Senior PostgreSQL Database Administrator (AWS | DevOps | HA) | Contract to Hire | Hybrid Harrisburg PA (PA resident required / Local Candidates Only)

Job Title: Senior PostgreSQL Database Administrator (AWS | DevOps | HA)

Job Type: Contract-to-Hire (6 Months)
Location: Hybrid Harrisburg, PA (Local / PA Residents Only)
Minimum 1 day onsite/week
Must be flexible to work up to 5 days onsite as needed

Work Hours: 8:00 AM 5:00 PM
On-Call: 247365 rotational support

Role Summary

We are seeking a Senior PostgreSQL Database Administrator (DevOps-focused) to own the architecture, administration, automation, and optimization of enterprise PostgreSQL environments. This role supports hybrid AWS and on-prem infrastructure, requiring deep expertise in PostgreSQL HA, replication, performance tuning, automation, and cloud migrations.

The ideal candidate will operate as a PostgreSQL technical lead, provide architectural guidance, mentor junior DBAs, and support mission-critical production systems.

Key Responsibilities

PostgreSQL Architecture & Design

• Lead PostgreSQL database design and architecture for scalability, availability, and security

• Design and optimize schemas, tables, indexes, and database objects

• Recommend deployment strategies for AWS Aurora PostgreSQL, AWS RDS, and open-source PostgreSQL

• Plan for capacity management, data retention, and future growth

Database Administration & Operations

• Install, configure, upgrade, and patch PostgreSQL environments

• Implement and manage backup and recovery strategies, including disaster recovery testing

• Manage high availability (HA), replication, load balancing, and failover

• Monitor database health, performance, capacity, and alerting

• Perform data migrations, ETL operations, and transformations

• Manage PostgreSQL extensions and advanced features

Performance, Security & Automation

• Perform query analysis, indexing, and memory tuning to resolve performance issues

• Implement database security, encryption, authentication, and LDAP integration

• Automate database operations using Shell, PowerShell, Python, Ansible, Terraform, Kubernetes, Rancher, and Stonebranch

• Support containerized PostgreSQL deployments

Leadership & Collaboration

• Serve as a senior technical SME, mentoring junior DBAs

• Lead or contribute to database and infrastructure initiatives

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams and stakeholders

• Participate in on-call rotation and incident response

Required Qualifications

• 6+ years of PostgreSQL DBA experience with strong architectural ownership

• Hands-on experience with AWS (RDS, EC2, S3, Aurora PostgreSQL)

• Expertise in HA, replication, backup/recovery, and performance tuning

• Experience with automation and DevOps tools

• Strong scripting skills (Shell, PowerShell, Python)

• Ability to work independently and provide technical guidance

• PA residency required (local candidates only)

Nice-to-Have Skills

• SQL Server DBA experience

• MongoDB or DB2 LUW exposure

• Experience with RHEL and Windows Server

• Familiarity with Jira, ITIL change management

• Monitoring tools: Grafana, Prometheus, Nagios, Zabbix

Why This Role

• Senior-level PostgreSQL ownership (not ticket-based DBA work)

• Strong AWS + DevOps + Automation focus

• Contract-to-Hire opportunity

• Hands-on impact in a hybrid enterprise environment