Senior Application DBA - Remote AZ
Job Description
Awarded a Healthiest Employer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona aims to fulfill its mission to inspire health and make it easy. BCBSAZ offers a variety of health insurance products and services to meet the diverse needs of individuals, families, and small and large businesses as well as providing information and tools to help individuals make better health decisions.
This remote work opportunity requires residency, and work to be performed, within the State of Arizona
Responsibilities:
1. Application Database Management: Manage and administer application databases, including installation, configuration, and maintenance of database software in both on-premises SQL environments and Azure.
2. Environment Optimization: Collaborate with application owners to understand their specific requirements and optimize databases across various environments, ensuring optimal performance, scalability, and cost-efficiency.
3. Database and Application Integration: Establish check-points and maintain effective communication between the application owners and the database, ensuring alignment and adherence to specific database guidelines and requirements across different environments.
4. Testing and Performance Tuning: Conduct thorough testing of database configurations in collaboration with application owners, identifying and resolving any issues or bottlenecks to ensure optimal performance.
5. Legacy Application Support: Provide support for legacy applications running on traditional on-premises SQL environments, including versions 2005, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2019.
6. Framework Modeling: Understand and work with application framework models, ensuring their compatibility and effectiveness across different database environments.
7. Reporting and Analytics Support: Collaborate with reporting teams, including Tableau, SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services), SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services), and SAS reporting, to ensure efficient and accurate data retrieval for reporting and analytics purposes.
8. Database Security: Implement and maintain security measures to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of application databases across various environments.
9. Backup and Recovery: Develop and implement backup and recovery strategies specific to each environment, ensuring data integrity and availability in case of system failures or disasters.
10. Data Integration: Collaborate with data integration teams to design and implement efficient data exchange processes between different systems, leveraging integration methods and APIs suitable for the respective environments.
11. Database Documentation: Maintain thorough documentation of database configurations, processes, and procedures across different environments.
12. Troubleshooting and Issue Resolution: Investigate and resolve database-related issues, working closely with application owners, system administrators, and other stakeholders.
13. Continuous Improvement: Identify areas for improvement in database management processes, optimization, and cost-effectiveness, and make recommendations for enhancements.
Requirements:
1. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (or equivalent work experience).
2. Proven experience as an Application DBA, working with complex application databases in both on-premises SQL environments (2005, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2019) and Azure.
3. Strong knowledge and hands-on experience with database optimization and management in various environments.
4. Experience collaborating with application owners to meet specific database guidelines and requirements.
5. Proficiency in database management systems, such as Microsoft SQL Server , Oracle, or MySQL.
6. Experience in framework modeling, understanding the relationship between databases and applications.
7. Familiarity with database performance tuning and optimization techniques.
8. Knowledge of API integration and optimization.
9. Solid understanding of database security principles and best practices.
10. Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
11. Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively in a team environment.
Purpose of the job
Database administration responsibilities that are common to all DBAs in the team. In addition, under minimal supervision educates, advises and supports application development teams to assure compliance with BCBS AZ SQL Server standards. Evangelizes best practices for SQL Server, programming, performance tuning, data modeling, design, development, and documentation based on BCBSAZ corporate policies, industry best practices, and customer-based business requirements.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Required Work Experience
Experience in database administration/development with SQL Server
- Level 1 - 5 years
- Level 2 - 8 years
- Level 3 - 10 years
Experience in advanced database administration/development with SQL Server
- Level 1 - 2 years
- Level 2 - 5 years
- Level 3 - 8 years
Experience leading a SQL Server database administration/development team
- Level 3 - 5 years
Required Education
- High-School Diploma or GED in general field of study (All Levels)
Required Licenses
- N/A
Required Certifications
- N/A
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Preferred Work Experience
Experience in database administration/development with SQL Server
- Level 1 - 5 years
- Level 2 - 8 years
- Level 3 - 10 years
Experience in advanced database administration/development with SQL Server
- Level 1 - 2 years
- Level 2 - 5 years
- Level 3 - 8 years
Experience leading a SQL Server database administration/development team
- Level 3 - 5 years
Preferred Education
- Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business, or related field (All Levels)
- N/A
- MCITP SQL Server 2005 Database Administration and Development
- MCITP SQL Server 2008 Database Administration and Development
- MCSE SQL Server 2012 Data Platform
ESSENTIAL job functions AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Level 1 - Performs job functions under general supervision or peer review
- Collaborate with infrastructure staff to ensure smooth and reliable operation of SQL Server databases and services for fulfilling business objectives and processes.
- Work with executive team members, decision makers, and stakeholders to define business requirements and systems goals, and to identify and resolve business systems issues.
- Support application development teams in the design and deployment of new applications and enhancements to existing applications.
- Research, analyze, track and resolve basic production problems
- Perform instance and security audits, database recovery procedures, and other recovery processes in accordance with the company’s disaster recovery and business continuity strategies.
- Collaborate in the integration of database servers into enterprise systems.
- Ensure system connectivity of all SQL Server instances.
- Coordinate and perform in-depth tests, including end-user reviews, for modified and new systems.
- Monitor and test SQL Server performance; prepare and deliver SQL Server performance statistics and reports.
- Participate on small to medium scoped projects
- Monitor and create priority list(s) that are agreed to by management
Level 2 - Performs job functions with moderate supervision and peer review
- Advises the application development teams in the following:
- design, development, maintenance and enhancement of database and business solutions, including enterprise-level databases, data-marts, and data warehouses
- design and implementation of Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) solutions including SSIS & DTS programming based on BCBSAZ SQL Server database design and implementation standards.
- development of relational and multidimensional SQL database queries
- according to the direction of BCSB AZ Enterprise Architects, Application Architects, and Database Administrators, ensuring that released code efficiently cleans and maintains databases by automated procedures to remove old data.
- development of code for database access, modifications, and constructions including stored procedures.
- the document database applications, server applications, and security policies/procedures, programs, systems, manuals, etc.
- design, implementation and tuning of database schemas.
- design of complex systems, including interfaces, data mapping and metadata.
- formulation of hardware and software requirements.
- development of time estimates and project schedules based on prioritization and business requirements.
Level 3- Performs job functions with minimal supervision and peer review
- Evangelizes SQL Server’s functionality and best practices with application development teams and the SQL Server user community.
- Advises application development teams regarding the architecture of SQL Server services, including the Database Engine, Integration Services, Analysis Services, Reporting Services, Master Data Services, etc.
- As requested by app development teams, collaborates with SQL Server architecture design and code reviews.
- Collaborates with application development teams in discovery and resolution of application performance issues related to SQL Server, including indexing strategy, SSIS package optimization, SSRS report optimization, etc.
- Advises application development teams regarding the deployment of SQL Server artifacts.
- Supports application development teams in best practices for job scheduling with ActiveBatch.
- Discovers, documents, and prepares for transition to application development teams, legacy application processes which currently are considered to be owned by the Database Services team.
- Performs the research necessary to advise clients on SQL Server functionality and best practices
- Provide peer-level review and mentoring to levels 1 and 2
ALL LEVELS
- Each progressive level includes the ability to perform the essential functions of any lower levels and mentor employees in those levels.
- Collectively responsible for the uptime and health of the company’s database environments on a 24 x 7 basis.
- Provides rotating on-call service (FTEs only).
- The position requires a full-time work schedule. Full-time is defined as working at least 40 hours per week, plus any additional hours as requested or as needed to meet business requirements.
- Perform all other duties as assigned
REQUIRED COMPETENCIES
Required Job Skills (Applies to All Levels)
- Intermediate skill in use of office equipment, including copiers, fax machines, scanner and telephones
- Intermediate PC proficiency
- Intermediate proficiency in spreadsheet, database, flow charting, and word processing software
- Working technical knowledge of current software protocols and Internet standards to the extent that they apply to database administration.
- SQL Server skills commesurate with the position’s level.
- Excellent database troubleshooting skills
- Working technical knowledge of PowerShell.
- Knowledge of data privacy practices and laws, including HIPAA regulations related to data security.
Required Professional Competencies (Applies to All Levels)
- Ability to prioritize tasks and work with multiple priorities, sometimes under limited time constraints.
- Perserverance in the face of resistance or setbacks.
- Effective interpersonal skills and ability to maintain positive working relationship with others.
- Verbal and written communication skills and the ability to interact professionally with a diverse group, executives, managers, and subject matter experts.
- Systems research and analysis. Ability to write and present business documentation.
- Experience working with and managing third parties
- Knowledge of business requirements development and user acceptance testing.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality and privacy
- Analytical knowledge necessary to generate reports based on available data and then make decisions based on reported data
Required Leadership Experience and Competencies
- Facilitate and resolve customer requests and inquiries for all levels of management within the Corporation. (Applies to Level 2-3)
- Build synergy with a diverse team in an ever changing environment. (Applies to Level 3)
PREFERRED COMPETENCIES
Preferred Job Skills (Applies to All Levels)
- Advanced proficiency in spreadsheet, database, flow charting, and word processing software
- Advanced expertise in SQL Server services.
- Advanced knowledge of computer operating systems
Preferred Professional Competencies (Applies to All Levels)
- Advanced systems research and analysis expertise
- Impeccable project management skills
- Solid technical ability and problem solving skills
- Knowledge of internal departments and operations
Preferred Leadership Experience and Competencies (Applies to Level 3)
- Ability to provide mentoring and peer review to team members
- Ability to build lesson plans and deliver to team members
Our Commitment
BCBSAZ does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status or any other protected group.
Thank you for your interest in Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. For more information on our company, see azblue.com. If interested in this position, please apply.
Application Instructions
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