Leidos is seeking an experienced Senior Database Administrator (DBA) to lead a team supporting and maintaining an IT service management tool (ServiceNow) for a large organisation. This role requires advanced expertise in database administration, optimization, and disaster recovery planning, along with strong team leadership and mentorship skills. The ideal candidate will be responsible for ensuring database stability, security, and performance, while guiding and supporting their team in optimizing database environments and infrastructure. This role requires a daily in-office presence. Everything we do is built on a commitment to do the right thing for our customers, our people and our community. Our mission and our values guide the way we do business. The foundation of our Leidos culture is our Values, Beliefs and Expectations by which we select, recognise and reward employees. They create the environment that drives us toward our mission. Passionate about customer success by being determined to understand and respond to our customers’ needs as if they were our own. United as a team, we are bound together by our conviction that ethics and integrity is core to how we operate. Leidos is a global science and technology solutions leader working to solve the world’s toughest challenges in the defence, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company’s 33,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Candidate must be eligible to undergo security clearance (DV). Key Responsibilities: • Team Leadership & Management: Oversee and mentor a small team of Database Administrators, providing guidance, training, and support. • Database Administration & Maintenance: Provide technical support for MariaDB (MySQL) databases, ensuring optimal performance and availability. • Backup & Disaster Recovery: Implement and oversee database backup and recovery strategies to mitigate data loss. • Monitoring & Performance Optimization: Track system performance and identify bottlenecks affecting database efficiency and data integrity. • Incident & Problem Management: Troubleshoot database-related incidents and implement proactive solutions to minimize downtime. • Capacity Planning: Monitor and forecast database storage and performance needs, ensuring scalability. • Upgrades & Patch Management: Plan and execute major database upgrades and periodic patching to maintain system stability. • Database Logging & Monitoring: Configure and manage database logs for integration into a SIEM (Security information and event management) solution for monitoring and security compliance. • High Availability & Failover Management: Monitor, maintain and orchestrate manual failover and failback procedures to maintain uptime. • Automation & Scripting: Develop scripts using SQL, Bash, or Python to automate database maintenance and monitoring tasks. • Documentation & Knowledge Sharing: Maintain database build and upgrade documentation, ensuring accuracy and accessibility for the team. • Testing & Validation Support: Oversee execution of test scripts for database validation and performance assessment. You will have: • Proven experience as a Senior Database Administrator (DBA). • Demonstrated leadership experience, with the ability to mentor and manage a technical team. • Expertise in MariaDB or other relational databases (MySQL, Oracle, or SQL Server). • Experience with backup and disaster recovery strategies for databases. • Knowledge of database tuning, indexing, and query optimization. • Understanding of networking protocols relevant to databases (TCP/IP, DNS, load balancing). • Familiarity with IT Service Management (ITSM) tools, preferably ServiceNow. • Familiarity with Agile/Scrum methodologies. • Knowledge of ITIL/ITSM principles and best practices. • Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills. • Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across teams. Desirable Skills: • Familiarity with security frameworks such as CIS benchmarks or ISO 27001. • Hands-on experience with high availability clustering and replication. • Familiarity with virtualization technologies. • Experience with automated patch management in database environments. • ServiceNow environment experience is desirable. • Experience of transitioning systems to service. WHAT DO WE DO FOR YOU? At Leidos we are PASSIONATE about customer success, UNITED as a team and INSPIRED to make a difference. We offer meaningful and engaging careers, a collaborative culture, and support for your career goals, all while nurturing a healthy work-life balance. We provide an employment package that attracts, develops and retains only the best in talent. Our reward scheme includes: • Contributory Pension Scheme • Private Medical Insurance • 33 days Annual Leave (including public and privilege holidays) • Access to Flexible benefits (including life assurance, health schemes, gym memberships, annual buy and sell holidays and a cycle to work scheme) • Dynamic Working