Senior PostgreSQL DBA / Database Platform Engineer

The job responsibilities outlined in this document are not exhaustive and may evolve over time and be reviewed according to business needs.

ROLE DESCRIPTION SUMMARY

This role is accountable for the architecture, engineering, operational integrity, and lifecycle management of enterprise database platforms supporting mission-critical systems, including customer-facing applications, operational control systems, satellite flight operations, and core business platforms. These environments directly impact revenue, safety, regulatory posture, and corporate reputation.

We are seeking a senior-level PostgreSQL Database Administrator with deep expertise in PostgreSQL, TimescaleDB, and Kubernetes-based deployments across AWS, Azure, and on-premises environments. This role requires advanced proficiency in designing and operating highly available, fault-tolerant, and performance-optimized database platforms within complex hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructures.

The position carries enterprise-wide responsibility for ensuring database security, resiliency, disaster recovery readiness, scalability, and continuous availability. The individual will serve as a technical authority and escalation point for critical database incidents and strategic platform decisions.

This role partners cross-functionally with engineering, infrastructure, cybersecurity, DevOps, and executive stakeholders to align database architecture with long-term organizational strategy, risk management requirements, and operational excellence standards.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES / KEY RESULT AREAS

• Design, implement, and maintain enterprise-grade PostgreSQL environments across AWS, Azure, and on-premises data centers
• Administer and optimize TimescaleDB for time-series and analytical workloads
• Deploy, manage, and operate databases in Kubernetes environments (cloud and on-prem)
• Architect and maintain hybrid and multi-cloud database platforms
• Build and support highly available and fault-tolerant systems
• Perform capacity planning, performance tuning, and query optimization
• Implement backup, recovery, and disaster recovery strategies across environments
• Automate database provisioning, upgrades, and lifecycle management
• Monitor system health, availability, and performance
• Troubleshoot complex, cross-platform production issues
• Enforce security, compliance, and governance standards
• Collaborate with application, cloud, and infrastructure teams
• Lead database migrations between cloud and on-prem platforms
• Manage version upgrades and patching cycles
• Maintain technical documentation and operational runbooks
• Serves as a technical mentor and subject matter expert, providing guidance, code reviews, architectural input, and operational leadership to engineering and operations teams

COMPETENCIES

• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills
• Ability to manage complex, distributed environments
• Comfortable working across multiple infrastructure platforms
• Strong ownership mindset
• Clear technical communicator
• Detail-oriented with strong documentation habits
• Focus on automation, reliability, and long-term maintainability

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related technical field required
• Equivalent combination of education and extensive experience may be considered
• 10+ years of progressive database administration experience in enterprise production environments, including 7+ years of hands-on PostgreSQL administration
• Expert-level knowledge of PostgreSQL internals, query planning, indexing strategies, and advanced performance tuning
• Strong experience with TimescaleDB in high-ingest or time-series workloads
• Proven experience operating PostgreSQL on Kubernetes (operators, StatefulSets, persistent volumes, high availability patterns)
• Experience managing production databases across AWS, Microsoft Azure, and on-premises infrastructure
• Deep expertise in replication, clustering, failover architecture, and high availability design
• Advanced experience with backup and recovery strategies, WAL archiving, and point-in-time recovery
• Strong Linux system administration and performance troubleshooting skills
• Automation and scripting proficiency (Bash, Python, Ansible, or equivalent)
• Solid understanding of cloud networking, storage architectures, and security models
• Experience with enterprise monitoring and observability platforms (Prometheus, Grafana, CloudWatch, Azure Monitor)
• Strong knowledge of enterprise security, compliance, and data protection requirements

OTHER KEY REQUIREMENTS / COMMENTS

These are preferred skills and attributes and not a requirement.

• Experience administering MongoDB in production
• Experience managing Oracle databases (GoldenGate, tuning)
• Experience with Terraform, Helm, and GitOps workflows
• Experience with hybrid-cloud networking and connectivity
• Exposure to data replication and streaming platforms (Kafka, Debezium)
• Experience supporting large-scale analytics systems