Location: Wokingham, UK – 2 days/week onsite (expenses covered)
Clearance: BPSS & SC required before start
Duration: 6 months (likely extension)
Sector: Critical National Infrastructure
Overview
We 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 Responsibilities
Database Reliability & Performance
1. Proactively identify and resolve performance bottlenecks
2. Enhance database high availability using EDB Postgres Distributed (PGD)
3. Troubleshoot issues and outages across a multi-cluster OpenShift setup
4. Lead query tuning with tools like EXPLAIN, pg_stat_statements, and index optimization
5. Manage capacity planning for CPU, memory, storage, and IOPS
Observability & Operations
6. Improve observability tooling: manage metrics, dashboards, and alerts
7. Monitor database health and respond to issues (replication lag, disk I/O, memory pressure)
8. Manage and test backup and disaster recovery strategies (DR playbooks, failover in ORT)
9. Optimize connection pooling to support high-volume applications
10. Collaborate with DevOps and application squads during schema changes and deployments
Enhancements & Strategic Support
11. Drive database enhancements aligned with platform upgrades and product evolution
12. Ensure consistency and integrity across distributed database instances
13. Support strategic data initiatives with deep PostgreSQL and Kubernetes expertise
Required Skills & Experience
14. Strong hands-on experience as a PostgreSQL DBA, ideally with EDB PGD or equivalent distributed Postgres setups
15. Experience running Postgres in Kubernetes / OpenShift environments
16. Deep knowledge of PostgreSQL internals, performance tuning, and replication strategies
17. Proven ability to work in high-availability, high-security environments
18. Familiarity with observability stacks and database performance tooling
19. Strong troubleshooting skills and an automation-first mindset
20. UK-based with valid BPSS and eligible for SC clearance (or already cleared)
What’s in It for You
21. Opportunity to support a high-profile, mission-critical platform
22. Influence modern database architecture in a multi-cloud, containerised environment
23. Contract with strong extension potential and excellent day rate
24. Work alongside experienced engineering teams in a security-conscious, forward-thinking environment