Database Administrator

Role & responsibilities:

Database Administration & Maintenance:

• Installation & Configuration: Install, configure, and maintain MySQL and PostgreSQL database instances in production, test, and development environments.
• Database Performance Tuning: Monitor and optimize database performance by analyzing query performance, indexes, and configuration parameters. Resolve performance bottlenecks and optimize SQL queries.
• Backup & Recovery: Design, implement, and maintain backup and recovery strategies to ensure data availability and protection. Conduct regular database backups and restore tests.
• Security Management: Manage database security, including user access control, encryption, and auditing. Implement best practices to ensure data security, compliance, and protection against unauthorized access.
• Replication & High Availability: Configure and manage database replication (Master-Slave, Master-Master), clustering, and high-availability solutions (such as PgBouncer, MySQL Cluster, or Patroni for PostgreSQL).
• Disaster Recovery: Plan and implement disaster recovery solutions, including failover strategies, data replication, and system redundancy.

Database Optimization & Tuning:

• Indexing & Query Optimization: Analyze slow-performing queries and work with the development team to optimize SQL queries and database structure. Create and manage indexes to improve database performance.
• Database Maintenance: Perform regular database maintenance tasks, including database reorganization, table optimization, and data cleanup.
• Capacity Planning: Monitor database growth and plan for future capacity requirements, ensuring that the databases can scale efficiently to handle increased loads.
• Log Management: Manage database logs, monitor error logs, and implement strategies to monitor and maintain database health and performance.

Database Troubleshooting & Support:

• Issue Resolution: Troubleshoot and resolve database-related issues, including performance bottlenecks, replication failures, and other operational issues.
• Incident Management: Respond promptly to database-related incidents and provide root cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Database Migrations: Plan and execute database migrations (version upgrades, major schema changes) with minimal downtime and maximum system availability.
• Collaboration with Development Teams: Work closely with development teams to optimize application/database interactions and resolve issues related to database performance, locking, and other technical challenges.

Documentation & Reporting:

• Database Documentation: Maintain up-to-date documentation on database configurations, procedures, best practices, and troubleshooting guides.
• Performance Reporting: Regularly report on database performance, health, and availability metrics. Prepare reports for management and stakeholders.
• Change Management: Document and manage all database changes and configurations as part of change control processes.

Continuous Improvement:

• Database Upgrades: Stay up-to-date with new features and versions of MySQL and PostgreSQL. Plan and implement database upgrades to take advantage of new functionality and performance improvements.
• Automation: Automate routine DBA tasks such as backups, monitoring, and log management using scripts (Shell, Python, etc.) or configuration management tools.

Best Practices: Continuously improve database management processes, implementing industry best practices and tools for monitoring, optimization, and security

Preferred candidate profile:

Technical Skills:

• MySQL & PostgreSQL: Proven experience managing and administering MySQL and PostgreSQL databases in production environments.
• Database Optimization: Strong expertise in performance tuning, query optimization, index management, and schema design for MySQL and PostgreSQL databases.
• Replication & Clustering: Experience with database replication (Master-Slave, Master-Master), clustering, and high-availability solutions (e.g., PgBouncer, Patroni, MySQL Cluster, Galera Cluster).
• Backup & Recovery: In-depth knowledge of backup strategies and disaster recovery for MySQL and PostgreSQL databases (e.g., Percona XtraBackup, pg_basebackup).
• SQL & Scripting: Strong skills in writing complex SQL queries for performance analysis, as well as experience with scripting languages (e.g., Bash, Python) to automate DBA tasks.
• Security & Compliance: Experience implementing database security best practices, user roles, permissions, and encryption for MySQL and PostgreSQL.
• Monitoring & Troubleshooting: Familiarity with tools like Nagios, Prometheus, Grafana, or Zabbix for database monitoring and alerting. Proficient in database log analysis and issue resolution.
• Cloud & Virtualization: Experience with databases hosted on cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and knowledge of cloud-native database services like Amazon RDS, Google Cloud SQL, or Azure Database for PostgreSQL.
• Tools: Familiarity with database management tools like phpMyAdmin, pgAdmin, and command-line utilities for MySQL and PostgreSQL administration.

Desired Experience:

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Experience: [3-5+ years] of hands-on experience as a Database Administrator with a strong focus on MySQL and PostgreSQL.
• Certifications: Relevant certifications such as MySQL DBA or PostgreSQL Certified DBA are a plus.
• Version Control: Experience using version control tools like Git for managing database schema changes is an advantage.
• High Availability & Disaster Recovery: Proven experience in implementing high-availability solutions and disaster recovery planning for MySQL and PostgreSQL databases.
• Agile & DevOps: Familiarity with Agile methodologies and DevOps practices, including integrating databases into CI/CD pipelines, is a plus.