Senior DBA- Techno Functional Role

We are seeking an experienced and technically strong DBA Lead to provide strategic and operational leadership to the Database Administration team at Cognizant. The ideal candidate brings deep hands-on expertise in Microsoft SQL Server administration, combined with proven people management, stakeholder engagement, and service delivery capabilities. This is a Techno Functional role that requires an individual who can operate confidently at both a technical and leadership level - driving best practices, managing vendor and contractor performance, and ensuring high-quality DBA services across a complex enterprise environment.

Salary and Other Compensation:

The annual salary for this position is between $99,000 to $113,000 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

This position is also eligible for Cognizant's discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant's applicable plans.

In this role, you will

Leadership & Team Management

• Provide day-to-day leadership for the DBA team, identifying work priorities, managing workloads, and ensuring timely task execution.

• Foster a healthy, collaborative, and team-oriented work environment built on trust, accountability, and mutual respect.

• Clarify performance expectations and help team members achieve success through coaching, mentoring, and timely feedback.

• Recognize accomplishments and apply appropriate disciplinary action when required, in line with applicable HR policies.

• Ensure team adherence to standard DBA practices, policies, and Cognizant delivery frameworks.

• Facilitate timely communication of organizational messages, issues, and decisions to all team members.

Client & Stakeholder Engagement

• Develop and maintain cordial, effective partnerships with business area stakeholders and other IS employee-partners.

• Ensure business area satisfaction through regular interaction, proactive communication, and expectation management.

• Develop a shared understanding of service level expectations with business areas; regularly review service delivery performance and work collaboratively to close any gaps.

• Collaborate effectively with other IS teams and resources to deliver integrated, end-to-end solutions.

Vendor & Contractor Management

• Supervise vendor and contractor performance, ensuring delivery is competent and aligned with contractual terms and conditions.

• Monitor contractor service billings for accuracy; review statements of work regularly and escalate discrepancies as needed.

• Ensure appropriate internal and external resources are in place to meet delivery expectations at all times.

• Oversee timely implementation of vendor-supplied patches and new releases in line with change management processes.

Service Delivery & Operational Excellence

• Ensure Cognizant best practices are followed for the delivery, implementation, and maintenance of all DBA infrastructure and services.

• Apply critical thinking and project management discipline in day-to-day execution and resource and workload planning.

• Ensure timely correction of bugs, vendor-supplied patches, and new releases related to DBA infrastructure.

• Ensure appropriate training and knowledge transfer takes place within the team to maintain and grow delivery capability.

• Monitor team performance against SLAs and work cross-functionally to address service gaps in a cost-effective and timely manner.

• Approximately 10 years of related experience, including management and operation of enterprise DBA services and DBA infrastructure.

• Demonstrated experience managing, coaching, and mentoring a team of database administrators.

• Proven track record managing vendor relationships, contractor performance, and service billings.

• Experience working in complex enterprise environments with strict SLA and change management requirements.

• Good working knowledge of ITSM processes, specifically Incident Management and Change Management.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to engage both technical teams and non-technical business stakeholders.

• Proven ability to work independently while managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced enterprise support environment.

Technical Skills

Strong hands-on expertise across the following technical areas:

• SQL Server Administration (Core) - all levels:

o SQL Server health checks, session monitoring, and error log analysis

o Login, user, and permissions management

o Database objects, Dynamic Management Views (DMVs), and alert monitoring and resolution

• Database Backup & Restore - all levels:

o Full, differential, and transaction log backup strategies

o Restore procedures including point-in-time recovery and backup validation

• SQL Server Agent Jobs - all levels:

o Job creation, scheduling, failure diagnosis, and notification configuration

• T-SQL and PowerShell Scripting - all levels:

o Writing and optimizing T-SQL scripts for administration and data tasks

o PowerShell automation for routine DBA workflows

• Database Encryption - L2/L3:

o Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), certificate management, and key rotation

• SQL Server Patching - L2/L3, o Log Shipping, Database Mirroring, and Always On Availability Groups (AG)

o Failover procedures, health monitoring, and listener configuration

• SQL Server Replication - L2/L3:

o Transactional, Snapshot, and Merge replication - setup, monitoring, and troubleshooting

• Linked Servers, SPN & Kerberos Delegation - L2/L3:

o Linked server configuration, SPN registration, and constrained delegation troubleshooting

• Microsoft Azure SQL & Azure IaaS - preferred:

o Azure SQL Database, SQL on Azure VMs, and Azure SQL Managed Instance

o Azure Monitor, Azure Backup, and Azure Advisor for database workloads

Preferred Skills

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate

• Microsoft Certified: SQL Server - MCSA / MCSE Data Management & Analytics

• ITIL Foundation Certification

Benefits: Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off

• 401(k) plan and contributions

• Long-term/Short-term Disability

• Paid Parental Leave

• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Please note, this role is not able to offer visa transfer or sponsorship now or in the future

Work model:

At Cognizant, we strive to provide flexibility wherever possible, and we are here to support a healthy work-life balance though our various wellbeing programs. Based on this role's business requirements, this is a remote position in USA.

The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you're engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations.