Senior System Administrator: Office of Innovative Technologies - UTK

University Of Tennessee College
University Of Tennessee College

IT

Knoxville, TN, USA

USD 90k-100k / year

Posted on Jul 9, 2026
Apply now

We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Microsoft SQL Server Database Administrator (DBA) to lead the design, implementation, and support of enterprise database environments supporting mission-critical university systems. This role has a strong emphasis on High Availability (HA), Always On Availability Groups, and cluster management supporting applications essential to university operations.

This position plays a subject expert role, partnering with system administrators, developers, and vendors to ensure database platforms are secure, scalable, resilient, and optimized for performance.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has shaped leaders, changemakers, and innovative thinkers since its founding in 1794. The university is home to more than 38,000 students and 10,000 statewide employees—the Volunteers—who uphold the university’s tradition of lighting the way for others through leadership and service.

UT Knoxville offers over 900 programs of study across 14 degree-granting colleges and schools. As Tennessee’s flagship land-grant university, its footprint spans the entire state. The university holds the highest Carnegie classification for research activity and has deep partnerships with industry leaders and the US Department of Energy’s largest multidisciplinary laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The Knoxville campus serves and recruits for UT Knoxville, including the Institute of Agriculture and the Space Institute, as well as the UT Institute of Public Service.

UT Knoxville considers its employees its number one asset. With values that focus on work-life balance, compensation, and innovation leadership, all Vols are supported to advance professionally. Employees have access to career development and coaching, continued education, and an extensive list of development and training possibilities. The Volunteer employee experience implements structures and practices to attract and retain top-tier talent, fostering a strong staff community and supporting a culture of involvement and engagement for everyone.

The university holds a strong commitment to its land-grant mission of learning and engagement, with a tradition of service and leadership that carries that Volunteer spirit throughout the state and around the world. It has been ranked nationally as “Best Employer for New Graduates,” “One of America’s Best Large Employers,” and “Best Workplace for Women,” and has been designated as “Best Place for Working Parents” by Forbes Magazine.

Apply today and join the Tennessee Volunteer community!
We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Microsoft SQL Server Database Administrator (DBA) to lead the design, implementation, and support of enterprise database environments supporting mission-critical university systems. This role has a strong emphasis on High Availability (HA), Always On Availability Groups, and cluster management supporting applications essential to university operations. This position plays a subject expert role, partnering with system administrators, developers, and vendors to ensure database platforms are secure, scalable, resilient, and optimized for performance.

Required Qualifications

  • Education: Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field, or equivalent experience.
  • Experience:
    • 5+ years of hands-on experience administering Microsoft SQL Server in enterprise environments with Bachelors’ degree
    • Or 9 years of experience with associate’s degree
    • Or 13 years of experience with a high school diploma

  • Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

    • Expertise in high availability and disaster recovery design

    • Strong leadership and project coordination skills

    • Excellent troubleshooting and problem-solving abilities

    • Effective communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders

    • Ability to mentor and guide cross-functional team

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without need now or in the future for sponsorship for employment-based visa status.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

    • Experience in higher education or large enterprise environments.

    • Knowledge of data warehousing and reporting platforms.

    • Familiarity with cloud-based SQL solutions (Azure SQL, hybrid architectures).

    • Experience with monitoring tools (SolarWinds).

    • Microsoft certifications (Azure DBA, SQL Server certifications).

Work Location

  • Location: Knoxville, TN

  • Hybrid

Compensation and Benefits

  • UT market range: MR16

  • Anticipated hiring range: $90,000 to $100,000

  • Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here

  • Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions

To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments:

  • Resume

  • Cover Letter

SQL Server DBA Leadership

  • Lead strategic planning, architecture, and lifecycle management of Microsoft SQL Server environments.
  • Design, implement, and maintain high availability solutions, including:
    • Always On Availability Groups
    • Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC)
    • Disaster recovery architectures across multi-datacenter environments
  • Manage SQL Server installations, upgrades, patching, and migrations.
  • Monitor, tune, and optimize database performance for high-throughput applications.
  • Implement and maintain database security, encryption, and compliance standards.
  • Develop automation for routine DBA tasks, monitoring, and alerting.

Enterprise Database & Application Support

  • Lead cross-functional projects with DBAs, developers, and application teams to deploy and upgrade critical systems.
  • Support University-wide and departmental shared database services impacting high-availability applications.
  • Provide database expertise for application performance tuning, especially for data warehousing and reporting systems.
  • Collaborate with vendors and internal stakeholders to enhance application and database functionality.

Application Systems Administration

  • Lead implementation, integration, and patching of complex vendor applications in multi-server and multi-datacenter environments.
  • Design and support secure application integrations using modern authentication and networking standards.
  • Work with vendors to improve application features and system performance.
  • Mentor system administrators and application teams on best practices.
Apply now
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