Senior Database Team Lead (SQL)
Listing reference: track_001654
Listing status: Online
Apply by: 29 April 2026
Position summary
Industry: IT & Internet
Job category: IT and Telecommunications
Location: Johannesburg
Contract: Permanent
Remuneration: Market Related
EE position: Yes
Introduction
Tracker is in search of a Senior Database Team lead. The incumbent is responsible for the full ownership, leadership, and operational excellence of the organisation’s database environments across production, DR, and non-production systems. This role ensures that all database platforms are highly available, secure, scalable, and optimised to support
mission-critical business applications. The role also leads a team of Database Administrators, providing
technical direction, governance, and mentorship.
The incumbent will act as the primary authority for database performance, architecture alignment, incident
resolution, and continuous improvement across all relational and supporting data technologies.
You will lead a team of Database Administrators while providing hands-on technical leadership in a 24/7 high
availability production environment.
Job description
Database Ownership & Strategy
• Own and manage the organisation’s database environment across production, test, and DR.
• Define and enforce database standards, policies, and governance frameworks.
• Contribute to database architecture and technology roadmaps.
High Availability & Disaster Recovery
• Design, implement, and maintain HA and DR solutions (clustering, replication, log shipping, availability
groups).
• Ensure all critical systems meet defined RTO/RPO requirements.
• Conduct and support DR testing and validation exercises.
Performance & Optimisation
• Lead database performance tuning and optimisation initiatives.
• Resolve complex performance issues including blocking, deadlocks, and resource bottlenecks.
• Ensure optimal query performance and indexing strategies.
Incident & Problem Management
• Manage critical database incidents and escalations.
• Perform root cause analysis and implement permanent fixes.
• Ensure adherence to ITIL processes (Incident, Problem, Change Management).
Team Leadership
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Database Administrators.
• Provide technical guidance, coaching, and performance management.
• Drive a culture of accountability, excellence, and continuous improvement.
Operational Support
• Ensure 24/7 availability and support of database systems.
• Participate in standby/on-call rotation.
• Maintain monitoring, alerting, and operational procedures.
Security & Compliance
• Enforce database security standards, access controls, and encryption policies.
• Ensure compliance with audit and regulatory requirements.
• Manage user access, patching, and vulnerability remediation.
Backup, Recovery & Data Integrity
• Ensure reliable backup, restore, and recovery processes.
• Regularly test backup integrity and recovery procedures.
• Maintain data consistency and integrity across environments.
Capacity & Monitoring
• Implement capacity planning and performance monitoring frameworks.
• Proactively manage storage, CPU, memory, and I/O utilisation.
Stakeholder Engagement
• Collaborate with infrastructure, application, security, and vendor teams.
• Translate business requirements into database solutions.
• Own and manage the organisation’s database environment across production, test, and DR.
• Define and enforce database standards, policies, and governance frameworks.
• Contribute to database architecture and technology roadmaps.
High Availability & Disaster Recovery
• Design, implement, and maintain HA and DR solutions (clustering, replication, log shipping, availability
groups).
• Ensure all critical systems meet defined RTO/RPO requirements.
• Conduct and support DR testing and validation exercises.
Performance & Optimisation
• Lead database performance tuning and optimisation initiatives.
• Resolve complex performance issues including blocking, deadlocks, and resource bottlenecks.
• Ensure optimal query performance and indexing strategies.
Incident & Problem Management
• Manage critical database incidents and escalations.
• Perform root cause analysis and implement permanent fixes.
• Ensure adherence to ITIL processes (Incident, Problem, Change Management).
Team Leadership
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Database Administrators.
• Provide technical guidance, coaching, and performance management.
• Drive a culture of accountability, excellence, and continuous improvement.
Operational Support
• Ensure 24/7 availability and support of database systems.
• Participate in standby/on-call rotation.
• Maintain monitoring, alerting, and operational procedures.
Security & Compliance
• Enforce database security standards, access controls, and encryption policies.
• Ensure compliance with audit and regulatory requirements.
• Manage user access, patching, and vulnerability remediation.
Backup, Recovery & Data Integrity
• Ensure reliable backup, restore, and recovery processes.
• Regularly test backup integrity and recovery procedures.
• Maintain data consistency and integrity across environments.
Capacity & Monitoring
• Implement capacity planning and performance monitoring frameworks.
• Proactively manage storage, CPU, memory, and I/O utilisation.
Stakeholder Engagement
• Collaborate with infrastructure, application, security, and vendor teams.
• Translate business requirements into database solutions.
Provide technical advisory support across IT and business teams.
Minimum requirements
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent IT qualification/diploma
- Minimum 7 years’ experience as a Database Administrator
- Minimum 4 years’ experience in a Team Lead / Management role
- Experience in 24/7 production environments.
Technical Requirements
- Strong experience with Microsoft SQL Server (mandatory)
- Oracle / PostgreSQL / other RDBMS (advantageous)
- High Availability & Disaster Recovery (clustering, replication, log shipping)
- Performance tuning, query optimisation, and indexing strategies
- Backup, restore, and recovery models
- Database security, patching, and upgrades
- Capacity planning and monitoring
- Windows Server and Active Directory environments
Key Competencies
- Strong leadership and team development skills
- Analytical thinking and problem-solving ability
- Ability to work under pressure in critical environments
- Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills
- High attention to detail and operational discipline
- Proactive and improvement-driven mindset
Additional Requirements
- Participation in on-call / standby rotation
- Willingness to work extended hours when required
Benefits
Provident fund
Medical aid