Database Administrator job description

Job brief

We are looking for a detail-oriented Database Administrator to manage our growing data infrastructure and ensure our mission-critical applications remain performant and secure. You will play a vital role in architecting robust database solutions, streamlining our migration processes, and maintaining high availability for our global user base. Working alongside our DevOps and software engineering teams, you will tackle challenging data scaling problems in a modern cloud-first environment. If you are passionate about data integrity, query optimization, and building resilient systems, we invite you to join our technology team.

What is a Database Administrator?

A Database Administrator is a specialized IT professional responsible for the performance, integrity, and security of organizational data. Database Administrators design and implement database structures, perform complex data migrations, and ensure that systems remain available 24/7. By leveraging technologies like PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, or NoSQL databases, a Database Administrator acts as the gatekeeper of critical information assets, ensuring business continuity and data-driven decision-making.

What does a Database Administrator do?

On a daily basis, a Database Administrator monitors database health metrics, proactively identifies performance bottlenecks in SQL queries, and manages backup and recovery protocols to prevent data loss. They collaborate with software engineers to optimize database schemas, handle security patching, and ensure compliance with data privacy regulations like GDPR or HIPAA. This role often involves working with automation scripts in Bash or Python to streamline routine maintenance tasks and ensuring seamless connectivity between applications and data stores.

Key responsibilities

• Design and optimize high-performance database schemas and indexing strategies to support complex, large-scale application workloads.
• Perform routine database maintenance tasks, including managing storage, capacity planning, and routine security patching to ensure system reliability.
• Develop and automate robust disaster recovery plans, including point-in-time recovery testing and high-availability cluster configurations.
• Monitor database health using observability tools like Datadog, New Relic, or Prometheus to identify and resolve latency issues.
• Collaborate with developers to rewrite inefficient SQL queries and implement best practices for secure data access patterns.
• Manage secure data migrations between on-premises environments and cloud platforms such as AWS RDS, Azure SQL, or Google Cloud Spanner.
• Implement stringent access control policies and encryption at rest to ensure compliance with SOC2, GDPR, or HIPAA standards.
• Provide on-call support for critical production database incidents and perform root cause analysis to prevent recurring outages.

Requirements and skills

• 5+ years of hands-on experience managing relational (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server) and NoSQL (MongoDB, Redis, Cassandra) databases.
• Proficiency in SQL query optimization, execution plan analysis, and database schema design for high-traffic environments.
• Advanced knowledge of cloud-native database services on AWS (Aurora, RDS), Azure, or GCP, with experience using Terraform or CloudFormation.
• Experience writing automation and administration scripts in Python, Bash, or PowerShell to manage complex database environments.
• Deep understanding of database replication, sharding, partitioning, and clustering techniques to ensure global scalability.
• Strong ability to translate complex technical database architecture and capacity constraints into clear language for non-technical stakeholders.
• Possession of industry-recognized certifications such as AWS Certified Database Specialty or Oracle Database Administrator Certified Professional.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience in database operations.

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