Data Platform DBA Engineer

Help shape the future of our data platform. 6 Month FTC - Data Platform DBA Engineer Technology sits at the heart of everything we do. As we continue to invest in our cloud journey and modernise our data platforms, we're looking for an experienced SQL Server (Data Platform) DBA Engineer to take ownership of our SQL Server estate while helping shape the future of our Azure data platform. This is an opportunity to work on business-critical SQL Server environments that underpin essential financial services, where availability, security, performance, resilience and recoverability are paramount. You'll play a key role in administering, maintaining and optimising highly available SQL Server platforms, ensuring they remain secure, reliable and performant. You'll also contribute to platform improvements, automation initiatives and our ongoing adoption of Azure technologies, working alongside Software Engineers, DevOps Engineers, Architects and Data professionals. If you're passionate about SQL Server administration, performance tuning, high availability, disaster recovery, automation and building secure, cloud-ready database platforms, we'd love to hear from you. What you'll be doing You'll be the technical expert responsible for the performance, resilience, security, and availability of our SQL Server and Azure SQL environments. Working closely with Software Engineers, DevOps, Architects, Product Owners, Operations, and Data teams, you'll: • Engineer and optimise SQL Server and Azure SQL platforms for performance, scalability, resilience, and cost efficiency. • Lead database administration including installation, upgrades, patching, security, backup, recovery, and high availability. • Drive database performance through query optimisation, indexing strategies, execution plan analysis, workload tuning, and capacity planning. • Design and improve database deployment and release processes to support frequent, low-risk production releases. • Design, implement and continuously improve monitoring, alerting and performance observability for on-premises SQL Server estates. • Support the migration of legacy SQL Server workloads to Azure-native services and architectures. • Champion operational excellence through incident management, root cause analysis, resilience engineering, and continuous improvement. What we're looking for You'll bring significant experience managing enterprise SQL Server platforms together with a passion for automation, optimisation, and cloud technologies. Essential skills and experience • Expert knowledge of Microsoft SQL Server administration and Azure SQL Database. • Advanced SQL performance tuning including execution plans, indexing, locking, blocking, deadlocks, and query optimisation. • Strong T-SQL development, database design, schema management, and data modelling experience. • Experience managing database deployments, versioning, release management, and rollback strategies. • Expertise in high availability technologies including Always On Availability Groups, clustering, replication, and disaster recovery. • Strong understanding of Azure security including Entra ID, RBAC, managed identities, encryption, auditing, and Defender for SQL. • Experience working within regulated or security-focused environments. • Excellent analytical skills, sound judgement, and a proactive approach to problem solving. We'd also love to see • Experience supporting Azure migration or cloud transformation programmes. • Knowledge of Infrastructure as Code using Terraform, Bicep, or Azure automation. • Exposure to Microsoft Fabric or Azure data services. • Experience with NoSQL technologies such as Cosmos DB or MongoDB. Why Join L&C? We care about our customers, but our employees are what make the magic happen. We’re always ready to listen and do what we can to make L&C even better for those receiving and providing our services, supporting the day to day running of the business, so working with us means being part of an environment of respect and equity with some great benefits to boot. We’re entering a dynamic period and it’s a great time to join us, we’re already the UK’s No.1 online mortgage broker but we don’t want to stop there. Joining L&C means: • 25 days starting annual leave, plus your birthday & bank holidays off non inclusive of your holiday allowance • Purchase Holiday scheme (up to 3 additional days leave per year) • Perkbox benefits hub (comprehensive discounts, perks & wellbeing support) • Comprehensive employee assistance & wellbeing programmes (Virtual 24/7 GP, personal and dependant Mental Health Support, physiotherapy services and much more) • Electric Car Scheme • Annual company wide Summer & Winter parties and team led social events • …and much more benefits and perks to boot! This is more than a database administration role. You'll be at the heart of our cloud transformation, helping build a modern, secure, and resilient data platform that enables innovation across the organisation. If you're passionate about engineering reliable platforms, solving challenging performance problems, and driving continuous improvement using modern Azure technologies, we'd love to hear from you. At London & Country Mortgages, we are committed to fostering a recruitment and selection process that is inherently diverse and inclusive. We believe in the strength that comes from a variety of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences, and we actively seek to create an environment where individuals from all walks of life feel welcome and valued. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is not just a goal; it is a fundamental part of our organisational culture, driving us to continuously enhance our practices to ensure that every candidate has an equal opportunity to contribute and thrive within our community. FCA Certification Regime & Conduct Rules L&C is authorised and regulated by the FCA and is classified as an Enhanced Firm under the Senior Manager’s and Certification Regime (SM&CR). This role is subject to the 6 FCA Conduct rules and you will be expected to adhere to them at all times. (See below). Any confirmed breaches of the Conduct Rules will be reported to the FCA annually. Should you apply for a Certified role in another financial services firm then L&C may be required to disclose this information in a Regulatory Reference request. 1. You must act with integrity 1. You must act with due care, skill, and diligence 1. You must be open and cooperative with the FCA, the PRA and other regulators 1. You must pay due regard to the interests of customers and treat them fairly 1. You must observe proper standards of market conduct 1. You must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers