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