Senior MS SQL Server Administrator

Senior MS SQL Server Administrator
General Dallas , Texas 10403 Sep 2, 2026

Buchanan Technologies is seeking a Senior Microsoft SQL Server Administrator to support a client environment in the Dallas - Fort Worth area. This is a hands-on, security-focused DBA role responsible for strengthening the security posture of enterprise SQL Server environments while supporting a major modernization initiative.

The successful candidate will lead database vulnerability remediation efforts and help plan, test, and execute the upgrade of existing SQL Server 2016 environments to SQL Server 2025
. This role requires a strong combination of traditional SQL Server administration, production support, database security, vulnerability remediation, and upgrade/migration experience.

The ideal candidate is a senior-level DBA who is comfortable working in enterprise production environments, collaborating with infrastructure and security teams, and driving remediation activities from identification through validation and closure.

• Administer and support Microsoft SQL Server environments in enterprise and highly available production environments.
• Lead SQL Server vulnerability assessment, remediation, and security-hardening activities.
• Review vulnerability findings and prioritize remediation efforts based on risk, CVE severity, operational impact, and established remediation SLAs.
• Apply SQL Server patches, cumulative updates, security updates, and configuration changes.
• Identify and remediate insecure SQL Server configurations and unsupported components.
• Review and remediate excessive database and server-level permissions.
• Evaluate privileged accounts, service accounts, authentication methods, and access controls.
• Implement and maintain database encryption, auditing, logging, and security controls.
• Perform access reviews and support privileged access remediation initiatives.
• Plan, test, and execute SQL Server upgrades and migrations, including the transition from SQL Server 2016 to SQL Server 2025.
• Develop upgrade plans, rollback procedures, testing strategies, and implementation documentation.
• Validate application compatibility, database performance, integrations, and availability before and after upgrades.
• Troubleshoot database performance, availability, connectivity, and security-related issues.
• Partner with cybersecurity, infrastructure, application, and operations teams to resolve database vulnerabilities.
• Participate in formal change management and incident response processes.
• Document remediation actions, security configurations, upgrade procedures, risks, and validation results.
• Ensure SQL Server environments remain stable, secure, performant, and compliant with organizational standards.

• 7+ years of Microsoft SQL Server DBA experience supporting enterprise or highly available production environments.
• 3+ years of hands-on SQL Server security and vulnerability remediation experience.
• Demonstrated experience with:
• Vulnerability scanning and remediation
• SQL Server patching and security updates
• Access and permissions reviews
• Privileged access remediation
• Service account security
• SQL authentication and Windows authentication
• Security validation and remediation verification
• 2+ years of experience planning, testing, and executing SQL Server upgrades or migrations in production environments.
• Experience remediating database security findings involving excessive permissions, insecure configurations, unsupported components, authentication, encryption, and auditing.
• Working knowledge of CVE prioritization, vulnerability management, remediation SLAs, and security documentation.
• Strong understanding of database backup, recovery, availability, performance, and production support practices.
• Experience working within structured change management and incident management processes.
• Strong troubleshooting, documentation, and communication skills.

• Experience working with one or more recognized security or compliance frameworks, including:
• NIST
• PCI DSS
• HIPAA
• SOX
• ISO 27001
• Additional experience with enterprise security teams, vulnerability management platforms, highly available SQL Server environments, or large-scale SQL Server modernization initiatives is highly desirable.

This position is best suited for a hands-on senior DBA with a strong security mindset
. Candidates should be able to demonstrate specific examples of identifying and remediating SQL Server vulnerabilities—not simply supporting databases in a traditional DBA capacity.

Strong candidates will be able to discuss:

• Security vulnerabilities they personally remediated
• SQL Server hardening techniques they implemented
• Privileged access or permissions issues they resolved
• Patching strategies for production SQL environments
• SQL Server upgrades or migrations they led
• Methods used to validate successful remediation
• Experience balancing security requirements with application availability and…