products and services to support the financial well-being of their more than 5 million diverse customers in communities across Canada. For more information, visit www.central1.com .
Job Summary:
Central 1 is seeking an experienced Database Administrator (Production/Systems DBA) to join our Data Engineering team on a 6‑month term. . This is a production-centric role focused on ensuring the stability, performance, security, and high availability of our enterprise Microsoft SQL Server environments. You will serve as a key technical expert responsible for managing mission-critical databases that underpin Central 1's payment and financial services platforms, supporting a SQL Server 2019 environment with an active migration path to SQL Server 2025 and continued expansion into Microsoft Azure.
This role requires deep expertise in enterprise SQL Server administration, multi-region clustering and Always On Availability Groups, query performance tuning, and cloud infrastructure on Microsoft Azure. You will collaborate closely with Architecture, Development, and Operations teams to drive modernization, support version upgrade planning, and ensure robust 24/7 production support across our database estate.
What you’ll be doing:
Production Database Administration & High Availability
- Administer and maintain enterprise Microsoft SQL Server 2019 environments, with active participation in the migration and upgrade to SQL Server 2025.
- Design, implement, and manage high-availability solutions including Always On Availability Groups, Failover Clustering (WSFC), log shipping, and database mirroring to ensure cross-region availability and business continuity.
- Monitor, maintain, and optimize database infrastructure including storage, I/O subsystems, and server configurations to meet performance SLAs.
- Manage backup and recovery strategies aligned to defined RTO/RPO requirements; conduct and validate regular restore testing.
- Administer DBMS security including role-based access control (RBAC), user provisioning, auditing, and compliance with security standards.
- Support release, change, and patch management processes including deployment and rollback execution for database-impacting changes.
Participate in a 24/7 on-call rotation, providing production support and resolving complex, high-priority database incidents within defined SLA windows.
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Performance Tuning & Optimization
- Proactively monitor and tune database performance using tools such as SQL Server Profiler, Query Store, Extended Events, Dynamic Management Views (DMVs), and Azure Monitor.
- Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks through query optimization, index design and maintenance, execution plan analysis, and configuration tuning.
- Establish and maintain performance baselines; conduct capacity planning to support growth and peak load requirements across the database estate.
- Analyze wait statistics, blocking, and deadlock scenarios; implement corrective measures to ensure optimal throughput and concurrency.
- Administer and support Azure SQL database services including Azure SQL Managed Instance and Azure SQL Database, with deep working knowledge of cloud-native tooling and configurations.
- Support and lead database workload migrations from on-premises SQL Server environments to Azure, following established migration methodologies and best practices.
- Leverage Azure tools including Azure Portal, Azure Data Studio, Azure Monitor, and Log Analytics to manage and optimize cloud database environments.
- Implement cloud security controls including Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP), and Azure RBAC to protect sensitive data in cloud environments.
- Collaborate with Architecture to evaluate and recommend Azure database service tiers, sizing, and configurations appropriate to workload requirements.
Architecture Collaboration & Version Management
- Partner with the Architecture team to evaluate SQL Server version upgrade paths, assess feature adoption opportunities, and develop migration roadmaps from SQL Server 2019 to 2025.
- Contribute to the definition and enforcement of database standards, naming conventions, and best practices across the enterprise.
- Assess database architectures for new and existing projects, providing technical guidance on design, performance, scalability, and availability requirements.
Conduct cost-benefit analysis of infrastructure options and present recommendations to technical and business stakeholders.
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Documentation, Automation & Operational Excellence
- Develop and maintain T-SQL and PowerShell scripts to automate routine DBA tasks including health checks, maintenance jobs, alerting, and reporting.
- Create and maintain accurate, up-to-date documentation including database diagrams, runbooks, DR procedures, and change records.
- Provide technical mentorship and guidance to junior DBAs and cross-functional team members on database best practices.
- Identify and advance continuous improvement opportunities across database operations, tooling, and processes.
What You’ll Have:
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- 7+ years of hands-on Microsoft SQL Server DBA experience in an enterprise production environment.
- Deep expertise in SQL Server high availability and disaster recovery technologies: Always On Availability Groups, Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC), log shipping, and replication.
- Strong experience with query performance tuning and optimization using Query Store, Extended Events, Execution Plans, DMVs, and index design strategies.
- Demonstrated experience administering Microsoft Azure database services, specifically Azure SQL Managed Instance and/or Azure SQL Database.
- Proficiency in T-SQL script development for administrative automation, stored procedures, and maintenance workflows.
- Experience with PowerShell scripting for DBA task automation in enterprise Windows environments.
- Solid understanding of SQL Server security models, RBAC, auditing, and encryption (TDE, Always Encrypted).
- Proven experience managing database backup, recovery, and business continuity strategies aligned to defined RTO/RPO targets.
- Experience supporting database release and change management processes including deployment and rollback procedures.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to present technical recommendations to architecture, development, and business stakeholders.
- Availability and willingness to participate in a 24/7 on-call rotation.
Nice to Have
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate (DP-300) or equivalent certification.
- Experience with SQL Server 2022/2025 features and migration from SQL Server 2019.
- Familiarity with Azure Monitor, and Log Analytics for cloud performance monitoring.
- Experience with Infrastructure-as-Code tools (Terraform, Bicep, or ARM templates) for database provisioning in Azure.
- Exposure to DevOps practices and CI/CD pipeline integration for database change management (e.g., Azure DevOps, Flyway, Liquibase).
- Experience with database monitoring platforms such as Redgate SQL Monitor, or similar enterprise tooling such as Sentry One, SolarWinds DPA.
- Familiarity with ITIL practices and enterprise change management frameworks.
- Experience with financial services or regulated industry environments is an asset.
Hourly rate: $80-$90 based on a 35-hour work week
#LI-Hybrid
Central 1 does not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to screen, assess, or select applicants during our recruitment process. This job posting is for an existing, specific vacancy within our organization. All applications will be considered exclusively for the position described in this posting.
Central 1 is an equal opportunity employer and committed to building an inclusive workforce by creating an environment where everyone feels like they belong and has the opportunity to be successful. We welcome all applicants to join our diverse workforce and we will provide an accessible candidate experience including, but not limited to accommodations to interview sites and alternate formats upon request to our Recruitment team.
