Database Administrator

Searchability; Croydon; On-site; GBP 130,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Searchability in Croydon is seeking a Senior Database Administrator to lead AWS-hosted database platforms including Aurora and PostgreSQL. You will own architecture, resilience, performance tuning and operational support for mission-critical services in the UK Public Sector, with active SC clearance required.

You will work with Solution Architects, Cloud Engineers and developers to design highly available solutions, implement disaster recovery, and contribute to governance and technical

Qualifications

• Extensive experience as a Senior Database Administrator in enterprise environments.
• Expert knowledge of AWS Aurora, Amazon RDS and PostgreSQL.
• Strong database architecture and design skills.
• Experience delivering highly available database platforms with disaster recovery capabilities.
• Excellent SQL development, query tuning and performance optimization skills.
• Strong understanding of database schema design, indexing strategies and data modelling.
• Experience with IAM, CloudWatch, KMS, VPC and Secrets Manager.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code using Terraform and/or CloudFormation.
• Experience working with CI/CD pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, design and implementation of enterprise AWS database solutions.
• Design and maintain database schemas, indexing strategies and data models.
• Deliver resilient database platforms with high availability and disaster recovery capabilities.
• Develop and test backup, recovery, failover and business continuity processes.
• Participate in architecture reviews, governance boards and technical design authority meetings.
• Optimize database performance through query tuning, execution plan analysis and configuration improvements.
• Investigate and resolve complex production database issues.
• Lead data reconciliation, integrity validation and root cause analysis.
• Manage database upgrades, patching, monitoring, security and capacity planning.
• Collaborate with architects, developers and cloud engineering teams to deliver scalable database solutions.
• Produce and maintain technical documentation, operational procedures and database standards.

Skills

Senior DBA experience

SQL development

Stakeholder management

Performance tuning

Security & compliance

Tools

AWS Aurora

Amazon RDS

PostgreSQL

Terraform

CloudFormation

CI/CD pipelines

Job description

SENIOR DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR (AWS AURORA / POSTGRESQL)

• £525 per day via Umbrella
• Initial contract until 31/12/2026
• Croydon based
• Active SC Clearance required

WHO WE ARE?

We are recruiting on behalf of a leading technology organisation delivering critical digital services into the UK Public Sector. They are seeking an experienced Senior Database Administrator (DBA) to join a high-profile programme supporting the design, operation and optimisation of enterprise database platforms hosted within AWS.

This is an excellent opportunity to join a highly skilled technical team, working on mission-critical services where resilience, performance and security are paramount.

WHAT WILL THE SENIOR DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR BE DOING?

As the Senior Database Administrator, you'll act as the technical lead for AWS-hosted database platforms, taking ownership of database architecture, resilience, performance optimisation and operational support.

You'll work closely with Solution Architects, Cloud Engineers, Developers and Operational teams to design highly available database solutions, optimise performance, implement disaster recovery capabilities and resolve complex production issues. Alongside hands-on technical delivery, you'll contribute to architecture reviews, governance activities and technical decision making.

THE SENIOR DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR SHOULD HAVE...

• Extensive commercial experience as a Senior Database Administrator (DBA)
• Expert knowledge of AWS Aurora, Amazon RDS and PostgreSQL
• Strong database architecture and solution design experience
• Proven experience designing highly available, resilient database platforms
• Excellent SQL development, query optimisation and performance tuning skills
• Strong understanding of database schema design, indexing strategies and data modelling
• Experience implementing backup, recovery, replication, failover and disaster recovery solutions
• Experience troubleshooting complex enterprise production database environments
• Strong knowledge of AWS services including IAM, CloudWatch, KMS, VPC and Secrets Manager
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code using Terraform and/or CloudFormation
• Experience working with CI/CD pipelines
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills

DESIRABLE EXPERIENCE

• AWS Database Specialty or AWS Solutions Architect certification
• Experience with MySQL, SQL Server, MongoDB or Redis
• Experience working within Government or highly regulated environments

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the architecture, design and implementation of enterprise AWS database solutions
• Design and maintain database schemas, indexing strategies and data models
• Deliver resilient database platforms with high availability and disaster recovery capabilities
• Develop and test backup, recovery, failover and business continuity processes
• Participate in architecture reviews, governance boards and technical design authority meetings
• Optimise database performance through query tuning, execution plan analysis and configuration improvements Investigate and resolve complex production database issues
• Lead data reconciliation, integrity validation and root cause analysis
• Manage database upgrades, patching, monitoring, security and capacity planning
• Collaborate with architects, developers and cloud engineering teams to deliver scalable database solutions
• Produce and maintain technical documentation, operational procedures and database standards