The State of South Carolina is looking for a Database Administrator - Advanced (Natural/Adabas Administrator)
Why is this position open: Need for 2 additional Software AG Adabas/Natural system/database administrators.
Interview Process: 1 round, Virtual/Online
Duration of the Contract: 12 months
Possibility for Extension: Yes - estimated duration of this project is eight years.
Work Location: Hybrid. On-site (5 days) for the first two months of the contract, then resource is able to work remote.
Candidate Location: Candidate MUST be a SC resident or willing to come on-site to Columbia, SC for the first two months of the contract at their own expense. About the Role We're seeking a System Administrator to own and optimize our Software AG ecosystem-primarily Adabas and Natural Security-with a focus on reliability, security, performance, and user enablement. In this role, you'll administer mission-critical databases, drive secure access and auditing practices, support data extraction, and guide changes from development through production.
What You'll Do - Administer Adabas & Natural Security (plus CONNX): Maintain production, test, and development environments to run efficiently; perform and monitor nightly backups; refresh lower environments from production data as needed; manage DDMs and operational scripts.
- Harden security & enforce access controls: Configure and maintain security/authorization to files and applications via Natural and program security; ensure proper access changes for transfers/terminations; execute routine audits and process security requests accurately and on time.
- Enable data access & analytics: Evaluate and recommend tools for Adabas data extraction; install and maintain the chosen query product (e.g., CONNX); design and maintain user data catalogs; author a user guide and training materials tailored to our environment; train new users and assist current users with query design.
- Guide change across environments: Guide file and schema modifications through development, testing, and production; write and maintain scripts supporting applications and operations; maintain the data dictionary and ensure all database changes are fully documented and consistent.
- Advance our platform: Research, recommend, and help implement new hardware and software solutions to improve performance, resilience, and maintainability. Perform platform upgrades as needed to maintain supported versions and to address system vulnerabilities.
- Support resilience: Participate in agency business continuity and disaster recovery planning, testing, and response activities.
Minimum Qualifications - Hands-on experience administering Adabas databases and NaturalSecurity (Software AG stack) in production environments.
- Working knowledge of CONNX or comparable Adabas data access tools, including installation, configuration, and user enablement.
- Proficiency with environment refreshes, backup/restore procedures, performance tuning, and scripting (e.g., Natural utilities).
- Practical experience implementing role-based access control, security reviews, and audit documentation for regulated environments.
- Familiarity with SDLC/change control across dev/test/prod and maintaining a formal data dictionary.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to write user guides and support analysts and business users.
- Minimum of eight years managing Software AG Adabas and Natural.
- Experience with broader Software AG tools (e.g., NaturalONE, Predict, EntireX) and DDM management best practices.
Preferred Qualifications - Exposure to capacity planning, platform modernization, and performance engineering.
- Participation in BC/DR program development and exercises.
