Senior Database Administrator

At[EZCORP](https://himalayas.app/companies/ezcorp)we are a growing team focused on creating and changing the pawn industry as we know it today. We believe that our platform enabled lending and e-commerce solutions will revolutionize our ability to attract, engage and service our customers across the United States, Mexico and Latin America. Join us now for an opportunity to be a part of a team that wants to provide access to short-term cash for every person – everywhere! ### The Company: Founded in Austin in 1989, [EZCORP](https://himalayas.app/companies/ezcorp) has grown into a leading provider of pawn loans in the United States, Mexico and Latin America. We are dedicated to satisfying the short-term cash needs of consumers who are both cash and credit constrained and providing an industry-leading customer experience. ### What’s in it for you: Ground Floor opportunity with [EZCORP](https://himalayas.app/companies/ezcorp), a company with a start-up, purpose-driven mentality where innovative and agile problem solving are part of our DNA along with competitive compensation and benefits. ### Address: Ciudad de Mexico This role is responsible for the design, administration, reliability, performance, and security of Azure-based SQL Server environments, while also owning key Data Engineering and data platform responsibilities that enable trusted, automated, and well-governed data pipelines. The position requires traditional DBA ownership and deep expertise in SQL Server administration, performance optimization and database design combine with modern cloud engineering practice - automation, CI/CD, testing, and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) to ensure highly available, scalable, and compliant data systems. The role supports both production and non-production environments and plays a critical part in on-call operations, proactive monitoring, incident prevention, and continuous improvement across databases and the broader data platform. ### ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES: ### Database Administration (Azure SQL & SQL Server) * Administer and support ~30 SQL Server IaaS virtual machines hosted on Azure, including production and non-production workloads. * Manage and maintain 2 high-availability SQL Server clusters, ensuring uptime, failover readiness, and business continuity. * Administer ~20 Azure SQL PaaS logical servers hosting multiple elastic pools, including Business Critical, General Purpose, and 7 Azure SQL Managed Instances supporting enterprise workloads. * Manage and optimize Azure SQL elastic pools containing multiple Azure SQL databases per pool. * Perform routine DBA activities including: * Performance tuning and query optimization * Index and statistics maintenance * Capacity planning and cost optimization * Backup, restore, and disaster recovery testing * Security configuration, access management, and compliance ### High Availability, Disaster Recovery & Replication * Design, maintain, and validate high availability and disaster recovery (HA/DR) strategies across IaaS and PaaS SQL environments. * Support production and non-production replication from a monolithic source database using Attunity Replicate (Qlik). * Ensure data consistency, replication health, and timely recovery across replicated systems. * Collaborate with application, reporting, and analytics teams to meet data availability SLAs. ### Monitoring, Alerting & On-Call Operations * Design, implement, and maintain comprehensive monitoring and alerting solutions across SQL platforms. * Maintain alerting via: * SQL Server Agent jobs * Ability to pinpoint KPIs with SQL PI tools like Foglight. * Azure Monitor and Azure Alerts (per resource) * Develop and maintain PowerShell-based monitoring scripts running on virtual machines to: * Detect Azure resource thresholds and capacity risks * Identify performance and availability conditions * Trigger alerts for proactive issue prevention * Integrate alerting with PagerDuty for critical on-call notifications and email-based warnings for non-critical events. * Participate in on-call rotations and lead incident response, root cause analysis, and post-incident remediation. ### Automation, CI/CD & Infrastructure as Code * Use Terraform to deploy, standardize, and maintain Azure SQL resources, alerting configurations, and monitoring baselines. * Maintain data platform infrastructure and pipeline deployment assets using Terraform modules (e.g., providers, variables, constraints, private endpoints, IAM patterns). * Support continuous delivery by maintaining Azure DevOps YAML pipelines for build, test, and deployment workflows. * Enforce engineering standards via repository governance practices (PR templates, pre-commit hooks, linting/validation, documentation). * Continuously improve operational efficiency through scripting, automation, and self-healing solutions. ### Data Engineering & Data Platform Responsibilities * Own and maintain enterprise data platform repositories and assets spanning Azure Data Factory (ADF) pipeline definitions, Databricks job code (Python), configuration, and deployment artifacts. * Build, maintain, and support modular data pipelines across domains (e.g., bronze synchronization, backoffice processing, parity checks, cart processing, and curation). * Develop and support Python-based transformation and business-rule logic executed as Databricks jobs (including transaction processing such as items, loans, layaways, sales, purchases, and related event handling). * Maintain and extend automated unit, component, and integration test suites and associated test datasets to validate pipeline correctness and prevent regressions. * Support data quality validation and reconciliation activities (e.g., parity checks, duplicate handling, expected vs. actual output validation). * Maintain technical documentation (README files, environment setup, pipeline documentation) to support onboarding, operational readiness, and auditability. **Architecture, Governance & Modernization (Current & Future Expectations)** * Develop a strong understanding of application data flows and business logic to better support production stability, data correctness, and platform evolution. * Partner with stakeholders to drive data governance initiatives, including standardization, ownership clarity, and reduction of data sprawl. * Contribute to database consolidation and redesign efforts, including analysis and planning to consolidate multiple Azure SQL databases into a governed target model to improve maintainability, performance, and cost. * Participate in design reviews, data model discussions, and migration planning to ensure consolidation is safe, scalable, and aligned with application requirements. ### EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE: ### Required Experience * 8+ years of hands-on experience as a Database Administrator with Microsoft SQL Server * 5+ years of T-SQL development and performance optimization experience * 3+ years of experience with database schema design, refactoring, and modernization * 2+ years of experience with Azure cloud services * Demonstrated experience optimizing databases supporting high-transaction OLTP systems * Proven track record of successfully tuning poorly performing databases and queries * Experience with code review processes and mentoring development teams * Willingness to grow expertise in modern data platforms (essential) * Strong expertise in SQL Server administration (IaaS and PaaS) * Hands-on experience with: * Azure SQL Database (Single, Elastic Pools) * Azure SQL Business Critical and General Purpose tiers * SQL Server Failover Clustering and/or Always On technologies * Experience with Azure infrastructure and services * Proficiency in PowerShell scripting for automation and monitoring * Monitoring and alerting experience with tools such as Foglight, Azure Monitor, and custom solutions ### Preferred Experience * 2+ years of data engineering or ETL/ELT development experience * Experience with Terraform and Infrastructure as Code practices * Experience implementing medallion architecture or lakehouse patterns * Hands-on experience with Databricks and Azure Data Factory * Experience with Microsoft Fabric in production environments * Background in migrating on-premises databases to cloud platforms * Experience with DevOps practices for database deployments * Experience in regulated industries with compliance requirements * Exposure to real-time data streaming (Event Hubs, Kafka) * Experience with data governance tools and frameworks * Experience with Azure DevOps CI/CD using YAML pipelines for automated testing and deployment. * Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, or related technical field required * Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, or related field preferred * Equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered ### Professional Certifications ### Highly Desirable: * Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate * Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate * Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate or Professional ### Additional Valuable Certifications: * Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert * Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE): Data Management and Analytics * ITIL Foundation (for change management processes) ### [EZCORP](https://himalayas.app/companies/ezcorp) is an Equal Opportunity Employer Originally posted on [Himalayas](https://himalayas.app)