Senior Data Governance & SQL Server Optimization Consultant
Baltimore, MD
Contracted
Experienced
Can be a W2 or 1099 opportunity.
ATS requires a Senior Consultant to lead the Data Governance, Data Classification, Archiving Assessment, and SQL Server Database Optimization effort for a NextGen EHR environment. The consultant will conduct discovery, assess structured and unstructured data, develop governance and retention strategies, identify archivable data, and execute comprehensive SQL Server performance optimization and maintenance plan deployment.
Key Duties & Responsibilities
Discovery & Assessment
Data Governance, Classification & Archiving Strategy
Database Optimization Implementation
Documentation & Knowledge Transfer
Required Qualifications
Preferred Qualifications
ATS requires a Senior Consultant to lead the Data Governance, Data Classification, Archiving Assessment, and SQL Server Database Optimization effort for a NextGen EHR environment. The consultant will conduct discovery, assess structured and unstructured data, develop governance and retention strategies, identify archivable data, and execute comprehensive SQL Server performance optimization and maintenance plan deployment.
Key Duties & Responsibilities
Discovery & Assessment
- Profile NextGen SQL Server environment including schemas, tables, data volumes, performance metrics, and configuration settings.
- Conduct a full database health check (indexes, queries, wait stats, tempdb, backup strategy, file layout).
- Identify unstructured data storage mechanisms (BLOB vs. file shares) and quantify volumes.
- Review Cohesity backup capabilities and support instant-mount analysis.
- Conduct stakeholder interviews with IT, Compliance, HIM, and leadership teams.
Data Governance, Classification & Archiving Strategy
- Classify 0–40 years of patient and document data by age, activity, type, and status.
- Develop retention policies aligned with HIPAA and Maryland medical retention laws.
- Identify all data suitable for archival storage and quantify reduction potential.
- Produce governance framework, archiving criteria, lifecycle strategy, and access model.
- Support business case development including ROI, risk mitigation, and cost/benefit analysis.
Database Optimization Implementation
- Implement missing, unused, duplicate, and fragmented index changes.
- Tune slow/excessive queries and stored procedures.
- Apply configuration improvements (memory, MAXDOP, tempdb, file/filegroup optimizations).
- Develop and deploy automated maintenance plans for backups, statistics, index rebuild/reorganize, DBCC CHECKDB, log management, and cleanup.
- Perform database cleanup, compression, and optimization tasks.
- Validate improvements and document before/after metrics.
Documentation & Knowledge Transfer
- Deliver full assessment documentation, archiving analysis, database optimization report, maintenance plan documentation, and implementation roadmap.
- Provide rollback procedures for all changes.
- Conduct stakeholder briefings and technical knowledge transfer sessions.
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years SQL Server DBA/consultant experience with proven performance tuning expertise.
- Strong background in SQL Server internals, DMVs, indexing strategies, and optimization frameworks.
- Experience with large healthcare datasets, PHI, HIPAA, and retention regulations.
- Familiarity with data governance, lifecycle management, and archival planning.
- Experience supporting EHR platforms; NextGen strongly preferred.
- Ability to work within strict maintenance windows, change control, and regulated environments.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Cohesity backup/restore environments.
- Experience with Redgate, SolarWinds DPA, or sp_Blitz toolsets.
- Prior work on large-scale archiving or data lifecycle initiatives.
Full-Time Employee Benefits:
- Competitive compensation
- Health benefits including Medical, Dental and Vision
- Vacation and Personal Days
- 401K
- Employee Assistance Plan
- Continuous education and learning opportunities.
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