Senior Database Administrator

Senior Database Administrator Role Overview AzamPay is looking for a Senior Database Administrator to own the availability, performance, security, and recoverability of the databases behind our payment and mobile money platforms. You will run a multi-engine estate (Oracle, MySQL, MongoDB, and PostgreSQL) across production, disaster recovery (DR), and test environments-both on-premise and in the cloud. You will lead upgrades, run disaster recovery drills, and hold third-party database teams to high standards. This is a hands-on senior role. You will be the go-to export on database risk and will report directly to the Director of Information Technology. Required Technical Expertise • Oracle Database (19c) (Export) - RMAN backup & recovery, Data Pump, performance tuning (AWR/ASH), high availability & DR patching and upgrades. • MySQL (8.0) (Export) - Replication, InnoDB Cluster/MySQL Router, Percona XtroBackup, performance tuning, version upgrades • Linux Systems (Strong) - Red Hat/Oracle Linux and Ubuntu • Scripting (Strong) - Bash and Python or Perl for automation • SQL & PL/SQL (Advanced) - Complex querying reading, and optimizing application queries. Required Competencies • MongoDB (Solid) - Replica sets, backup/restore, monitoring, version upgrades. • PostgreSQL (Solid) - Streaming replication, backup/restore, tuning, major version upgrades. • Virtualisation & Backup - VMware and enterprise backup tools (e.g. Veeam). • Cloud Infrastructure - Running databases on AWS (EC2 and/or RDS). • Monitoring Systems - Zabbix, Oracle Enterprise Manager, Percona PMM, or similar. Nice-to-Have Competencies • Microsoft SQL Server - Basic administration and backups. • MariaDB - Familiarity for data warehouse workloads. • Containers - Awareness of Kubernetes and database connections. Key Responsibilities • Database Operation • Install, configure, administer, and maintain Oracle, MySQL, MongoDB, and PostgreSQL databases across production, DR, and test environments. • Monitor database health, capacity, storage growth, and scheduled jobs, resolving issues before they affect customers. • Manage clustering, replication, and high-availability setups, including failover and virtual IP configuration. • Design, run, and regularly test backup and restore procedures for every database engine. • Own the database side of disaster recovery drills end-to-end, including data consistency checks between primary and DR. • Performance & Capacity • Tune queries, indexes, memory, and storage to keep high-volume transaction systems fast. • Forecast capacity needs and advise on hardware, storage, and licensing. • Upgrades, Patching & Migrations • Lead major version upgrades and security patching across all database engines, with tested rollback plans. Keep the estate on supported, secure versions. • Security & Compliance • Manage database users, roles, and privileges on a least-privilege basis, with regular access reviews. • Work with the security team on vulnerability findings and privileged access controls. • Vendor & Stakeholder Management • Oversee and review database work done by third-party vendors and technology partners, holding them to agreed standards. • Work closely with Infrastructure, NOC, DevOps, Development, and Data teams on changes, incidents, and releases. Follow change management processes for all production database changes. • Documentation & Automation • Maintain up-to-date runbooks, architecture diagrams, configuration records, and a database inventory. • Automate routine tasks with scripts to reduce manual work and errors. • Recommend tools and practices that improve reliability, monitoring, and security. Qualifications & Track Record • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Engineering, Telecommunications, or related field. • Total Experience: 5-8 years of hands-on DBA experience. • At least 2 years in fintech, banking, telecom, or high-availability transaction environments. • Planning and running at least one major production database migration or version upgrade. • Running or participating in disaster recovery drills and failovers. • Hands-on experience with clustering/HA setups (e.g. Pacemaker, Oracle Data Guard). How To Apply Send your CV and a short cover letter describing one production database migration or recovery you led (including engine, data size, and outcome).