UK remote
PostgreSQL Database Administrator
About this role
We are looking for a hands-on PostgreSQL DBA to help manage database services across our on-premises infrastructure and GCP. The role combines production operations with project work, including migration from Community PostgreSQL to EDB Postgres, high-availability standardization, database consolidation, and operational automation. You will work closely with DBAs, SRE, infrastructure, application, and security teams. We need someone who can assess the current environment, identify risks and improvements, recommend practical solutions, and follow them through to stable production operations.
Here are the core functions, responsibilities, and expectations for this role: PostgreSQL and EDB administration. Administer the full database lifecycle, including installation, configuration, patching, upgrades, capacity planning, security, monitoring, incident response, and decommissioning. High availability with EFM. Configure, operate, monitor, and troubleshoot EDB Failover Manager clusters; perform planned switchovers and failover tests; validate application connectivity; and safely reintegrate failed or former primary nodes.
Backup and recovery with Barman. Configure and monitor base backups and WAL archiving or streaming, manage retention, execute point-in-time recovery, and conduct documented restore and disaster-recovery tests against agreed RPO and RTO targets. Monitoring and alerting with PEM. Register and manage servers and agents, configure meaningful metrics and alert thresholds, investigate alerts and performance trends using graphs, and maintain notification and escalation integrations.
Automation and version control. Use TPA and Ansible/Spacelift to build repeatable PostgreSQL/EDB environments and maintain playbooks and configuration in Git and GitHub using branches, pull requests, and peer review. Replication and recovery. Configure and troubleshoot physical streaming and logical replication, replication slots, WAL retention, lag, and timeline issues; use pg_rewind when appropriate to resynchronize a node after timelines diverge.
Performance engineering. Analyze execution plans and wait or lock behavior, tune SQL and indexes, and optimize PostgreSQL and operating-system settings, including autovacuum, memory, storage, and checkpoint or WAL behavior. Connectivity and security. Operate PgBouncer and manage roles, privileges, authentication, pg_hba.conf, TLS, secrets, and least-privilege access in line with organizational standards. Migrations and consolidation.