Senior DBA (Database Administrator)

Keystone Solutions; Brussel Hoofdstad; Hybrid; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Keystone Solutions seeks a Senior Database Administrator to own the client’s database landscape, ensuring fast, secure and highly available systems, and to lead migrations to Microsoft Azure.

You will work as a Keystone Solutions consultant on site at the client, collaborating with in-house teams and leveraging Keystone’s knowledge base, governance and community.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in database administration in production environments.
• Expertise with Microsoft SQL Server and Azure migrations.
• Experience with HA/DR, Always On and failover clusters.
• Experience deploying and managing databases on Microsoft Azure (Azure SQL DB/Managed Instance/VM).
• Experience migrating databases from on premises to Azure is a plus.
• Experience with PostgreSQL is a plus.
• Led database projects such as version upgrades, consolidations or security hardening.
• Automation experience with PowerShell or Python; CI/CD for DB changes is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Install, configure, and maintain client databases (SQL Server, PostgreSQL) on premises and in Azure.
• Set and maintain standards for configuration, security and integrity of databases and objects.
• Design and run backup, restore and high availability solutions; lead DR tests.
• Plan and execute migration of databases to Azure (Azure SQL DB/Managed Instance/VM).
• Apply least privilege access, encryption, auditing and patch compliance.
• Respond to and resolve database incidents; act as final escalation point.
• Investigate root causes and implement permanent fixes.
• Monitor activity and resource usage; optimize performance and forecast capacity.
• Review designs and schema changes with development teams.

Skills

SQL Server

Query tuning

HA/DR design

Azure SQL Database

Azure SQL Managed Instance

SQL Server on Azure VMs

PowerShell

Python

Automation/CI-CD for DB

English/French/Dutch communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science

Tools

Azure

PostgreSQL

PowerShell

Python

Job description

Mission Overview:

This is a consultancy mission delivered by Keystone Solutions at a client site. Our client is a key player in mobility managing more than 1000 parking lots across 9 European countries. To better serve its 100 million annual customers, the client is transforming to become a more digitally oriented player. To support this undertaking, we are seeking a Senior Database Administrator who will, as a Keystone Solutions consultant, take ownership of the client’s current database landscape, keep it fast, secure and available, and help migrate it from the client’s data centres to Microsoft Azure.

Consultancy Model at Keystone Solutions:

• You will be employed by Keystone Solutions and operate as a consultant, working primarily on site at the client location and in close collaboration with their teams.
• Your mission is to deliver impact within the client’s environment while leveraging Keystone Solutions’ knowledge base, coaching and community.
• You will follow Keystone governance for quality, documentation and knowledge sharing, and you will represent Keystone Solutions’ values in every engagement.

Key Responsibilities:

• Installation, configuration and maintenance: Install, configure, upgrade, administer, monitor and maintain the client’s databases, mainly Microsoft SQL Server and some PostgreSQL, on premises and in Azure.
• Standards and documentation: Set and maintain standards for the configuration, security and integrity of databases and database objects, ensure conformance, and keep procedures and documentation up to date.
• High availability and recovery: Design and run backup, restore and high availability solutions, and lead regular disaster recovery tests.
• Cloudification: Assess, plan and execute the migration of databases to Microsoft Azure, Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance or SQL Server on Azure VMs, together with the client’s in house Azure team.
• Security: Apply least privilege access, encryption at rest and in transit, auditing and patch compliance.
• Incident management: Respond to and resolve database incidents and service requests, ensuring minimal downtime, and act as the final escalation point.
• Root cause analysis: Investigate database problems thoroughly and implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
• Performance and capacity: Monitor database activity and resource usage, optimize performance, and forecast capacity and cost.
• Design support: Review database designs and schema changes with development teams.

All of the above will be performed as a Keystone Solutions consultant working closely with the client’s stakeholders, operations and development teams.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Takes responsibility for the performance, availability and security of the database platforms.
• Develops and maintains standards, procedures and automation for database administration, on premises and in the cloud.
• Plans and leads database migrations, including assessment, testing, cut over and rollback.
• Ensures that backup, recovery and high availability arrangements meet business requirements, and that they are tested.
• Advises the business and project teams on database technologies, cloud options, risks and costs.
• Ensures that data management practices for data quality, retention, classification and access control are applied.
• Investigates and resolves complex database problems, and drives permanent fixes. < /li>
• Shares knowledge, coaches colleagues and keeps documentation and runbooks up to date.

Experience and Technical Skills:

• You have at least 7 years of practical experience in database administration in mission critical production environments, with Microsoft SQL Server as a core skill.
• You have strong SQL skills and experience with query tuning and execution plan analysis.
• You have hands on experience designing and running HA or DR solutions such as Always On availability groups and failover clusters.
• You have hands on experience deploying and managing databases on Microsoft Azure, Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance or SQL Server on Azure VMs.
• Experience migrating databases from on premises to Azure is a strong plus.
• Experience with PostgreSQL is a plus.
• You have led database projects such as version upgrades, consolidations or security hardening.
• You can automate tasks with PowerShell or Python. Experience with infrastructure as code or CI or CD for database changes is a plus.

Education and Soft Skills:

• You hold a bachelor's degree in computer science or an IT related discipline, or have equivalent professional experience. Certifications are a plus, for example Microsoft Azure Database Administrator Associate or ITIL.
• You are fluent in spoken and written English and in French or Dutch.
• You have excellent verbal and written communication skills, and can advise managers and project teams clearly on risks, options and costs.
• You are willing to ask difficult questions.
• You have a customer centric approach.
• You are conscientious and methodical when working on production systems.
• You can work independently and as part of a team.
• You are a quick learner with strong organisational skills.
• You are professional, transparent and solutions minded, with a positive mindset.

Role Specific Consultancy Opportunities:

• Apply your SQL Server and Azure expertise across complex hybrid environments, accelerating the client’s cloud adoption while ensuring resilience and cost effectiveness.
• Shape and enforce database standards that scale across multiple applications and teams, balancing security, performance and developer velocity.
• Lead hands on HA or DR designs and disaster recovery testing that meet strict uptime targets.
• Coach client teams, uplift their capabilities and leave a durable operational footprint through automation, documentation and runbooks.

Consultancy Advantages at Keystone Solutions:

• Consultancy nature of work: Operate on site with clients as a Keystone Solutions consultant, embedded with their teams while backed by Keystone’s senior experts and peer community.
• Dynamic projects: Tackle diverse challenges, from on premises to Azure migrations to HA architectures and performance engineering, across varied client contexts.
• Turbo charged learning and development: Access tailored training paths, certifications, mentoring, knowledge sharing sessions and time for continuous improvement.
• Ambition skyrocketing within a consultancy framework: Build a high impact portfolio of client successes, progress through clear career paths and shape your specialization in data platforms and cloud.

Keystone Solutions Values in Action:

• Client impact first, always focus on measurable outcomes and reliability.
• Craftsmanship and accountability, deliver secure, maintainable and well documented solutions.
• Teamwork and knowledge sharing, act as a K Stone by elevating every engagement through collaboration and transparency.
• Curiosity and integrity, challenge assumptions, ask the hard questions and do the right thing for long term value.