Postgres SQL DBA
- Wokingham, Berkshire
- Contract
- Full-time
Clearance: BPSS & SC required before start
Duration: 6 months (likely extension)
Sector: Critical National InfrastructureOverviewWe are supporting a critical infrastructure organisation in their search for an experienced PostgreSQL Database Administrator (DBA) to support and enhance a distributed, cloud-native EDB PGD environment. This is a highly sensitive role requiring both BPSS and SC clearance prior to onboarding.You'll play a central role in maintaining the performance, availability, and reliability of a geographically distributed Postgres setup, running on Kubernetes and OpenShift clusters. The system is part of a wider, business-critical platform, demanding strong engineering focus and proactive operational excellence.Key ResponsibilitiesDatabase Reliability & Performance
- Proactively identify and resolve performance bottlenecks
- Enhance database high availability using EDB Postgres Distributed (PGD)
- Troubleshoot issues and outages across a multi-cluster OpenShift setup
- Lead query tuning with tools like EXPLAIN, pg_stat_statements, and index optimization
- Manage capacity planning for CPU, memory, storage, and IOPS
- Improve observability tooling: manage metrics, dashboards, and alerts
- Monitor database health and respond to issues (replication lag, disk I/O, memory pressure)
- Manage and test backup and disaster recovery strategies (DR playbooks, failover in ORT)
- Optimize connection pooling to support high-volume applications
- Collaborate with DevOps and application squads during schema changes and deployments
- Drive database enhancements aligned with platform upgrades and product evolution
- Ensure consistency and integrity across distributed database instances
- Support strategic data initiatives with deep PostgreSQL and Kubernetes expertise
- Strong hands-on experience as a PostgreSQL DBA, ideally with EDB PGD or equivalent distributed Postgres setups
- Experience running Postgres in Kubernetes / OpenShift environments
- Deep knowledge of PostgreSQL internals, performance tuning, and replication strategies
- Proven ability to work in high-availability, high-security environments
- Familiarity with observability stacks and database performance tooling
- Strong troubleshooting skills and an automation-first mindset
- UK-based with valid BPSS and eligible for SC clearance (or already cleared)
- Opportunity to support a high-profile, mission-critical platform
- Influence modern database architecture in a multi-cloud, containerised environment
- Contract with strong extension potential and excellent day rate
- Work alongside experienced engineering teams in a security-conscious, forward-thinking environment