Senior Database Administrator / DBA SME

US Citizenship is required

An active TS/SCI with FS Polygraph is required

DoD 8570 IAT Level II certification is required, such as CompTIA Security+

Senior Database Administrator / DBA SME

DPG is seeking a Senior Database Administrator / DBA SME to support a mission critical customer in a classified environment. This role is best suited for someone who has spent real time supporting operational mission systems, understands the realities of secure infrastructure, and can operate independently as a senior technical resource.

The ideal candidate is not just a database administrator who performs routine maintenance. We are looking for a hands on DBA with strong experience supporting relational database management systems, Linux based environments, database security, automation, troubleshooting, replication, backup and recovery, performance tuning, and operational sustainment. This person will help support, modernize, and improve database services that directly impact mission operations.

Job Description

DPG is hiring a Senior Database Administrator to support mission critical systems in a classified environment. You will work directly with systems engineers, software engineers, security personnel, and mission stakeholders to administer, sustain, troubleshoot, and improve database environments that support operational mission platforms.

This role requires a strong understanding of database administration, backend system integration, Linux command line operations, security compliance, automation, backup and recovery, performance optimization, and database reliability. The selected candidate will support databases that are tightly integrated with applications, infrastructure, storage, networking, and mission services.

What You Will Do

• Administer, sustain, troubleshoot, and improve relational database management systems in a classified mission environment.
• Support database design, configuration, maintenance, performance tuning, patching, backup, recovery, replication, and disaster recovery activities.
• Work with systems engineers, software engineers, DevOps teams, data teams, and security personnel to implement reliable backend database solutions.
• Support database environments that interact with Linux systems, applications, storage, virtualization, network services, and mission platforms.
• Identify and understand customer needs, then translate those needs into secure, reliable, and maintainable database solutions.
• Apply a strong understanding of database principles, theories, and concepts to develop practical design and sustainment solutions.
• Troubleshoot database issues related to performance, availability, replication, disaster recovery, backups, restores, user access, audit logging, and application integration.
• Support database security controls, auditing, compliance requirements, access management, encryption, patching, and system hardening.
• Automate routine database administration tasks where practical to improve consistency, reduce manual effort, and strengthen operational reliability.
• Support integration, testing, deployment, and sustainment activities across production and non production environments.
• Provide operational support for mission platforms, including planned maintenance, incident response, break fix support, and occasional after hours support.
• Document database configurations, procedures, troubleshooting steps, operational processes, and system changes.
• Collaborate with technical teams and mission stakeholders to resolve issues quickly and communicate technical concepts clearly.

Qualifications You Must Have

• 8 or more years of experience in database administration, database engineering, backend data support, or closely related technical work.
• Experience administering relational database management systems in secure, classified, or mission critical environments.
• Experience with relational database management systems such as Oracle, Oracle Exadata, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, or similar enterprise database platforms.
• Experience with Oracle Intelligent Advisor is strongly preferred where applicable to the customer environment.
• Experience working with systems engineers and software engineers to implement, modify, troubleshoot, and sustain backend databases.
• Experience using the Linux command line to perform database administration, troubleshooting, scripting, and operational support activities.
• Experience troubleshooting database issues related to disaster recovery, replication, backups, restores, performance, availability, and application connectivity.
• Experience troubleshooting database performance issues, including query performance, indexing, capacity, and resource utilization.
• Experience supporting database security controls, audit requirements, compliance requirements, user access, logging, encryption, and system hardening.
• Experience automating routine database administration tasks using scripting, job scheduling, or automation tools.
• Strong understanding of database principles, relational database design, SQL, indexing, query performance, data integrity, and operational sustainment.
• Strong analytical, research, troubleshooting, and problem solving skills.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly with engineers, security personnel, leadership, and mission stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize issues, and resolve problems in high visibility environments.
• Ability to support occasional after hours maintenance or operational support when required.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Must have an active TS/SCI clearance with FS Polygraph.
• Must have an active DoD 8570 IAT Level II certification, such as CompTIA Security+.

Qualifications We Prefer

• Experience virtualizing or containerizing databases.
• Existing Security+ certification.
• Experience with AWS.
• Experience with NoSQL database products such as MongoDB and DynamoDB.
• Experience with spatial databases.
• Coding experience with SQL, Python, or Java is helpful.

Desired Skills

• Experience supporting Oracle Exadata in classified or enterprise environments.
• Experience with Oracle Intelligent Advisor.
• Experience with PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MySQL, MongoDB, DynamoDB, or other database technologies.
• Experience with database backup and recovery tools, replication technologies, clustering, high availability, and disaster recovery planning.
• Experience with database monitoring, performance tuning, query optimization, indexing strategies, and capacity planning.
• Experience supporting databases that are tightly coupled to mission applications, DevSecOps pipelines, or operational platforms.
• Experience with scripting or programming languages such as SQL, Python, Java, Bash, Perl, PowerShell, or PL/SQL.
• Experience with automation and configuration management tools such as Ansible, Puppet, Chef, or similar frameworks.
• Experience with AWS, cloud adjacent, or hybrid infrastructure environments.
• Experience with VMware environments, including ESXi and vCenter.
• Experience with Git, Artifactory, Bitbucket, CI/CD tools, Jira, or similar developer and DevOps tools.
• Experience with Kubernetes, Rancher, containerized applications, or modern platform technologies.
• Experience working within Agile or Scrum based delivery environments.
• Experience supporting systems where uptime, security, auditability, and operational reliability are critical.
• Ability to coordinate technical issues across internal teams, external organizations, vendors, and customer stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and troubleshoot problems efficiently.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex technical issues clearly and professionally.

Overview of Benefits

• Company funded 401k Profit Sharing Plan with 25% of base pay deposited every pay period and vested day one of employment.
• All health care benefits and premiums paid by the company, with company HSA contribution.
• Annual Performance bonus.
• 250 hours of PTO with up to 40 hours available to be carried over.
• Biannual company sponsored events for employees and their families.
• Education benefits, including certification reimbursement and tuition reimbursement.