Vincent Willingham II
Columbia,South Carolina
Summary
Seeking remote or Columbia, SC-based hybrid roles in SQL Server engineering, cloud data platforms, automation, and performance tuning.
Senior SQL Server Database Engineer with 13+ years of experience delivering secure, high-performance, highly available SQL Server platforms across on-prem, AWS, and Azure environments. Expert in performance engineering, HA/DR architecture, cloud migrations, and large-scale automation. Proven success managing and optimizing 200-350+ SQL Server instances, implementing enterprise-grade AlwaysOn Availability Groups, and engineering resilient cloud database ecosystems. Known for driving measurable impact through deep SQL Server internals knowledge, PowerShell automation, and cloud-native design-achieving 45%+ performance gains, 35% manual workload reduction, and 99.9%+ uptime for mission-critical applications.
Overview
13
13
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
SQL Server Database Engineer
Harris Computer
Columbia, SC
07.2025 - 10.2025
- Engineered and optimized mission-critical SQL Server environments supporting high-volume enterprise applications, achieving 99.99% uptime and superior query performance across multiple business units.
- Designed and deployed comprehensive Backup, Recovery, and HA/DR solutions leveraging Always-On Availability Groups to strengthen business continuity and minimize RTO/RPO.
- Instituted rigorous database security frameworks in alignment with NIST 800-53, PCI, and PII standards; performed periodic audits and remediation to ensure regulatory compliance.
- Automated routine database management and monitoring tasks using PowerShell and T-SQL, improving operational efficiency and reducing the administrative workload by 35%.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to optimize data flow, indexing, and query performance tuning for high-throughput transactional systems.
- Developed and implemented proactive monitoring dashboards and alerting mechanisms, enabling early detection and prevention of performance bottlenecks.
Senior SQL Server Database Engineer
CGI Technology Inc
Columbia, SC
08.2020 - 07.2025
- Spearheaded the full-cycle cloud migration and modernization of legacy database systems to AWS and Azure, achieving seamless transitions with zero downtime and enhanced scalability.
- Designed and implemented PowerShell automation frameworks that saved more than 20 hours of manual work each week and ensured consistent deployment, refresh, and patching procedures.
- Enhanced performance, availability, and resilience of mission-critical databases by configuring HA/DR, AAG/DAG topologies and applying advanced performance-tuning methodologies.
- Built and maintained CI/CD pipelines for database releases, integrating Terraform, AWS CloudFormation, and ServiceNow for improved change control and traceability.
- Partnered with Agile teams to identify database constraints and implement data-driven process improvements during sprint cycles, fostering faster release cadence.
- Developed robust security and compliance solutions, including encryption, access control, and vulnerability mitigation in multi-cloud environments.
- Improved database performance metrics by 45% through indexing optimization, query rewriting, and resource balancing.
- Collaborated with stakeholders to deliver database strategies aligned with evolving business objectives, ensuring the reliability and scalability of enterprise systems.
SQL Server Database Administrator
CGI Technology Inc
Columbia, SC
07.2012 - 08.2020
- Led the creation of an automated SQL Server patching solution using PowerShell, cutting manual patching time by 60% and enhancing infrastructure security posture.
- Provided 24/7 global production support for diverse, large-scale database portfolios across industries, consistently maintaining 99.9% uptime and rapid incident resolution.
- Diagnosed and resolved complex data integrity and application issues within financial and operational systems, ensuring business continuity and accuracy of critical reports.
- Conducted SOX, ITIL, and CSAM compliance audits across database environments; implemented corrective actions to close security gaps and align with corporate policies.
- Devised and maintained advanced backup, recovery, and replication strategies to safeguard critical data and ensure cross-region availability.
- Championed performance optimization initiatives, leveraging T-SQL scripting and dynamic monitoring to improve query response times and resource utilization.
- Created and managed database capacity planning models and health check frameworks, proactively mitigating performance degradation and space utilization risks.
- Collaborated with global teams to introduce automation-first database operations, reducing repetitive manual efforts and improving deployment consistency across environments.
Education
Bachelor's Degree - Computer Science
South Carolina State University
01.2011
Skills
- SQL Server
- T-SQL Development
- Performance Tuning
- AlwaysOn AGs
- Distributed AGs
- HA/DR Architecture
- Backup & Recovery
- AWS RDS
- EC2
- Azure SQL
- Multi-Cloud Migrations
- PowerShell Automation
- CI/CD
- GitLab
- Terraform
- CloudFormation
- Security Hardening
- NIST
- PCI
- PII
- Monitoring
- Observability
- Capacity Planning
- Database Modernization
- Incident Response
- PostgreSQL
- SSIS
- SSRS
- Azure
- S3
- IAM
- Azure IaaS
- Scaling
- Migrations
- Git
- CI/CD Pipelines
- Query Optimization
- Index Optimization
- Database Health Checks
- High Availability
- Multi-AZ
- DR
- PITR
- Snapshots
- RDS Performance Insights
- Database Security
- Auditing
- Access Controls
- Encryption
- TDE
- KMS
- Windows Server
- Unix
- Linux
- Agile
- Scrum
- ITIL
- Change Management
- Jira
- Confluence
- ServiceNow
Certification
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
- AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
Work Availability
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
sunday
morning
afternoon
evening
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Timeline
SQL Server Database Engineer
Harris Computer
07.2025 - 10.2025
Senior SQL Server Database Engineer
CGI Technology Inc
08.2020 - 07.2025
SQL Server Database Administrator
CGI Technology Inc
07.2012 - 08.2020
Bachelor's Degree - Computer Science
South Carolina State University