PostgreSQL Database Engineer / Admin - Persistence / Automation / Real time data Exchange / Event Buses

DrFirst, Inc. is a Healthcare IT company focused on intelligent medication management, enhancing prescription access, affordability, and adherence. They are seeking a cloud native PostgreSQL Database Administrator to manage data operations, optimize performance, and collaborate on event-driven data flows.

Responsibilities:

• Manage daily operations of PostgreSQL on AWS Aurora across multiple accounts and environments
• Own database setup, configuration, parameter tuning, and deployment using cloud native patterns
• Execute upgrades, patches, and version migrations with minimal downtime using blue green and rolling deployment strategies
• Monitor database health, performance, and capacity using CloudWatch, Performance Insights, AppDynamics, and Grafana
• Operate PostgreSQL as the system of record inside an event driven architecture, where data arrives from many upstream sources through message and event brokers
• Collaborate with application and platform engineering on how data flows from event streams such as Kafka and Kinesis into PostgreSQL and back out to consumers
• Partner on caching and in memory data patterns such as Redis or ElastiCache that sit in front of PostgreSQL for high read workloads
• Help shape a unified persistence layer that gives applications consistent, reliable data regardless of which upstream system originated it
• Support read replicas, logical replication, and change data capture patterns that feed downstream analytics, search, and reporting systems
• Tune PostgreSQL and Aurora configurations for OLTP, read heavy reporting, and mixed workloads
• Analyze and resolve performance bottlenecks using EXPLAIN ANALYZE, pg_stat_statements, Performance Insights, and CloudWatch metrics
• Optimize indexes, query plans, connection pooling, and parameter groups for fast response times on patient facing workflows
• Review SQL, data models, and access patterns with development teams before they reach production
• Use Aurora PostgreSQL features including read replicas, Global Database, automated backups, point in time recovery, and high availability configurations
• Use AWS services including RDS, CloudWatch, Systems Manager, Lambda, S3, IAM, and Secrets Manager for database operations
• Apply AWS best practices for security, monitoring, cost optimization, and right sizing
• Build Python and shell automation for provisioning, backup verification, refresh workflows, alerting, and compliance reporting
• Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines for database schema changes and infrastructure deployments
• Treat manual work as a backlog item. If you did it twice, script it
• Use infrastructure as code such as Terraform or CloudFormation for repeatable, version controlled database infrastructure
• Design, test, and document backup and recovery strategies that meet aggressive RTO and RPO targets for healthcare workloads
• Run quarterly disaster recovery drills and maintain runbooks for failure scenarios
• Configure multi AZ deployments and read replicas for automatic failover and high availability
• Provide technical support and troubleshooting for database and data flow issues across the platform
• Partner with DevOps, NetOps, application engineering, and architecture on integrated cloud native solutions
• Participate in on call rotation for production support
• Document procedures, configurations, troubleshooting guides, and architectural decisions

Requirements:

• 4 to 7 years of hands on experience as a PostgreSQL Database Administrator in cloud environments
• Strong production experience with AWS Aurora PostgreSQL and RDS
• Proficiency in PostgreSQL performance tuning, query optimization, and root cause analysis
• Solid understanding of backup and recovery strategies, including point in time recovery and high availability configurations
• Experience with database security, user management, IAM integration, and access controls
• Programming skills in Python and shell scripting for automation
• Working knowledge of AWS services such as CloudWatch, Lambda, S3, Systems Manager, IAM, and Secrets Manager for database operations
• Conceptual familiarity with modern persistence patterns: message and event brokers such as Kafka, Kinesis, or RabbitMQ, in memory caches such as Redis or ElastiCache, and event driven data flow. Hands on experience is a plus. A candidate who speaks the language and understands how PostgreSQL fits the broader picture is what we need
• Strong SQL skills and a solid grasp of relational data modeling
• Excellent problem solving, communication, and documentation skills
• Hands on experience with PostgreSQL logical replication, streaming replication, and change data capture such as Debezium
• Production experience with Kafka, Kinesis, or other event streaming platforms
• Experience with Redis or ElastiCache as a caching layer in front of PostgreSQL
• Infrastructure as code experience such as Terraform or CloudFormation
• CI/CD tooling such as Jenkins, GitLab CI, or AWS CodePipeline
• Exposure to other data stores such as DynamoDB, Redshift, OpenSearch, or MongoDB for context on polyglot persistence
• Healthcare technology or regulated industry experience
• AWS certifications such as Solutions Architect or Database Specialty, or PostgreSQL certifications
• Active, daily use of AI tools such as Claude, Copilot, ChatGPT, or Cursor for scripting, troubleshooting, and documentation