Database Administration Manager — Hybrid & Cloud SQL

Kirkland & Ellis; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 153,000 - 191,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

Paid time off

Retirement plan

Learning & development opportunities

Job summary

Kirkland & Ellis is seeking a Database Administration Manager in Chicago to lead the firm‑wide DBA team and oversee on‑prem and cloud SQL Server environments. You will drive incident response, architecture, upgrades, and security across critical systems.

The role requires strong leadership, deep SQL Server expertise, and collaboration with IT partners to ensure resilient, scalable databases and data protection across the firm.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field.
• 5–7 years of database administration experience with Microsoft SQL Server.
• 1–3 years of supervisory or team leadership experience.
• Experience with on‑premises and cloud SQL environments (Azure/AWS).
• Strong Transact‑SQL, SSIS, SSRS scripting and administration skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor the DBA team, fostering professional growth.
• Direct major database incidents and root‑cause analysis.
• Oversee scalable database architecture and data modeling.
• Plan upgrades, patches, and migrations with minimal downtime.
• Monitor and optimize performance across SQL Server environments.
• Maintain backups, DR, and failover processes for resilience.
• Develop and enforce database security policies and SOPs.
• Collaborate with IT teams to integrate databases with apps and infra.

Skills

People leadership

Communication

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Microsoft SQL Server

Azure SQL Database

AWS RDS for SQL Server

SSIS/SSRS

PowerShell

Idera

Redgate

SentryOne

Job description

Kirkland & Ellis is seeking a Database Administration Manager in Chicago to lead the firm‑wide DBA team and oversee on‑prem and cloud SQL Server environments. You will drive incident response, architecture, upgrades, and security across critical systems.

The role requires strong leadership, deep SQL Server expertise, and collaboration with IT partners to ensure resilient, scalable databases and data protection across the firm.