Senior Database Administrator (PostgreSQL / MySQL) – (Hybrid) (Cape Town)

ENVIRONMENT:

A highly specialised engineering team is seeking a Senior Database Administrator to take full ownership of production database environments, with a strong focus on performance, reliability, and data integrity.  Suited to candidates with deep hands-on experience managing and optimising large-scale database systems. The role is not platform or DevOps-focused and requires a specialist who understands databases at a core operational level.

DUTIES:

• Administer, maintain, and optimise PostgreSQL, MySQL, and/or MariaDB databases in production environments.
• Perform advanced query optimisation, indexing, and performance tuning.
• Design and manage high availability, replication, and failover configurations.
• Own and execute backup, restore, and disaster recovery strategies.
• Monitor database health and performance, identifying and resolving bottlenecks.
• Troubleshoot complex database issues affecting performance and stability.
• Develop and maintain SQL scripts, stored procedures, and database-level logic.
• Ensure data integrity, consistency, and security controls across all systems.
• Work closely with development teams to optimise database interaction and query efficiency.

REQUIREMENTS:

Essential:

• Minimum 5+ years’ experience as a Database Administrator / DBA in a production environment.
• Strong hands-on experience with PostgreSQL and/or MySQL / MariaDB.
• Advanced SQL expertise, including performance tuning and query optimisation.
• Proven experience managing:
• Replication
• Failover
• High availability environments
• Solid experience with backup and disaster recovery processes.
• Strong Linux / Unix experience supporting database systems.
• Demonstrated ability to diagnose and resolve performance and stability issues.

Advantageous (Not Required):

• Exposure to NoSQL databases such as Redis or Elasticsearch.
• Experience working with large-scale or high-transaction environments.
• Basic scripting in Python or Bash.

ATTRIBUTES:

• Strong analytical mindset with attention to detail.
• High level of ownership over database performance and uptime.
• Practical, hands-on problem solver.
• Comfortable working in a focused, specialist technical role.