Principal Database Administrator

Aderant North America, Inc.; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Aderant is seeking a Principal Database Administrator to lead SQL Server architecture, HA/DR, and multi‑tenant resilience across Sierra cloud operations. This senior, hands‑on role requires ownership of design decisions and direct engagement with client‑side DBAs to maintain robust database platforms.

You will mentor the DBA team, drive incident analysis, and optimize performance at scale while ensuring security and reliability across global tenants.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of hands‑on SQL Server DBA experience (2016+).
• Experience with Always On Availability Groups and Distributed AGs.
• Strong design, admin, and performance troubleshooting skills.
• Proficient in T-SQL, SSMS, and SQL Server Agent.
• Proven DR/backup architecture with multi‑tenant environments.
• Experience with CDC and transactional replication.
• Cloud experience on AWS and Azure preferred.
• Automation using PowerShell and Ansible.
• Mentor/guide other engineers; strong client communication.

Responsibilities

• Act as technical authority for SQL Server operations, HA, DR, and replication across Sierra platform.
• Lead root‑cause analysis for complex incidents and drive remediation.
• Make architecture tradeoffs and identify systemic risks.
• Design and maintain Always On and cross‑region topologies; DR validation.
• Own CDC lifecycle management and teardown/reinstatement during upgrades.
• Engage with client DBAs and IT teams for data integration and migrations.
• Monitor and tune performance across a multi‑tenant environment.
• Ensure security, integrity, and availability of tenant databases.
• Build automation for routine DBA tasks (PowerShell, Ansible).
• Create architecture standards and documentation for the DBA team.
• Collaborate on service delivery within a global operations team.

Skills

SQL Server

Always On AGs

Disaster Recovery

CDC

T-SQL

PowerShell

Ansible

Mentoring

Communication

Client engagement

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in CS/IT

Tools

SSMS

SQL Server Agent

PowerShell Scripting

Job description

Aderant is a global industry leading software company providing comprehensive business management solutions for law firms and other professional services organizations with a mission to help them run a better business. We are motivated by a collective desire to drive the legal industry to the forefront of innovation. With over 2,500 clients around the world, including 95 of the top AmLaw 100 firms, we are changing the outside perception of the legal sphere; where there was once resistance to modernization, we are creating a culture that embraces new ideas and technology. At Aderant, the “A” is more than just a letter. It is a representation of how we fulfill our foundational purpose, serving our clients. It embodies our core values and reminds us that to achieve success, every day must start with the “A”. We bring the “A” to life by fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and personal growth. We encourage our diverse teams to bring their whole selves to work – ideas, experience, and passion – to drive our mission forward. Our people are our strength.

Aderant is seeking a Principal Database Administrator to serve as the technical authority for SQL Server architecture, high availability, and disaster recovery across our Sierra cloud operations environment. This is a senior, hands‑on role: you will own the design decisions behind our multi‑tenant database platform's resilience, lead the DBA team's technical depth through collaboration and knowledge transfer, and serve as the escalation point for our most complex database challenges — including direct engagement with client‑side DBA and IT teams, whose SQL Server environments. This is an excellent opportunity to shape database operations strategy for a cutting‑edge global software company at cloud scale.

Responsibilities:

• Serves as the DBA team's technical authority for SQL Server operations, high availability, disaster recovery and replication architecture across the Sierra platform
• Acts as the escalation point for complex or high‑severity SQL Server incidents, leading root‑cause analysis and remediation (connectivity loss, memory pressure, blocking/deadlocks, storage exhaustion)
• Exercises independent judgment on architectural tradeoffs (e.g., edition‑aware maintenance strategy, recovery‑chain integrity) and proactively identifies systemic risk before it becomes an incident
• Design, configure, and maintain SQL Server Always On Availability Groups and Distributed Availability Groups across the Sierra tenant fleet, including DR read‑node validation and cross‑region replica topology
• Own transactional replication and Change Data Capture (CDC) lifecycle management, including coordinated teardown and reinstatement around client upgrade and go‑live events
• Serve as the direct technical point of contact with client‑side DBA and IT teams on complex data integration, migration, and cutover activities
• Monitor and tune database performance (queries, indexes, resource usage) at scale across a multi‑tenant environment
• Ensure database security, integrity, stability, and system availability across the tenant fleet
• Build and maintain automation (PowerShell, Ansible) for routine and complex database maintenance tasks
• Create and maintain architecture‑level documentation, standards, and procedures for the DBA team
• Collaborate on service delivery within a global operations team undefined

Skills & Qualifications:

• 7+ years of hands‑on experience as a SQL Server DBA (2016 or later versions), with demonstrated ownership at a principal or lead level
• Deep expertise in SQL Server Always On Availability Groups and Distributed Availability Groups — design, configuration, and troubleshooting
• Strong database design and administration skills
• Proficient in T‑SQL, SSMS, and SQL Server Agent
• Proven disaster recovery and backup architecture experience, including recovery‑chain integrity across full/differential/log backup strategies
• Advanced database troubleshooting, tuning, and performance triage experience
• Experience with transactional replication and Change Data Capture (CDC)
• Experience with MSSQL on cloud platforms (AWS and Azure preferably)
• Experience leveraging PowerShell, and ideally Ansible, for DBA automation at scale
• Solid understanding of version control systems (e.g., git) for managing operational scripts
• Demonstrated ability to mentor and upskill other engineers
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including direct client/firm‑facing technical engagement
• Ability to convey technical content clearly to audiences with varying levels of technical depth
• Ability to balance multiple deliverables with prioritization and responsiveness in a fast‑moving environment
• Experience with any of the following is a plus:
• Experience with SQL Server Reporting Services
• Experience with SQL Server Integration Services
• Agile Software Development including Scrum
• Microsoft Certifications (SQL, DBA, etc.)

Aderant is a global industry leading software company providing comprehensive business management solutions for law firms and other professional services organizations with a mission to help them run a better business. We are motivated by a collective desire to drive the legal industry to the forefront of innovation. With over 2,500 clients around the world, including 95 of the top AmLaw 100 firms, we are changing the outside perception of the legal sphere; where there was once resistance to modernization, we are creating a culture that embraces new ideas and technology. At Aderant, the “A” is more than just a letter. It is a representation of how we fulfill our foundational purpose, serving our clients. It embodies our core values and reminds us that to achieve success, every day must start with the “A”. We bring the “A” to life by fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and personal growth. We encourage our diverse teams to bring their whole selves to work – ideas, experience, and passion – to drive our mission forward. Our people are our strength.