SQL Cluster Administrator / Engineer

SQL Cluster Administrator / Engineer
Remote/Contract position

Must-Have Requirements

1. Hands-on experience administering Microsoft SQL Server in production environments
2. Proven experience designing, configuring, and supporting SQL Server Failover Clusters (FCI)
3. Strong knowledge of Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC)
4. Experience managing high availability and disaster recovery (HA/DR) solutions (Failover Clustering, Always On Availability Groups, or Log Shipping)
5. Expertise in SQL performance tuning, indexing strategies, and query optimization
6. Strong T-SQL skills for troubleshooting, monitoring, and automation
7. Experience with SQL Server backups, restores, patching, and upgrades
8. Understanding of storage architecture (SAN, shared storage, IOPS, latency considerations)
9. Ability to monitor, troubleshoot, and resolve cluster failovers and node issues
10. Experience implementing security best practices (permissions, encryption, auditing)

Nice-to-Have / Preferred

1. Experience with SQL Server Always On Availability Groups in addition to FCI
2. Exposure to Azure SQL, Azure VM???based SQL clusters
3. PowerShell scripting for automation and monitoring
4. Experience with monitoring tools (SSMS, SCOM, Redgate, SolarWinds, etc.)
5. Knowledge of data replication and reporting solutions
6. Microsoft SQL Server certifications (MCSA, MCSE, or equivalent)

Soft Skills

1. Strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills
2. Ability to work in high-availability, mission-critical environments
3. Clear communication with infrastructure, application, and business teams
4. Documentation and change management discipline
5. Ability to support on-call or after-hours maintenance windows as needed