Database Administrator

Kaiva Tech, LLC is seeking a Database Administrator in Rockville/Silver Spring, Maryland.

Salary : $110K - $140K

Work location : Hybrid, mostly remote

Project Description : FDA.gov website experiences more than 670 million hits, 43.34 TB of data transferred, and 17.4 million visitors per month, making it the "front door" to the FDA for a substantial portion of the public. The site is a key component of FDA's mission to communicate effectively with healthcare professionals and the public, supporting the agency's Transparency and Open Government efforts and providing the public with numerous opportunities to interact directly with FDA.

This project supports the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in translating business needs into technology solutions across FDA's public-facing web environment, providing administration, infrastructure support, and strategic planning for FDA's Web presence. Support for FDA's web infrastructure, including its Content Management System (CMS), is intended to enhance the agency's ability to manage web content effectively. The current CMS, built on Drupal, supports FDA's public-facing site, which spans more than 65,000 documents and pages and is maintained by more than 600 active site contributors.

Role Description : This position requires an experienced Database Administrator capable of working independently to assist with database operations, user connectivity to the database, database security, backup and recovery, data integrity, database updates, and database reporting.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to :
• Administer, maintain, and monitor database systems supporting the website, ensuring high availability, performance, and reliability. Database platforms within the project ecosystem include MySQL, Oracle, and SQL Server.
• Assist with database operations, user connectivity, database security, backup and recovery, data integrity, database updates, and database reporting
• Perform all aspects of database system administration, including installation of instances, tuning of instances and queries, space management, and database installation, configuration, and tuning to support optimal website performance and scalability
• Set up and maintain High-Availability (RAC) and Disaster Recovery (RMAN) solutions to ensure continuity of website operations and minimize downtime
• Determine and implement best practices for database setup, monitoring, backup and recovery, installation, tuning, and auditing
• Manage database backups and conduct regular recovery testing to ensure data can be restored quickly in the event of system failure
• Monitor database performance and proactively identify and resolve issues affecting website availability, load times, or data accuracy
• Diagnose and troubleshoot complex performance, connectivity, and security issues involving critical applications and integrated website databases
• Perform Linux and UNIX administration tasks required for database platforms, including setting system parameters, formatting drives, and monitoring system performance
• Manage user access and permissions to ensure only authorized personnel can access or modify sensitive data
• Develop, implement, and enforce policies and procedures to protect the security and integrity of website-related data, including compliance with federal security standards
• Support content management system (CMS) integration by ensuring the underlying database structure aligns with content storage, retrieval, and reporting needs
• Ensure database configurations and data handling practices comply with Section 508 accessibility requirements and federal records management/retention policies
• Collaborate with web developers, systems administrators, and content teams to support new feature releases, website updates, and data migration efforts
• Maintain documentation of database architecture, configurations, and standard operating procedures
• Evaluate and recommend database management tools, upgrades, or process improvements to enhance website performance and data governance

Minimum Qualifications :
• Bachelor's degree in a technical discipline
• 10+ years of related experience in database administration
• Experience with MySQL, Oracle, and Linux, including installation, configuration, administration, troubleshooting, and maintenance. SQL Server experience is desired.