Cloud Database Analyst

Title: Cloud Database Analyst II Location: Columbia, SC (Onsite is Highly Preferred but open to Remote) Contract length: 6 Months (Possibility of extension/conversion) Duties: • Analyze and develop complex logical and physical database designs, data models and relational data definitions in support of corporate and client information systems requirements. Ensure that department standards for data are adhered to in constructing data management programs and tools. Perform regular monitoring, maintenance, and housekeeping for performance, capacity, and troubleshooting of assigned databases. Mentor less experienced personnel. • 20% Define data architecture standards for the organization, structure, attributes, and nomenclature of data elements. Design, develop, test, and implement new database objects (tables, views, indexes, databases, etc) and administer existing architectures supported for performance and maintenance related issues. • 20% Analyze and recommend best practice steps to prevent potential database issues, such as performance degradation or potential loss of service as well as recommend actions to fix issues when database problems do occur (outages or potential errors). Recommend methods to recover or improve databases to include analysis/review of vendor products. • 15% Provide input into complex decisions as they relate to data architecture, infrastructure and/or administration. Consult with information systems areas on database issues and proposed changes. Recommend tuning to databases and queries when they are not performing to customer requirements. • 15% Analyze and recommend upgrades to database software and components based on security requirements, new technology, or evolving application system requirements. Analyze and recommend capacity planning (SAN storage) based on captured growth trends and monitoring. • 15% Review database environments to ensure they meet security controls and audit requirements; continually mitigate identified risks and vulnerabilities. Ensure recoverability of databases by creating, scheduling and monitoring database backups for dependent systems. • 15% Support management on enterprise wide and departmental goals and objectives. Provide education and information on security policies, practices, and awareness programs. May provide estimation on work efforts and recommendations on training plans for less experience staff. Day to Day: • Working closely with stakeholders to define business and technical requirements for cloud-based data solutions. • The analyst ensures that proposed database architectures and configurations align with both customer objectives and enterprise cloud standards. • They spend time managing and optimizing cloud-hosted databases such as AWS RDS or Azure SQL, writing and tuning SQL queries, and using monitoring tools like CloudWatch or Azure Monitor to track performance and availability. • They may also support large-scale cloud IT projects by providing input on data architecture, backup and recovery strategies, and high availability configurations. • In addition, they help prioritize analysis activities, contribute to planning sessions, and may automate routine tasks using scripting languages like Python or PowerShell. Job Requirements: 8 years of IT experience including varied database administration experience. Required EDU: Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology or other job related degrees. or 4 years of job related work experience or 2 years of job-related experience plus an associate’s degree in computer science, Information Technology or other job-related degree Required Skills and Abilities: Knowledgeable in most aspects of constructing data marts, data architectures and operational data stores. Good business analysis, data acquisition, and access analysis and design skills. Able to provide input into complex decisions as they relate to data architecture. Able to relate knowledge of security issues for data management to less experienced personnel. Required Software and Tools (Hands on experience required): • Cloud Data Migration & CI/CD Experience. • Agile Experience. Familiarity with Jira and Confluence. • Lead database migration, and deployment of lift-and-shift projects to Cloud Platforms. • Design and implement high-availability (HA), backup/restore, snapshots and disaster recovery (DR) strategies for cloud-based databases across multiple regions. • Expertise in backup/recovery, data replication, failover, and cross-region availability. • Cloud Database Platforms (AWS - RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB, or EC2-hosted databases, Azure SQL, or Google Cloud SQL), Hands-on experience managing and optimizing cloud-hosted relational databases, including provisioning, configuration, and performance tuning. • Strong SQL performance tuning, indexing, proficiency in writing complex SQL queries, analyzing execution plans, and optimizing performance across large datasets in cloud-native or hybrid environments. • Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Tools – Terraform, ARM Templates, or CloudFormation, required for automating infrastructure provisioning and ensuring consistency across environments. Security & Compliance Frameworks (NIST 800-53, FedRAMP) • Enforce cloud security and compliance standards (IAM, VPC policies, data classification) • Solid understanding of data security, encryption, and compliance requirements (HIPAA, PCI, FedRAMP, etc.). • Database Monitoring & Management Tools, Familiarity with tools like CloudWatch, Enhanced Monitoring, Performance Insights (AWS), Azure Monitor, or third-party solutions (e.g., SolarWinds, Redgate) for monitoring database health, performance, and availability. Nice to have/Preferred skills: • Experience working with relational (Oracle Ama) and non- relational databases in the cloud and on-premises for handling semi-structured or unstructured data in cloud-native applications. Cloud Certifications. • Data warehousing or analytics integration (Redshift, QuickSight, Glue)