Hire a Database Administrator (DBA) in Türkiye

Last updated: November 11, 2026

Leasing a database administrator (DBA) through 360 Soft gives you a specialist who keeps your databases fast, available, backed up and secure, without the long search for a scarce permanent hire. Our DBAs work with Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL/MariaDB and NoSQL platforms, on-premises and in the cloud. They work under a service agreement with 360 Soft, remotely, on-site or in a hybrid model, and 7/24 on-call or shift coverage can be arranged. This page explains the DBA role, seniority levels, the technology matrix, how we test candidates, KPI and SLA examples and the factors that shape the cost. It is part of our IT staff leasing services.

What a DBA does and which organisations need one

Every business-critical application depends on a database, but few companies notice their database until something breaks: a report that took seconds now takes minutes, a backup that nobody tested fails during a restore, or an audit asks who can read customer data. A DBA prevents those moments. Organisations that typically need a dedicated or leased DBA:

Banks, payment companies and insurers running high-volume transactional systems.
E-commerce and retail businesses with peak seasons and strict uptime expectations.
Software companies whose SaaS product runs on a growing PostgreSQL or SQL Server estate.
Enterprises with Oracle or SQL Server licences that need tuning, patching and audit readiness.
Companies migrating databases to AWS, Azure or Google Cloud.
Organisations that lost their only DBA and need cover immediately.

Areas of responsibility

Area	Typical tasks
Availability	High availability and replication (Always On, Data Guard, streaming replication, Galera), failover tests
Backup and recovery	Backup strategy, RPO/RTO definition, regular restore tests, disaster recovery runbooks
Performance	Query and index tuning, execution plan analysis, wait statistics, capacity planning
Security	Roles and least privilege, encryption at rest and in transit, auditing, masking of personal data
Maintenance	Patching, version upgrades, statistics and index maintenance, housekeeping jobs
Migration and design	Platform migrations, cloud moves, schema reviews with developers
Monitoring	Alerting, dashboards, incident response and root-cause analysis

Seniority matrix: junior, mid, senior and lead DBA

Level	Experience	What you can expect
Junior DBA	1–3 years	Routine monitoring, backup checks and maintenance tasks under supervision
Mid-level DBA	3–6 years	Independently runs production databases, tunes queries, handles incidents and patches
Senior DBA	6–10 years	Designs HA/DR, leads migrations and upgrades, handles complex performance problems
Lead DBA / data platform architect	10+ years	Owns the database strategy across platforms, sets standards, advises on licensing and architecture

Technology and skills matrix

Platform	Typical skills
Oracle	RAC, Data Guard, RMAN, ASM, AWR/ASH analysis, Exadata (where required)
Microsoft SQL Server	Always On availability groups, SSIS/SSRS, Query Store, index tuning, Azure SQL
PostgreSQL	Streaming and logical replication, Patroni, pgBouncer, partitioning, extensions, Amazon RDS/Aurora
MySQL / MariaDB	InnoDB tuning, Galera cluster, ProxySQL, replication topologies
NoSQL and others	MongoDB, Redis, Elasticsearch, Cassandra
Cloud and automation	AWS RDS, Azure SQL, Cloud SQL, Terraform, Ansible, scripting in Bash, PowerShell or Python

Interview and technical validation: how we test DBA candidates

Platform interview: deep questions on the database engines you run, led by a senior engineer.
Performance case: the candidate analyses a slow query and execution plan and explains the fix.
Recovery scenario: a database is corrupted at 03:00; the candidate walks through restore steps and communication.
HA/DR design: they sketch an availability design for given RPO and RTO targets.
Security questions: privilege models, auditing and protecting personal data.
Reference check: with previous managers or clients, where the candidate allows it.

You interview the shortlist and make the final decision.

When to lease and when to hire permanently

Leasing works well when you need DBA capacity quickly, for a migration or upgrade project, for 7/24 coverage that one internal person cannot provide, or for a platform skill (for example Oracle RAC) that your team lacks. A permanent DBA makes sense when the role is stable and long-term and you can wait for recruitment. Many companies combine both: an internal owner plus leased DBAs for shifts and specialist work.

Working models

Remote: the specialist works from Türkiye inside your tools, with agreed overlap hours for EU, UK or Gulf time zones.
On-site: at your office in Istanbul, or travelling for workshops, kick-offs and critical phases.
Hybrid: mostly remote with regular on-site days.
On-call and shifts: business-hours support, extended hours or 7/24 rotation with agreed response times.

Process: from request to the first week

Step	What happens	Typical duration
1. Brief	Platforms, versions, environment size, required coverage and access model	1–2 days
2. Shortlist	Tested DBA profiles	3–7 days
3. Interviews	You interview and choose	2–5 days
4. Contract and access	Service agreement, NDA, DPA, accounts with least privilege	Typical start in 1–2 weeks overall
5. First week	Health check of backups, HA, security and performance; prioritised findings list	First week

KPI and SLA examples for a DBA

KPI / SLA	What it shows
Database availability	Uptime of production databases against the agreed target
Backup success and restore tests	Share of successful backups and frequency of verified restores
RPO and RTO achieved in tests	Whether recovery targets are met in practice
Incident response time	Time to acknowledge and start working on alerts
Query performance	Response time of key queries and reports over time
Patch compliance	Share of databases on supported, patched versions
Audit findings	Open database-related findings from security or compliance audits

Targets are agreed with you individually; the values depend on your architecture and coverage model.

Factors that affect the price

We do not publish prices because every engagement is scoped individually. The main factors are:

Factor	Effect
Seniority and platform	Senior Oracle or multi-platform DBAs cost more than mid-level single-platform DBAs
Coverage model	Business hours, extended hours or 7/24 on-call and shifts
Environment size and criticality	Number of instances, data volume and regulatory requirements
Working model	On-site work and travel add cost compared with remote
Duration and allocation	Full-time or part-time; longer engagements are usually priced more favourably
Working hours	Overlap with distant time zones or 7/24 shift coverage

Database Administrator (DBA) Leasing — overview

Permanent DBA, freelancer and leasing compared

Criterion	Permanent hire	Freelancer	Leased via 360 Soft
Time to start	Often 2–4 months	Fast, availability varies	Typically 1–2 weeks
Continuity	High	Risk of leaving mid-project	Replacement process if the fit is not right
Employer obligations	On you	Contract risk depends on your country	With 360 Soft under Turkish labour law
Scaling	Slow	One person	From 1 to 200+ people
Control over daily work	Full	Limited	You direct the work; we handle employment

Risks and mitigations

Risk	Mitigation
Privileged access by an external person	Named accounts, least privilege, session logging, MFA and access revoked at the end
Single point of failure	Documentation, runbooks and an optional backup DBA
Unknown legacy environment	Structured health check in the first week
Changes causing incidents	Change control, test environments and agreed maintenance windows
Poor fit	You choose; replacement process if it still does not work

Confidentiality, data protection and IP

The DBA works under a B2B service agreement between your company and 360 Soft; there is no employment relationship between you and the specialist. The standard package includes a mutual NDA, an IP assignment clause under which all work product, documentation and code created for you belongs to you, and written access rules for your systems.

EU/EEA buyers: a GDPR Data Processing Agreement (Art. 28) with Standard Contractual Clauses for transfers to Türkiye.
UK buyers: the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or the UK Addendum to the SCCs.
Türkiye: the team operates under KVKK (Law No. 6698), the Turkish personal data protection law.
Access hygiene: named accounts, least-privilege access, MFA, your VPN or VDI where required, and access revoked on the last day.

Legal note

The specialist is employed by 360 Soft under Turkish labour law; payroll, social security and statutory obligations remain with us. This page is general information, not legal advice. Sector rules in Türkiye (for example BDDK for banking or SPK for capital markets) apply to work done there, and the local rules of your own country also apply; please have the agreement reviewed by your legal counsel.

Checklist for choosing a DBA provider

Which platforms and versions do you run, and where (on-premises, cloud, hybrid)?
What are your RPO and RTO targets, and when were restores last tested?
Do you need business-hours support, extended hours or 7/24 coverage?
How will privileged access be granted, logged and revoked?
Are there regulatory requirements such as banking, payments or personal data rules?
Who approves changes and maintenance windows?
Which KPIs will you review monthly?

Example scenario

Illustrative scenario: a SaaS company in the UK runs its product on PostgreSQL and its only DBA has resigned. A senior PostgreSQL DBA joins remotely within two weeks, reviews backups and replication in the first week, finds that restores were never tested, and sets up automated restore checks and alerting. A second DBA is later added to cover a 7/24 rotation. This is an example of how the role can be used, not a report of a specific client result.

Frequently asked questions

Which database platforms do your DBAs cover?

Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL/MariaDB and NoSQL platforms such as MongoDB and Redis, both on-premises and on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud.

Can you provide 7/24 DBA coverage?

Yes. 7/24 on-call or shift rotations can be arranged with several DBAs and agreed response times.

Can a leased DBA work on our production systems?

Yes, under the access rules you define: named accounts, least privilege, MFA, your VPN or VDI and logged sessions.

Do you support database migrations to the cloud?

Yes. Senior DBAs plan and run migrations to managed services such as Amazon RDS, Aurora, Azure SQL or Cloud SQL.

Can a DBA help with performance problems only?

Yes. A short engagement focused on performance tuning is possible, followed by recommendations for your team.

How quickly can a DBA start?

The typical start is within 1–2 weeks after the brief, depending on platform and coverage requirements.

Is a part-time DBA possible?

Yes, for smaller environments a part-time allocation can work, often combined with on-call cover.

Do I interview the candidates myself?

Yes. We run technical validation first and you interview the shortlist and decide.

How is personal data protected?

Through the NDA, a GDPR data processing agreement with SCCs for EU clients or the UK IDTA, KVKK compliance in Türkiye and technical access controls.

What happens if the DBA is not the right fit?

We start the replacement process and arrange a documented handover so that operations continue.

Talk to us about your team

Tell us your database platforms, environment size, the coverage you need and your target start date. We reply with DBA profiles and an indicative timeline. Call +90 850 335 10 87, message us on WhatsApp, email info@360-soft.com or use our contact page.

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