Data Management and Database Administration Specialist

Come Build the Future with Us

At Trellis Company, we're passionate about creating opportunities that change lives.

Our vision is to connect people to education-to-employment pathways that transform their lives. For more than 40 years, we've helped individuals achieve educational and career success through innovative solutions, strategic partnerships, and mission-driven service.

Today, we're building on that legacy by partnering with employers, educational institutions, workforce organizations, and community leaders to create stronger connections between learning and employment while expanding pathways to economic opportunity.

Our mission is to develop and advance initiatives that grow individual economic mobility and expand community prosperity.

At Trellis, you'll find the purpose of a mission-driven nonprofit combined with the energy and innovation of an organization focused on the future. Your ideas matter, your work has impact, and your contributions help create brighter futures for individuals, families, and communities.

Join Trellis and help create pathways to opportunity, economic mobility, and lasting success.

Job Summary

The Data Management and Database Services Specialist provides advanced technical expertise for the administration, security, performance, governance, availability, and lifecycle management of Trellis enterprise data platforms.

The position serves as the organization's primary technical resource for IBM Db2, Microsoft SQL Server, cloud-hosted database services, enterprise data management solutions, and data governance technologies. Responsibilities include database architecture, administration, monitoring, optimization, backup and recovery, disaster recovery, cloud data platform management, data governance, data quality, metadata management, and support of enterprise analytics and artificial intelligence initiatives.

The position works collaboratively with business stakeholders, application owners, cybersecurity personnel, analytics teams, vendors, and technology staff to ensure enterprise data assets remain secure, reliable, compliant, discoverable, trusted, and aligned with Trellis business objectives and regulatory requirements.

Location:

The position is hybrid, two days weekly required in office. Office location is Round Rock, Texas.

Essential Responsibilities

The position incumbent is expected to perform the following essential duties and responsibilities of the position with reasonable accommodation.

Database Administration and Operations

• Serve as the primary technical administrator for IBM Db2 and Microsoft SQL Server database environments.
• Install, configure, patch, upgrade, monitor, maintain, and support enterprise database platforms.
• Administer databases operating on mainframe, distributed, virtualized, and cloud-hosted platforms.
• Monitor database availability, capacity, performance, storage utilization, and operational health.
• Troubleshoot and resolve database incidents, service interruptions, performance issues, connectivity problems, and data integrity concerns.
• Design and implement indexing, query optimization, statistics, maintenance, and performance-tuning strategies.
• Coordinate production database changes with application owners, developers, project teams, vendors, and business stakeholders.
• Maintain database standards, inventories, dependency maps, configuration records, architecture documentation, and operational runbooks.
• Maintain enterprise metadata, business glossaries, data inventories, ownership records, and data lineage documentation.
• Develop and maintain documentation of data flows, integrations, interfaces, and dependencies.
• Participate in 24x7 operational support, including on-call responsibilities, as required.

Backup, Recovery, and High Availability

• Design, implement, monitor, and maintain database backup and recovery strategies.
• Administer database replication, clustering, failover, log shipping, and other approved high-availability solutions.
• Develop and maintain database disaster recovery procedures and supporting evidence.

Cloud Data Platform Management

• Administer enterprise cloud database and data platform services.
• Manage Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, SQL Server hosted in Azure, and other approved cloud database technologies.
• Support Microsoft Fabric, Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Lake Storage, and other approved data services.
• Support migration and modernization of legacy data workloads using approved cloud-native services.
• Implement monitoring, governance, security, lifecycle-management, resiliency, and cost-optimization controls for cloud data environments.
• Evaluate cloud data architectures for scalability, performance, availability, recoverability, supportability, and cost efficiency.

Data Architecture and Integration

• Review application, database, reporting, analytics, and integration designs for alignment with enterprise data standards.
• Support development and maintenance of enterprise data architecture standards, naming conventions, and design patterns.
• Design, develop, review, and support tables, indexes, stored procedures, views, schemas, and related database objects.
• Support extract, transform, and load processes, application interfaces, and other approved data-integration methods.
• Evaluate designs for scalability, integrity, security, recoverability, performance, and operational supportability.

Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Enablement

• Evaluate, adopt, and apply AI-enabled technologies to support strategy, improve workflow efficiency, automate routine tasks, and enhance data-driven decision making.
• Support data platforms used for reporting, business intelligence, analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence workloads.
• Help ensure analytics and AI solutions use trusted, governed, appropriately classified, and authorized data sources.

Security, Compliance, and Risk Management

• Implement and maintain database security controls in partnership with Enterprise Security Services.
• Administer database roles, privileged and service accounts, and access permissions using least-privilege and role-based-access principles.
• Support encryption, data masking, tokenization, auditing, logging, monitoring, and data-loss-prevention controls where appropriate.

Monitoring, Change Management, Operational Support, and Automation

• Implement proactive monitoring, alerting, health checks, capacity management, and performance baselines.
• Participate in change-management processes and ensure database changes include testing, implementation, validation, and rollback procedures.
• Develop corrective and preventive actions that improve reliability and reduce repeat incidents.
• Automate recurring administration, compliance evidence collection, monitoring, and reporting activities using approved scripting and orchestration tools.

Technology Planning and Collaboration

• Research, evaluate, design, and recommend database, governance, and data-platform technologies.
• Review vendor proposals, technical designs, licensing implications, support models, and implementation plans.
• Develop knowledge-transfer materials and cross-train technology staff to reduce single-person dependency for critical database services.
• Act as a good steward of Trellis resources through responsible management of licensing, cloud consumption, storage, support costs, and technology investments.

Non-Essential Responsibilities

• Participate in technology governance and architecture review activities.
• Maintain awareness of emerging database, cloud, governance, analytics, security, and AI technologies.
• Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Advanced knowledge of IBM Db2 administration, architecture, security, backup, recovery, monitoring, and optimization.
• Strong knowledge of relational database theory, SQL, database design, logical and physical data modeling, and data integrity principles.
• Knowledge of Azure database and data services, including Azure SQL, Data Factory, Data Lake Storage, Synapse Analytics, and Microsoft Fabric.
• Knowledge of metadata management, data cataloging, data lineage, business glossaries, data governance, data stewardship, and data quality concepts.
• Knowledge of master data management, reference data management, information classification, retention, privacy, records management, and secure disposition principles.
• Knowledge of ETL, application integration, hybrid data architectures, reporting platforms, analytics, and AI data-governance principles.
• Knowledge of security controls including encryption, masking, tokenization, auditing, DLP, privileged access management, logging, and vulnerability management.
• Understanding of applicable NIST-based controls, and related compliance obligations.
• Ability to automate activities using PowerShell, Python, or comparable approved technologies.
• Ability to evaluate technical risks and translate business, security, compliance, availability, and performance requirements into practical solutions.
• Ability to plan and execute upgrades, migrations, maintenance, recovery testing, and complex production changes.
• Excellent analytical, troubleshooting, organizational, documentation, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, operational incidents, and technical initiatives simultaneously.
• Skilled in utilizing AI-enabled tools and technologies to improve efficiency, enhance work quality and outcomes, and support innovation and continuous process improvement.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with business stakeholders, peers, management, professionals, and vendors.

Qualifications

Education

• Required: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Management, Database Administration, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Experience beyond the minimum work-experience requirement may substitute for formal education on a year-for-year basis.

Preferred: None specified

Experience

Required:

• Five years of progressively responsible database administration or closely related data-platform experience.
• Experience supporting business-critical production database environments.
• Experience performing database installation, configuration, patching, upgrades, backup, recovery, performance tuning, capacity planning, and disaster recovery testing.
• Experience implementing database security controls, privileged access, and access-review processes.
• Experience supporting regulated or compliance-driven environments and sensitive data.
• Experience developing technical documentation, operating procedures, recovery plans, and support standards.

Preferred:

• Student loan industry experience.
• Hands-on IBM Db2 administration experience.
• Hands-on Microsoft SQL Server administration experience.
• Experience supporting cloud database technologies, data integration, or modernization initiatives.
• Azure SQL Database or Azure SQL Managed Instance administration experience.
• Microsoft Fabric, Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Lake Storage, or Power BI semantic-model experience.
• Experience with database and infrastructure automation using PowerShell or comparable technologies.
• Enterprise data governance, metadata management, data catalog, data lineage, master data, or data-quality experience.
• Experience supporting analytics, reporting, machine learning, or AI solutions.
• Experience supporting audits, security assessments, vulnerability remediation, access reviews, and disaster recovery exercises.

Licenses or Certifications

Required: None required

Preferred:

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate.
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate or successor data-engineering certification.
• Microsoft Certified: Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate.
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals or Azure Data Fundamentals.
• IBM Db2 Database Administrator certification or comparable IBM certification.
• Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP).

Work Environment

• Work is performed in an office and/or approved remote-work environment.
• The office work environment is climate controlled with no substantial exposure to adverse environmental conditions.
• The position may require scheduled after-hours maintenance, participation in an on-call rotation, and support during incidents or disaster recovery exercises.
• Occasional travel may be required for training, projects, recovery exercises, or vendor engagements.

Physical and Mental Demands

• When working in the office, occasionally must move about inside the office.
• Repetitive motion. Regularly operates a computer, phone, and general business equipment.
• Regularly communicates with employees and internal or external contacts by phone, virtually, or in person.
• Visual acuity. Must have visual acuity to review technical documentation, dashboards, logs, reports, and information in computer systems.
• Mental focus. Requires sustained concentration, analytical reasoning, sound judgment, and accurate oral and written communication.
• Must be able to maintain composure and exercise sound judgment during outages, security events, recovery situations, and other time-sensitive operational issues.
• Requires the ability to manage competing priorities and make decisions during high-impact or time-sensitive events.
• Must be able to participate in after-hours incident response, recovery events, or planned changes when required.
• Reasonable accommodation may be provided to enable qualified individuals to perform the essential functions.

Benefits

This position is also eligible for a corporate annual incentive, subject to the discretion and approval of the Board of Directors. Trellis offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, and retirement plans, Tuition Assistance, along with 12 paid holidays.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Trellis is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. Employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.