Senior Database Administrator (Sr DBA) - Hybrid (Memphis, TN (need on-site two days))

Senior Database Administrator (Sr DBA)
Location: Memphis, TN (need on-site two days)
Type: Contract
Rate: DOE

We are seeking a hands-on Senior Database Administrator with deep expertise in on-premises database technologies and a proven track record of migrating complex workloads to Microsoft Azure. This role is central to our cloud transformation programme — you will be the technical authority on all database matters, from assessing and re-engineering existing schemas to delivering fully operational cloud-native database solutions.
You will work closely with application owners, architects, and DevOps teams to ensure migrations are delivered with zero data loss, minimal downtime, and optimised performance in the target environment.

Key Responsibilities
Database Migration & Cloud Adoption

• Lead end-to-end migration of on-premises databases to Azure, covering SQL Server to Azure SQL / Managed Instance, Oracle to Azure Database for PostgreSQL, MySQL and other RDBMS platforms to their Azure equivalents.
• Conduct pre-migration assessments using tools such as Azure Database Migration Service (DMS), Database Experimentation Assistant (DEA), and SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA).
• Develop and execute detailed migration plans including cutover strategies, rollback procedures, and post-migration validation protocols.
• Identify and resolve compatibility issues, deprecated features, and schema incompatibilities between source and target platforms.

Data Modelling & Database Design

• Design and review logical and physical data models for new and migrated applications, ensuring scalability, integrity, and performance.
• Establish and enforce database design standards, naming conventions, and normalisation/denormalisation best practices.
• Collaborate with developers and architects to design schemas that align with application requirements and cloud-native patterns (e.g., multi-tenancy, sharding, CQRS).
• Evaluate and recommend appropriate Azure database services for different workloads — Azure SQL Database, Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Synapse, etc.