Database Administrator (PostgreSQL)📣 Job Ad

About the Role

Astek is seeking a skilled PostgreSQL Database Administrator for a client in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This role is essential for ensuring the high availability, optimal performance, robust security, and seamless scalability of PostgreSQL databases that support customer-facing services and analytics platforms. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of PostgreSQL internals and a proven history of managing complex database environments, both on-premises and in cloud settings.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage, configure, and operate production PostgreSQL instances, including those hosted on-premises and in cloud environments such as AWS RDS/Aurora.
• Design, implement, and maintain comprehensive backup, restore, and disaster-recovery strategies, including performing point-in-time restores and testing disaster recovery runbooks.
• Proactively monitor database health and capacity, troubleshoot, and resolve issues related to performance, storage, and replication.
• Optimize database throughput and latency through query profiling, indexing, vacuuming/autovacuum tuning, and parameter adjustments.
• Plan and execute schema changes, major version upgrades, and database migrations with a focus on minimizing downtime.
• Implement and maintain high-availability and replication solutions, including streaming replication, logical replication, and failover automation.
• Develop automation for routine DBA tasks such as provisioning, monitoring alerts, and patching, leveraging Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and CI/CD tools.
• Collaborate with developers and Site Reliability Engineers (SREs) to review SQL queries, optimize data models, and support application deployments.
• Define and enforce database security measures, including access controls, encryption, and compliance with best practices.
• Create and maintain essential documentation, including runbooks and capacity forecasts, and actively participate in an on-call rotation.

Qualifications and Experience

• A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience as a PostgreSQL Database Administrator or in an equivalent production role.
• Demonstrated strong expertise in PostgreSQL internals, performance tuning, indexing strategies, query planning, and statistics management.
• Hands-on experience with backup and restore procedures, Point-in-Time Recovery (PITR), various replication methods (streaming and logical), and high-availability patterns.
• Proven experience running PostgreSQL in cloud environments and a working knowledge of cloud monitoring tools.
• Familiarity with automation tools and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles, including experience with tools like Terraform or CloudFormation.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and tools such as GitLab CI or Jenkins.
• Solid Linux system administration skills and a good understanding of storage, networking, and virtualization concepts.
• Proficiency in SQL and demonstrated experience in analyzing slow queries and performance profiles.
• Experience with observability tooling, including Prometheus, Grafana, and CloudWatch, as well as log aggregation techniques.
• Strong troubleshooting abilities, excellent documentation skills, and effective cross-team communication.

Technical Skills

• PostgreSQL
• Database Administration
• High Availability
• Performance Tuning
• Database Security
• Scalability
• Backup and Restore
• Disaster Recovery
• Replication (Streaming, Logical)
• Automation
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
• CI/CD
• SQL
• Linux System Administration
• Observability Tooling (Prometheus, Grafana, CloudWatch)
• Troubleshooting
• Documentation
• Cross-team Communication
• AWS RDS/Aurora
• Terraform
• CloudFormation
• GitLab CI
• Jenkins

Work Environment and Additional Information

This is a full-time position based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The role requires 5-10 years of relevant experience. PostgreSQL or cloud certifications are considered a plus.