PostgreSQL Database Engineer

Job Description

Company: SAIC
Location: Ashburn, VA
Workplace Type: Hybrid
Employment Type: Full-time
Pay / Compensation: $80,001 – $120,000

About the Role

SAIC is seeking a skilled and experienced Database Engineer/Developer with strong Database Administrator (DBA) capabilities to join our team. The ideal candidate will specialize in PostgreSQL (RDS), bringing expertise in deployment, administration, query tuning, and database monitoring. This role requires a proactive professional capable of managing database operations, optimizing performance, and supporting application development teams. This position is hybrid-remote and requires 2 days on-site in Ashburn, VA.

What You’ll Do / Key Responsibilities

• Database Administration: Configure and administer managed PostgreSQL instances in the AWS environment while maintaining database security policies, role-based access control, and data encryption.
• Query Tuning and Optimization: Analyze and optimize SQL queries for performance improvement on large tables and work with development teams to review database-related code.
• Monitoring and Alerts: Set up and monitor Dynatrace alerts to ensure database reliability, investigating and resolving performance issues.
• Automation and Deployment: Develop and implement database automation scripts for routine tasks, deployments, and scaling while assisting in CI/CD processes.
• System Health and Troubleshooting: Proactively monitor database health, resolve capacity and connectivity issues, and conduct root-cause analysis for database incidents.
• Database Design and Support: Provide input on data modeling and schema design while collaborating with developers to ensure efficient data access patterns.
• Documentation and Best Practices: Create and maintain detailed documentation of database environments and enforce database best practices and policies.
• Training and Guidance: Act as a technical mentor to junior team members and provide training to application stakeholders on database-related topics.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelors degree and 5+ years of relevant experience.
• 5+ years of PostgreSQL experience, specifically with RDS PostgreSQL, including deployment, maintenance, and optimization.
• Strong knowledge of database tuning, query optimization, and indexing strategies.
• Experience with Postgres GIS queries using the PostGIS addon.
• Proficiency with database monitoring tools, particularly Dynatrace or similar platforms.
• Proficiency in scripting languages (Python, Bash) for database automation.
• Understanding of cloud database architectures and services, such as AWS RDS.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and database version control.
• Experience with designing tables, writing functions, stored procedures, performance tuning, checking indexes, and partitioning.
• U.S. Citizenship with the ability to obtain a DHS Public Trust clearance.

Preferred / Bonus Qualifications

• Knowledge of ETL pipelines and data warehouse architecture.
• Familiarity with analytics and modeling tools.
• Exposure to data replication and sharding strategies.
• Knowledge of government regulatory compliance standards.
• Certifications such as AWS Certified Database – Specialty or PostgreSQL DBA Certification.

Benefits & Perks

• Comprehensive healthcare and employee benefits packages.
• Professional development and certification support.

Note: Employment will be contingent upon having or obtaining a DHS Public Trust clearance prior to starting. Travel is required up to 10% of the time.