Senior PostgreSQL Database Engineer
On-site senior PostgreSQL DBA/engineer role at a cleared customer location in St. Louis: administering, tuning, securing, and architecting Postgres for transactional and analytical workloads, with OpenShift integration, HA/backup, and monitoring. Requires an active TS/SCI clearance and polygraph; typical salary $140–150k.
- Compensation
- $140K–$150K / yr
- Location
- St. Louis, MO
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Senior
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- Not specified
- Category
- Devops
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Active TS/SCI security clearance; ability to obtain and maintain a polygraph (sponsorship may be available)
- Bachelor's degree in CS, IT, or related technical discipline, or equivalent experience/certifications
- 5+ years in database administration, engineering, architecture, or related discipline
- Hands-on experience administering and supporting PostgreSQL
- Relational database design, data modeling, SQL, schema development, indexing, query optimization
- Troubleshooting database issues; managing users, roles, permissions, and configurations
- Database backups, restores, upgrades, and routine maintenance
- Working knowledge of high availability, replication, and disaster recovery concepts
- Collaboration with developers and infrastructure engineers
- Strong analytical, troubleshooting, documentation, and communication skills
Nice to have
- PostgreSQL in OpenShift, Kubernetes, containerized, or Linux-based environments
- PostgreSQL replication, failover, connection pooling, or HA technologies
- Database monitoring, logging, alerting, and performance diagnostics
- Supporting both transactional and analytical workloads
- Database automation, scripting, infrastructure as code, or repeatable deployments
- Planning/executing database migrations, upgrades, and modernization
- Database security practices in regulated or classified environments
- Oracle DBA or Oracle-to-PostgreSQL migration experience
- CompTIA Security+ certification or equivalent
Full description
ACTIVE TS/SCI SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED
This position combines hands-on PostgreSQL administration with database engineering and architecture. You will serve as the team's primary database subject matter expert, partnering with software developers and systems engineers to maintain reliable database operations while improving database performance, design, security, and maintainability.
Our environment uses PostgreSQL for both transactional and analytical data workloads and leverages OpenShift for application deployment. The ideal candidate enjoys solving practical database challenges, can independently troubleshoot operational issues, and can recommend and implement improvements to how databases are designed, deployed, monitored, and maintained.
What You'll Do
- Administer PostgreSQL databases: Manage database configuration, user accounts, roles, permissions, routine maintenance, patching, upgrades, and operational troubleshooting.
- Design and improve database architectures: Develop and refine schemas, data models, indexing strategies, and data access patterns to support application functionality, performance, and evolving system requirements.
- Optimize database performance: Analyze SQL queries and execution plans, identify performance bottlenecks, and implement improvements to queries, indexes, database configuration, and resource utilization.
- Support database operations in OpenShift environments: Collaborate with platform and application teams to support PostgreSQL deployment, connectivity, configuration, monitoring, and operational integration with OpenShift-based systems.
- Maintain database reliability and recoverability: Implement and maintain backup and restore procedures, validate recovery processes, and support existing high-availability, replication, and disaster recovery capabilities.
- Monitor database health: Configure and maintain database monitoring, logging, alerting, capacity tracking, and operational reporting to identify and resolve issues proactively.
- Collaborate with software developers: Advise on schema design, SQL development, transaction management, data access patterns, and database integration to ensure efficient and reliable application behavior.
- Drive continuous improvement: Identify database performance, reliability, scalability, and maintainability improvements; evaluate appropriate tools and approaches; and implement practical solutions.
- Support database lifecycle management: Plan and execute database upgrades, migrations, configuration changes, and modernization efforts while minimizing operational risk and service disruption.