Pavankumar Sunkesula
Software Engineer
Hyderabad,TS
Summary
Microsoft SQL Server DBA and IT Operations Specialist with 3.6+ years of hands-on IT experience administering, configuring, migrating, and maintaining various MS SQL Server versions. Proven expertise in database administration, performance tuning, high availability solutions, and cloud migrations. Extended experience in data science projects leveraging SQL Server data extraction, Python-based ML model development, and Power BI analytics. Strong change management practices, critical incident handling, and team leadership with excellent interpersonal and organizational skills.
Overview
4
4
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Senior System Engineer - SQL Server Database Administrator
Infosys Limited | Westpac Banking Corporation (Client)
06.2022 - Current
- SQL Server Administration and Operations
- Orchestrated MSSQL Server installations, configuration, upgradation, and patching activities on both Standalone and Cluster environments across Production, Staging, UAT, SIT, and Development environments
- Performed SQL Server migrations from on-premises to Azure cloud infrastructure with zero-downtime deployments
- Managed database restore activities across PROD, SVP, SIT, UAT, and DEV environments with Point-In-Time recovery capabilities
- Expert in Always On Availability Groups (AG) configuration, troubleshooting, and failover management
- Configured and troubleshot various replication types including transactional and merge replications
- Expertise in database log shipping, cluster failover issues resolution, and high availability architecture design
- Performance Optimization and Tuning
- Expertise in Query and Performance Tuning: analyzed execution plans, optimized inefficient queries, and improved database performance by 40% in critical applications
- Proactively identified and resolved performance leaks using SQL Server Profiler and Performance Monitor (Perfmon)
- Index maintenance strategies including rebuilding and reorganization of fragmented indexes to enhance query execution
- Deadlock analysis and prevention through T-SQL code review and query optimization
- Created strategic indexes considering multiple operation types and workload patterns
- Database Security and Access Management
- Experience in creating database logins, mapping users to logins, and assigning granular permissions based on role-based access control (RBAC)
- Configured and managed proxy accounts and linked servers for distributed queries and cross-server operations
- Database encryption implementation and security best practices
- Backup, Recovery, and Disaster Recovery
- Comprehensive backup maintenance and disaster recovery procedures with automated backup scheduling and testing
- Checked backup status, troubleshot failed backups, and performed successful database restoration for critical incidents
- Point-In-Time recovery requests fulfillment with minimal RTO and RPO
- Managed backup policies and maintenance activities for 50+ SQL Server instances across Westpac infrastructure
- Database Development and SSIS
- Basic T-SQL knowledge with hands-on experience creating views, stored procedures, and queries
- Experience in testing, troubleshooting, and deploying SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services) packages
- Database mail configuration and automated alerting systems setup
- Cloud Infrastructure Management
- Managed Azure cloud resources including disk management, resizing, and storage account optimization
- Deep understanding of Azure Regions, Availability Zones, and Availability Sets
- Premium and Standard Storage account configuration and management
- Azure SQL Database migration and maintenance
- Team Leadership and Change Management
- Led and managed team of 15+ database administrators in streamlining database workflows and operations
- Responsibility as Change Manager for reviewing SQL installations, database operations, configurations, patching, and upgradations across enterprise infrastructure
- Acted as SME (Subject Matter Expert) and POC (Point of Contact) for patching activities across all Production SQL Servers
- Directed database team successfully with proactive management and zero escalations
- Client-facing discussions and stakeholder communication on database operational issues
- Incident and Problem Management
- Handled P1 and critical incidents with root cause analysis and rapid resolution
- Troubleshot SQL Server startup issues on both Cluster and Standalone environments by analyzing error logs, event viewer, and cluster events
- Resolved Windows and SQL Cluster level issues with timely remediation
- Monitored SQL Server and SQL Server Agent error logs for bottlenecks and proactively resolved issues
- Coordinated with cross-functional teams (Network, OS, Storage, AD, Application teams) for permanent issue resolution
Education
Bachelor of Technology - Mechanical Engineering
RGM College of Engineering And Technology
Nandyala04-2019
Skills
- Programming Languages: T-SQL, Python (Pandas, NumPy, Scikit-learn), PowerShell
- Batch Scheduling Tools: BMC Control-M
- Database Systems: Microsoft SQL Server (2012, 2016, 2019), Azure SQL Database, SQL Server Agent
- Cloud Platforms: Microsoft Azure (Premium/Standard Storage Accounts, Regions, Availability Zones, Availability Sets, Azure VM)
- Operating Systems: Windows Server, Linux
- Monitoring and Observability Tools: Foglight, AppDynamics, Splunk, SQL Server Profiler, Performance Monitor (Perfmon)
- Backup and Recovery: SQL Safe Backup, Spotlight, Veritas NetBackup, Native SQL Backup
- Data Science and Analytics: Python (Scikit-learn, Pandas), Machine Learning (Classification, Regression), Power BI, Jupyter Notebook
- Collaboration Tools: Microsoft Teams
- Other Tools: SQL Server Management Studio, Service Now, BMC Remedy
Accomplishments
- Awarded Outstanding, Applause, and Spot awards on multiple occasions for handling critical situations and delivering under pressure
- Taken sole responsibility and ownership of internal database projects, streamlining backup tasks, policies, and maintenance activities for all servers
- Expertise in SQL Server patching and successfully managed patching activities with zero downtime
- Directed DB team successfully with proactive management and efficient operations without escalations
DATA SCIENCE PROJECT EXPERIENCE
Banking Fraud Detection ML Model using SQL Server Data, Westpac Banking Corporation | Duration: 12 Months, Business Objective, Develop a machine learning model to identify fraudulent transactions in banking operations, reducing manual review processes and improving fraud detection accuracy., Data Extraction and Preprocessing (SQL Server Backend), Extracted 500K+ transaction records from SQL Server production databases using optimized T-SQL queries across multiple fact and dimension tables, Designed and implemented SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services) ETL pipelines for automated data extraction and transformation, Data cleaning and quality validation: handled missing values, outliers, and data inconsistencies using Python (Pandas), Feature engineering: created 50+ relevant features including transaction amount, frequency, location patterns, and time-based features, Achieved 95%+ data quality score post-preprocessing, Machine Learning Model Development (Python), Built classification model using Random Forest algorithm with Scikit-learn, Trained model on 400K records with 80-20 train-test split, Achieved 95% accuracy, 94% precision, 96% recall, and 0.95 F1-score on test dataset, Implemented cross-validation strategies for robust model evaluation, Performed hyperparameter tuning to optimize model performance, Insights and Analytics (Power BI Integration), Deployed model predictions into Power BI dashboards for real-time fraud detection insights, Created interactive visualizations showing fraud patterns, transaction anomalies, and risk scores, Generated stakeholder reports with actionable recommendations, Model Deployment and Monitoring, Deployed ML model as REST API endpoint on Azure VM for production usage, Integrated model monitoring using Splunk for continuous performance tracking and alerting, Achieved 30% reduction in false positive fraud alerts through model optimization, Documented model performance metrics, decision thresholds, and operational guidelines
Certification
- Infosys Certified SQL Server 2016 Administrator
- Infosys Certified Microsoft Power BI Developer
WORK EXPERIENCE
Working as a SQL Server Database Administrator and Data Science Engineer, leveraging enterprise SQL Server environments, Python-based machine learning, and Power BI analytics to build, deploy, and optimize data-driven fraud detection solutions that improve accuracy and reduce false positives in banking use cases
Languages
English
Advanced (C1)
Timeline
Senior System Engineer - SQL Server Database Administrator
Infosys Limited | Westpac Banking Corporation (Client)
06.2022 - Current
Bachelor of Technology - Mechanical Engineering
RGM College of Engineering And Technology