[Hiring] Senior Database Consultant, PostgreSQL @Pythian

Role Description

The Senior Database Consultant will provide comprehensive support for all database and application infrastructure aspects to a diverse client base. This role is crucial for delivering and consulting on services, as well as for implementing improvements and optimizations for managed services customers.

What you will be doing:

• Database Management & Technical Expertise:
• Coordinate, analyze, design, implement, and administer IT solutions, including database server configuration and ongoing maintenance.
• Infrastructure Analysis & Improvement:
• Analyze client infrastructure and processes, recommending best practices to enhance current operational procedures.
• Ensure maximum uptime and recoverability for all databases.
• Backup & Disaster Recovery:
• Administer backup procedures and disaster recovery plans.
• Proactive monitoring to prevent issues, responding to alerts, and troubleshooting operational problems.
• Data Integrity & Recovery:
• Oversee backup, clustering, mirroring, replication, failover, and the restoration of corrupted databases.
• Action Plan Development:
• Develop and review action plans for maintenance, deployment, and upgrades.
• Ensure all relevant client documentation is completed.
• Maintain a thorough understanding of client information, including warnings, handoffs, and briefing notes.
• Data Architecture:
• Develop, implement, and maintain complex data architectures (e.g., normalized and/or dimensional data models and DDL generation).
• Perform data transformation and migration using scripts or stored procedures.
• Problem Management:
• Lead problem management efforts by assessing incidents for recurring patterns.
• Design technical procedures for regular requests and changes.
• Develop/review action plans and associated documentation.
• Oncall:
• Participate equally in the team’s on-call rotation, typically one weekend per month.
• Client Engagement & Communication:
• Client Commitments: Make, manage, and meet client commitments in collaboration with team members.
• Reporting & Communication: Prepare client status and incident reports, review client reports regularly, and respond to client requests and inquiries.
• Client Alignment: Maintain alignment with client operating procedures, including change control, and manage client allotments.
• Technical Client Affinity: Take on technical client affinity as assigned by the Team Manager.
• Process Improvement:
• Participate in and, at times, lead efforts to suggest, recommend, and potentially design/implement new monitoring checks, enhancements to DBC toolkits, and other process improvements.
• Focus on initiatives that increase the value Pythian provides to clients.

Qualifications

• Knowledge and experience in installing, configuring and upgrading PostgreSQL databases & tools relevant in PostgreSQL Administration.
• Experience administering PostgreSQL in virtualized and cloud environments, especially AWS, GCP or Azure.
• Experience with scripting (bash/python) and software development (C++, Java, Go).
• Automation technologies such as Ansible, Terraform, Puppet, Chef, SALT experience.
• Debugging skills and the ability to troubleshoot methodically.
• Very good documentation skills.
• Hands-on experience in monitoring PostgreSQL databases using industry-standard tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, SolarWinds, pgAdmin, Zabbix, Nagios and Datadog.
• Experience with cloud-native and managed database monitoring tools, including AWS CloudWatch, Google Cloud Operations (Stackdriver), and Azure Monitor.
• Experience in setting up, configuring, and administering PostgreSQL on Kubernetes is a nice-to-have.
• Experience with High Availability (HA) solutions for PostgreSQL, including Patroni, and repmgr, is required.
• Experience with PostgreSQL backup tools, including Barman, pgBackRest, pg_basebackup, etc. is required.
• Experience in database migrations from different database engines, including Oracle, MySQL, and MSSQL, to PostgreSQL.

Benefits

• Competitive total rewards package.
• Flexibly work remotely from your home, with no daily travel requirement to an office.
• Collaborate with some of the best and brightest in the industry.
• Substantial training allowance for professional development.
• All necessary equipment to work from home including a laptop with your choice of OS.
• Annual wellness budget for health and well-being.
• Generous amount of paid vacation and sick days, as well as a day off to volunteer for your favorite charity.