MySQL Cluster and Postgres on AWS

Description

On-site in Washington, DC

Our client seeks a Senior Database Engineer to lead enterprise PostgreSQL and MySQL database environments across on-premises and AWS cloud. The role includes installation, configuration, maintenance, replication, backup and recovery, performance tuning, and security. The engineer will drive database architecture, capacity planning, high availability and disaster recovery strategies, automation, and enforcement of security practices in AWS. The position is full time on-site at DOT Headquarters with in-person support several days per week, including early or late shifts as needed. The engineer will collaborate with stakeholders, application teams, and infrastructure engineers to streamline deployments and improve reliability. The role requires strong troubleshooting skills, effective multitasking, and the ability to perform under pressure in a high-urgency environment.

Due to federal security clearance requirements, applicant must be a United States Citizen or Permanent Resident with an active Public Trust clearance. This is a contract to hire opportunity. Applicants must be willing and able to work on a w2 basis and convert to FTE following contract duration. For our w2 consultants, we offer a great benefits package that includes Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits, 401k with company matching, and life insurance.

Rate: $55.00 to $60.00/hr. w2

JN -062026-107448

Responsibilities

• Provide full-time on-site database administration at DOT Headquarters in Washington, DC with early or late shift coverage as needed.
• Install, configure, and maintain PostgreSQL and MySQL across on-premises and AWS environments.
• Configure and optimize AWS services including Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL and MySQL, Amazon Aurora, and MySQL Cluster.
• Plan and execute migrations from on-premises to AWS cloud platforms.
• Design, implement, and maintain MySQL clustering, replication, failover, and high availability.
• Lead database architecture, capacity planning, and performance engineering.
• Design and maintain disaster recovery strategies for PostgreSQL and MySQL on AWS.
• Monitor performance, integrity, and security, and investigate production incidents.
• Perform maintenance such as index optimization, query tuning, statistics, backups, and consistency checks.
• Plan and perform upgrades, patching, and migrations for standalone, clustered, and cloud-hosted servers.
• Oversee migration projects including lift-and-shift, modernization, and re-platforming to AWS.
• Manage accounts, roles, and permissions following least-privilege and compliance requirements.
• Audit database activity and maintain comprehensive change logs.
• Implement encryption, TLS/SSL, and other security controls for data at rest and in transit.
• Maintain detailed, version-controlled documentation, procedures, and runbooks.
• Generate reports on performance, capacity growth, availability, and usage trends.
• Collaborate with development, infrastructure, cloud, and security teams for deployments and incident resolution.
• Mentor junior DBAs and establish best practices for AWS database administration and automation.
• Support high-urgency operations and concurrent incident management.

Experience Requirements

• A minimum of 10 years as a database administrator supporting SQL environments.
• Strong expertise in MySQL Cluster administration and PostgreSQL across on-premises and AWS.
• Hands-on experience with installation, configuration, optimization, clustering, replication, backup and recovery, and maintenance.
• Experience managing environments on VMware, AWS EC2, Amazon RDS, and Amazon Aurora.
• Proficiency with replication technologies, failover, and high-availability architectures.
• Ability to troubleshoot performance issues, analyze execution plans, and tune SQL.
• Experience implementing encryption, IAM integration, SSL/TLS, and secure access controls.
• Hands-on experience migrating PostgreSQL and MySQL clusters to AWS, including assessments and recommendations.
• Experience with backup and recovery tools, monitoring solutions, automation scripting, and disaster recovery planning.
• Ability to participate in on-call rotations and perform maintenance during scheduled windows.
• Preferred: Experience with Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL and Aurora MySQL.
• Preferred: Knowledge of AWS networking, storage, security, and infrastructure services.
• Preferred: Automation using shell scripting and Python.
• Preferred: Familiarity with DevOps, Infrastructure as Code, CI/CD, and monitoring tools such as CloudWatch and Prometheus.
• Strong communication, analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills in production environments.

Education Requirements