SQL DBA - Security Cleared

SQL DBA - High Level Clearance

Location: Basingstoke - Onsite Clearance: Active UK DV Clearance - Essential Contract: Contract IR35: Outside IR35

Rate: 550 to 600 per day

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced DV Cleared SQL Database Administrator (DBA) to provide operational support and administration across a secure and business-critical SQL Server environment.

The successful candidate will be responsible for the availability, performance, security, backup and recovery of SQL Server databases, working within a highly secure Defence environment.

This is a hands-on role requiring strong technical SQL Server expertise, together with experience supporting complex enterprise environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day SQL Server DBA and operational support across production and non-production environments.

• Perform database administration, configuration, maintenance and troubleshooting.

• Manage backup and recovery , including backup strategies, restores and recovery testing.

• Monitor and optimise SQL Server performance , identifying bottlenecks and implementing tuning improvements.

• Support and maintain High Availability (HA) solutions and database resilience.

• Contribute to Disaster Recovery (DR) planning, testing and implementation.

• Implement and maintain database security controls , access management and security automation.

• Develop and maintain monitoring, alerting and health-check processes.

• Troubleshoot database incidents and provide technical resolution within agreed SLAs.

• Develop and maintain T-SQL scripts for administration, automation, reporting and troubleshooting.

• Use PowerShell to automate database administration and operational tasks.

• Support patching, upgrades, configuration changes and database maintenance activities.

• Produce and maintain technical documentation, procedures and operational runbooks.

• Work closely with infrastructure, application and security teams to ensure reliable and secure database services.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Active UK DV Clearance - essential.

• Strong commercial experience as a SQL Server DBA .

• Extensive experience administering Microsoft SQL Server in enterprise environments.

• Strong knowledge of backup and recovery strategies and processes.

• Proven experience in SQL Server performance tuning and optimisation .

• Experience with High Availability and Disaster Recovery technologies and methodologies.

• Strong T-SQL development and scripting skills.

• Good PowerShell scripting and automation experience.

• Experience with database monitoring, alerting and troubleshooting.

• Strong understanding of database security, permissions and access controls.

• Experience providing operational/production support in a complex IT environment.

• Ability to diagnose and resolve complex database incidents and performance issues.

Desirable

• Experience working within Defence, Government or other highly secure environments .

• Experience automating DBA and security processes.

• Experience supporting highly available, mission-critical SQL Server environments.

• Knowledge of infrastructure, networking and application dependencies within enterprise environments.

• Experience with SQL Server clustering, Always On Availability Groups or similar HA technologies.

• Familiarity with ITIL-based operational support and change management processes.