Fast Facts

Join WGU as a Senior Database Administrator to architect and manage complex database environments, both cloud and on-premise. This role embodies a commitment to higher education access and requires a blend of technical expertise and leadership.

Responsibilities: Oversee enterprise database management including architecture, performance tuning, and security enforcement. Lead initiatives in disaster recovery and collaborate with various teams to ensure compliance and optimize database solutions.

Skills: Expertise in Oracle Exadata, MSSQL, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and various cloud-native services with strong scripting skills in SQL, PL/SQL, Bash, and Python is essential.

Qualifications: Bachelor’s in Computer Science or related field with five years of Oracle DBA experience and additional experience with cloud databases preferred.

Location: Salt Lake City Office, United States of America

Compensation: $116000 - $174100 / Annually

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Grade: Technical 408Pay Range: $116,000.00 - $174,100.00

Job Description

Job Profile Summary

The Senior Database Administrator is a senior technical leader responsible for architecting, implementing, and managing complex database environments across cloud and on-premise platforms. This role requires deep expertise in Oracle Exadata Cloud@Customer (ExaCC), Oracle DBA, AWS PostgreSQL, AWS MySQL, AWS RDS, MSSQL, Aurora Global Database, and active-active datastore architectures.

The Senior DBA leads initiatives in database security, high availability, disaster recovery, and performance optimization, while mentoring junior staff and collaborating with engineering, security, and operations teams. This role requires strong ownership and the ability to manage both strategic projects and day-to-day operations aligned with organizational goals.

Responsibilities

• Architect and manage enterprise-grade databases across OCI, AWS, and hybrid environments.
• Lead implementation and optimization of Oracle ExaCC and GoldenGate replication strategies.
• Design and maintain active-active and global database architectures (Aurora Global, Oracle RAC).
• Define and enforce database security policies in collaboration with Enterprise Security.
• Establish and maintain RTO/RPO standards across platforms.
• Oversee patching, upgrades, and performance tuning of Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MSSQL, and QLIK environments.
• Collaborate with cloud engineers, developers, and infrastructure teams to deliver scalable and secure database solutions.
• Serve as a technical advisor for database decisions in strategic projects.
• Lead root cause analysis and resolution of complex database incidents.
• Mentor and guide junior and mid-level DBAs.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory and internal data governance standards.
• Participate in capacity planning, forecasting, and synthetic testing for performance assurance.
• Support integration of QLIK and other analytics platforms with enterprise databases.
• Engineer and administer cloud-native services: RDS (MySQL, PostgreSQL), Aurora, DynamoDB, Elasticsearch, Redshift, and in-memory stores like Redis (ElastiCache).
• Perform database-related data fixes and deployments.
• Provide metrics and reports related to database operations and performance.
• Receive and resolve database-related incidents and service requests.
• Troubleshoot and resolve database outages.
• Participate in 24/7/365 On-Call rotation.
• Lead cross-functional projects from planning through execution.
• Establish a reputation as a reliable, productive contributor in a highly autonomous environment.

Required Qualifications

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Expert knowledge of Oracle ExaCC, Oracle RAC, and GoldenGate.
• Strong experience with MSSQL, PostgreSQL, and MySQL in production environments.
• Deep expertise with AWS RDS, Aurora Global Database, and other cloud-native database services.
• Proven ability to design and manage active-active and high-availability architectures.
• Proficiency in database security, encryption, auditing, and access control.
• Strong scripting and automation skills (SQL, PL/SQL, Bash, Python).
• Excellent communication, leadership, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Ability to lead complex projects independently and manage operational responsibilities.
• Experience working across diverse technical teams and business stakeholders.
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability for systems under your purview.
• Ability to manage and prioritize short-, mid-, and long-term tasks and projects.

Organizational Impact

• Executes specialized technical projects; helps support and drive change.
• Responsible for major components within area of expertise.
• Minimizes errors to reduce impact on operations, cost, and timelines.

Problem Solving & Decision Making

• Achieves goals with minimal supervision.
• Leads key technical projects and drives methodologies, techniques, and standards.

Communication & Influence

• Engages stakeholders inside and outside of the team, including vendors and customers.
• Influences decisions and practices through operational expertise.

Leadership & Talent Management

• Coaches and trains others in technical areas.
• Manages complex projects, delegating and reviewing work as needed.

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (required)

Experience

• Required:
• 5 years of experience in enterprise database administration with Oracle DB.
• 4 years of experience with MySQL, PostgreSQL, ElastiCache, Aurora, DynamoDB, and Redshift.
• Experience migrating from bare metal to cloud-based database services using tools like AWS Database Migration Service.
• Preferred:
• Advanced understanding of software, hardware, and database interactions in complex environments.
• Familiarity with ITIL and Change Management best practices.
• Experience with QLIK Replicate and Talend integration.
• Familiarity with DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines for database deployments.

Job Description Disclaimer: This position description provides the major duties/responsibilities, requirements and working conditions for the position. It is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current position, however management reserves the right to revise or change as necessary to meet organizational needs. Other responsibilities may be assigned when circumstances require.

Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at [email protected].

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.