Postgres SQL DBA

Wokingham, United Kingdom
30-06-2025
Job Type
Contract
Emp Type
Full Time
Industry
IT
Functional Expertise
Countries
Salary Type
Hourly
Salary
Negotiable

Job Description

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

  • 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

Observability & Operations

  • 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

Enhancements & Strategic Support

  • 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

 

Required Skills & Experience

  • 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)

 

 What’s in It for You

  • 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

 

Consultant

Ben Quinn