SQL Automation Engineer

What You ll Do

• Design, build, and maintain automation to patch production SQL Server Always On Availability Group clusters with no unplanned interruption.
• Automate discovery of availability group topology (replicas, roles, synchronization health, routing, current state).
• Automate pre-patch steps, including:
• Removing secondary replicas from read-only routing
• Placing nodes into monitoring maintenance mode
• Stopping services on DR availability group instances in a controlled manner
• Orchestrate safe patch sequencing across secondary, DR, and primary replicas, including failover/failback activities.
• Keep availability groups online throughout the patch cycle and validate health at each stage.
• Automate suppression and restoration of monitoring alerts (SQL Sentry / SentryOne; equivalents considered).
• Integrate patch execution with JAMS scheduled jobs and maintenance-mode workflows.
• Build reusable, parameterized Ansible Automation Platform playbooks/roles/job templates.
• Replace manual scripts and legacy SCORCH runbooks with standardized automation.
• Integrate automation with ServiceNow for change workflows:
• Change creation
• Approval gating
• Execution status updates
• Automated closure
• Implement verification steps, halt conditions, rollback logic, and restartability at each stage.
• Produce post-patch evidence (replica health, sync status, patch level, audit/vulnerability evidence).
• Support emergency and out-of-cycle database patching for high-severity vulnerabilities and CISA KEV items.
• Partner with DBA, Security, Infrastructure Ops, and App teams on maintenance windows and cutover planning.
• Support remediation of database-tier vulnerabilities identified through Tenable (or similar).
• Maintain automation in source control (Azure DevOps) and participate in code reviews and documentation (runbooks/SOPs).

Required Skills & Experience

• Strong hands-on SQL Server Always On Availability Groups expertise, including:
• Replica roles and synchronization modes
• Read-only routing, listeners
• Failover/failback
• Quorum behavior
• 6+ years enterprise Windows Server infrastructure engineering.
• 4+ years SQL Server Always On Availability Groups in production HA environments.
• 3+ years infrastructure automation using Ansible and/or PowerShell.
• Demonstrated success automating patching/maintenance for clustered or HA database environments.
• Experience operating in formal change-management and documentation standards.
• Regulated environment experience (HIPAA, PCI, SOX) preferred.
• Strong Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) administration/troubleshooting.
• Experience patching and maintaining highly available SQL Server infrastructure in production.
• Advanced PowerShell scripting.
• Experience with SQL Server PowerShell module, dbatools, or similar tooling.
• Strong T-SQL skills for querying AG state and DMVs.
• Strong Ansible experience; Ansible Automation Platform (AAP) preferred.
• Experience building Ansible playbooks, roles, inventories, credentials, and job templates.
• Enterprise Windows patch management experience (MECM/SCCM, rings, maintenance windows).
• ServiceNow API integration experience (change records, approvals, automation status).
• Experience with enterprise scheduling tools (JAMS, Control-M, or similar).
• Monitoring platform integration experience (SQL Sentry/SentryOne, SCOM, or equivalent).
• Git-based workflows; Azure DevOps Repos and Pipelines experience.
• Ability to build idempotent, restartable automation with validation and rollback controls.
• Solid understanding of vulnerability remediation and severity-based SLAs.
• Strong troubleshooting, risk management, and communication skills.

• Bachelor s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).

• Microsoft certifications (e.g., Azure Database Administrator Associate; Windows Server-related)
• Red Hat Certified Specialist in Ansible Automation
• ServiceNow certifications
• ITIL Foundation