DBA - MariaDB/MySQL

Database Administrator (MariaDB/MySQL)

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced MariaDB/MySQL) Database Administrator to take ownership of the review, optimisation, and ongoing stewardship of a critical database estate. This is a highly technical role for someone who thrives on solving complex performance challenges, strengthening system reliability, and designing scalable, high-availability database architectures.

You will play a key role in ensuring our data platforms are robust, efficient, and future-proof, working across both operational and architectural improvement initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct in-depth analysis of existing database schemas and structures

• Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks through proactive optimisation

• Design and implement advanced query-tuning and execution-plan improvements

• Refactor schemas to improve performance, scalability, and long-term maintainability

• Develop and manage effective indexing strategies across large datasets

• Perform capacity planning and recommend scaling strategies

• Implement and maintain high-availability and clustering approaches, including Galera and replication topologies

• Apply robust operational improvements to ensure resilience and performance

• Diagnose system issues through logs, metrics, and low-level instrumentation

• Strengthen database security through access control and hardening best practices

Essential Skills & Experience

• Deep knowledge of MariaDB internals, storage engines, and execution planning

• Advanced expertise in SQL tuning, query profiling, and optimisation methodologies

• Proven experience designing, reviewing, and evolving database schemas

• Strong understanding of index lifecycle management and performance-driven index design

• Hands-on experience with replication, clustering (including Galera), and HA/DR architectures

• Proficiency with monitoring and observability tools such as Percona and Prometheus exporters

• Strong diagnostic skills using logs, metrics, and system-level instrumentation

• Experience in capacity planning, scaling strategies, and resource optimisation

• Knowledge of database security hardening, access control, and compliance best practices