We are seeking an experienced Database Administrator to support critical services within a complex environment, ensuring the integrity, availability, performance, and security of data across highly regulated justice systems.

This role operates within a live service environment where reliability, auditability, and data protection are paramount. You will work across BAU support (AMS/3rd Line ) and change delivery (Product teams), ensuring databases are resilient, compliant, and optimised to support operational case working systems.

You will play a key role in supporting PostgreSQL (Azure Flexible Server) estates, contributing to performance tuning, incident resolution, data governance, and the evolution of reporting and analytics capabilities (including Microsoft Fabric).

Key Responsibilities

Database Operations & Live Service Support

• Manage and maintain PostgreSQL databases (Azure Flexible Server)

• Provide BAU support (2nd/3rd line) for production incidents, including performance degradation, outages, and data issues

• Ensure high levels of availability, resilience, and operational stability across all environments (Dev, SIT, NFT, Prod)

• Support release activities, validating database changes and ensuring safe deployment into live service

Performance, Monitoring & Optimisation

• Monitor database performance using tools such as Dynatrace and native Azure monitoring

• Diagnose and resolve performance bottlenecks (queries, indexing, storage, connection limits)

• Tune SQL queries and optimise schema design for high-volume transactional systems

• Support capacity planning and scaling for large datasets (including JSONB-heavy workloads)

Security, Compliance & Data Governance

• Implement and manage access controls, roles, and permissions, aligning with Government security policies

Ensure compliance with:

• UK GDPR/Data Protection Act 2018 (Law Enforcement Processing)

• Cross Government security standards and retention policies

• Support audit and forensic analysis by ensuring data traceability and integrity

• Work with security and architecture teams to reduce over- permissioning and role sprawl

Backup, Recovery & High Availability

• Design and maintain backup and recovery strategies (PITR, snapshots, geo-redundancy)

• Support disaster recovery planning and testing

• Implement and maintain high availability patterns (replication, failover)

Cloud & Platform Engineering

• Manage and optimise databases hosted in Microsoft Azure (PostgreSQL Flexible Server)

• Support infrastructure-as-code deployments using Terraform

• Contribute to cost optimisation and efficient resource utilisation

• Troubleshoot platform-level issues (extensions, replication, CDC, permissions)

Data & Reporting Integration

• Support integration of operational data into analytics platforms such as.*Microsoft Fabric

• Assist with ingestion patterns (CDC, event-based, batch)

• Work with data engineers to structure data for reporting and audit use cases

• Address challenges with semi-structured data ( eg JSON/JSONB fields)

Development Support & Collaboration

• Collaborate with engineering teams on:

• Database design and schema evolution

• Query optimisation

• Data modelling for services and reporting

• Support CI/CD pipelines and automated database deployments

• Provide guidance on best practices for database usage within microservices

Essential Skills & Experience

Technical

• Strong experience with PostgreSQL, including:

• Performance tuning

• Indexing strategies

• Query optimisation

• JSON/JSONB handling

• Experience with Azure PostgreSQL Flexible Server

• Proficiency in SQL and database troubleshooting

• Experience with Terraform or similar IaC tooling

• Understanding of:

• Backup and recovery strategies

• High availability and replication

• Database security and access control

Operational & Analytical

• Experience working in live service/production support environments

• Strong problem-solving and root cause analysis skills

• Ability to diagnose complex issues across application and database layers

Collaboration & Communication

• Ability to work across:

• Product teams

• Support teams (AMS/3rd line)

• Architecture and security functions

• Strong stakeholder communication, including explaining technical issues to non-technical audiences

Desirable Skills

• Experience with Microsoft Fabric or modern data platforms

• Familiarity with observability tooling such as Dynatrace

• Experience working within UK Government environments

Knowledge of:

• CDC/data streaming patterns

• Event-driven architectures

• Audit and forensic data analysis

Security & Clearance

Due to the nature of the work, candidates must be eligible for Security Check (SC) clearance .