Lead SQL Server DBA - Freelancer (Remote)

Company Description

Aarohaan Sales and Services is focused on delivering specialized services to organizations operating in niche sectors. The company’s core motto is to help companies and small businesses grow in specific, high-impact areas of their business operations. Aarohaan believes in partnering for success, supporting clients through end-to-end cycles while minimizing their operational effort. The team collaborates closely with small firms to expand their business reach and improve performance. Key service areas include recruitment and hiring, channel partnerships, sales and services of products, and personnel management.

Job Title: Senior SQL Server Database Administrator (SQL Server 2014 → 2025 Migration)

Key Responsibilities & Requirements:

• Lead and execute the end-to-end migration of SQL Server 2014 environments to SQL Server 2025, including planning, execution, and post-migration validation.
• Demonstrate hands-on experience with at least one prior SQL Server major-version migration project (ideally spanning multiple versions), with the ability to walk through the approach, timeline, tools used, and lessons learned.
• Assess current SQL Server 2014 database architecture, dependencies, and compatibility issues, and develop a detailed migration/upgrade roadmap.
• Provide recommendations on SQL Server licensing models (Core-based vs. Server+CAL), edition selection (Standard vs. Enterprise), and cost optimization strategies for the new environment.
• Perform capacity planning and sizing recommendations (CPU, memory, storage, IOPS) for SQL Server workloads running on a virtualized Nutanix (AHV/HCI) infrastructure.
• Have proven experience administering SQL Server on Nutanix-based virtual infrastructure, including understanding of storage performance, VM resource allocation, and best practices for database workloads in an HCI environment.
• Design and implement a migration strategy that minimizes downtime (e.g., backup/restore, log shipping, replication, Always On Availability Groups, or Database Migration Assistant/Azure DMS as applicable).
• Conduct compatibility testing for deprecated features, discontinued functionality, and breaking changes between SQL Server 2014 and SQL Server 2025.
• Develop and execute a rollback/contingency plan in case of migration failure or critical post-migration issues.
• Perform pre- and post-migration performance benchmarking and tuning (query optimization, indexing strategy, execution plans).
• Ensure data integrity, security, and compliance requirements are maintained throughout the migration (encryption, TDE, access controls, auditing).
• Coordinate with infrastructure, virtualization, and network teams to align server sizing, storage provisioning, and network configuration on the Nutanix platform.
• Document the migration process thoroughly, including runbooks, architecture diagrams, and knowledge transfer materials for internal teams.
• Provide ongoing support and troubleshooting for SQL Server performance, high availability/disaster recovery (HA/DR) configurations, backup strategies, and patching post-migration.

Qualification:

• Minimuma 10+ years of hands-on SQL Server DBA experience, including administration, performance tuning, HA/DR design, and large-scale version upgrades/migrations in enterprise environments.