Aurora PostgreSQL Database Administrator (DBA)

• Job Title: Aurora PostgreSQL Database Administrator (DBA)
• Experience Level: Senior-level
• Experience Required: 5-10+ years
• Primary Database: PostgreSQL / Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL

Position Overview

• Experienced Aurora PostgreSQL DBA responsible for designing, administering, optimizing, and supporting highly available PostgreSQL databases on Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL.

• Responsible for:

• Database reliability

• Performance

• Security

• Backup and recovery

• Monitoring

• Production support

• Support database environments across:

• Development

• Test

• Production

• Strong hands-on PostgreSQL and AWS/Amazon Aurora experience required.

• Strong understanding of:

• Database performance

• High availability

• Automation

• Troubleshooting

Key Responsibilities

• Administer and support Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL database environments.

• Install, configure, upgrade, patch, and maintain PostgreSQL/Aurora systems.

• Manage:

• Aurora clusters

• Read replicas

• Failover

• Parameter groups

• Subnet groups

• Endpoints

• Perform database performance tuning, including:

• Query optimization

• Execution plan analysis

• Index optimization

• Connection and memory tuning

• Lock and wait-event analysis

• Vacuum/autovacuum optimization

• Monitor database:

• Health

• Capacity

• Performance

• Availability

• Use AWS and PostgreSQL monitoring tools.

• Implement and maintain:

• Backup and restore strategies

• Disaster recovery (DR)

• Business continuity strategies

• Perform Point-in-Time Recovery (PITR).

• Support database recovery exercises.

• Troubleshoot production issues, including:

• Database incidents

• Performance problems

• Connectivity issues

• Replication issues

• Database failures

• Manage database security:

• Users

• Roles

• Permissions

• Encryption

• Auditing

• Access controls

• Work with application and development teams on:

• SQL queries

• Schema design

• Indexes

• Database-related application issues

• Support migrations to Aurora PostgreSQL from:

• On-premises DB2

• Other database platforms

• Develop automation and operational scripts using:

• Python

• AWS Lambda

• AWS CLI

• Establish and maintain:

• Database standards

• Operational procedures

• Documentation

• Runbooks

• Participate in on-call rotations.

• Provide production support for critical database environments.

• Assist with:

• Capacity planning

• Cloud cost optimization

• Database modernization initiatives

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of database administration experience with PostgreSQL.

• 2+ years of hands-on experience with Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL.

• Strong understanding of:

• PostgreSQL architecture

• PostgreSQL administration

• PostgreSQL internals

• Strong experience with:

• SQL

• PL/pgSQL

• Indexes

• Transactions

• Locking

• Query execution plans

• Experience with:

• PostgreSQL backup and recovery

• Replication

• High-availability strategies

• Strong AWS knowledge, particularly:

• Amazon Aurora

• Amazon RDS

• EC2

• IAM

• CloudWatch

• S3

• Airflow

• Lambda

• Experience troubleshooting database performance using:

• EXPLAIN

• EXPLAIN ANALYZE

• PostgreSQL statistics views

• AWS Performance Insights

• CloudWatch

• Experience with database monitoring and alerting.

• Strong scripting and automation skills using Python or similar languages.

• Experience working with:

• Production-critical databases

• Incident management processes

Preferred Qualifications

• AWS Certified Database - Specialty or comparable AWS certification.

• PostgreSQL certification or equivalent professional experience.

• Experience migrating databases to Aurora PostgreSQL using AWS Database Migration Service (DMS).

• Experience with CI/CD pipelines.

• Experience with database observability tools such as:

• Datadog

• Grafana

• Similar platforms

• Experience with:

• PostgreSQL version upgrades

• Aurora major-version upgrades

Technical Skills

• Databases:

• PostgreSQL

• Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL

• Amazon RDS

• AWS:

• Aurora

• RDS

• EC2

• VPC

• IAM

• CloudWatch

• S3

• KMS

• DMS

• Lambda

• Airflow

• Performance Tuning:

• EXPLAIN / EXPLAIN ANALYZE

• Query tuning

• Indexing

• Wait-event analysis

• Lock analysis

• Vacuum/autovacuum

• Connection management

• High Availability & Disaster Recovery:

• Aurora replication

• Read replicas

• Failover

• Backup/restore

• Point-in-Time Recovery

• Disaster recovery

• Automation:

• Python

• AWS CLI

• Lambda

• Airflow

• Monitoring & Observability:

• AWS Performance Insights

• CloudWatch

• PostgreSQL monitoring

• Grafana

• Prometheus

• Datadog

Soft Skills

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

• Excellent troubleshooting skills.

• Strong incident-management capabilities.

• Ability to work effectively with:

• Developers

• Architects

• Infrastructure teams

• Strong communication skills.

• Strong documentation skills.

• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced production environment.

• Strong ownership and attention to:

• Reliability

• Security

• Operational excellence

Success Criteria

• Maintain highly available and secure Aurora PostgreSQL environments.

• Proactively improve database:

• Performance

• Reliability

• Automate routine DBA activities.

• Minimize production downtime.

• Partner effectively with engineering teams.

• Deliver scalable and reliable database solutions.

Key Resume Keywords

• PostgreSQL DBA
• Aurora PostgreSQL
• Amazon Aurora
• AWS RDS
• PostgreSQL Administration
• Database Administration
• SQL
• PL/pgSQL
• Query Optimization
• Performance Tuning
• EXPLAIN ANALYZE
• Index Optimization
• Replication
• High Availability
• Failover
• Backup & Recovery
• Point-in-Time Recovery
• Disaster Recovery
• AWS
• CloudWatch
• Performance Insights
• IAM
• S3
• Lambda
• AWS CLI
• Python
• Airflow
• AWS DMS
• DB2 Migration
• Database Migration
• Datadog
• Grafana
• Prometheus
• CI/CD