Database Operations Lead (CONTRACTOR)

We are seeking a Database Operations Lead to take hands-on responsibility for the stability, performance, security, and recoverability of critical database environments. This role is suited to someone with strong database administration experience who can work directly on production and non-production platforms, support releases and changes, tune performance, manage backup and recovery processes, and resolve operational issues. The successful candidate will act as the technical owner for database operations while working closely with infrastructure, development, analytics, and security teams.

Required Skills

• Strong hands-on experience administering enterprise databases in operational environments, ideally across both production and non-production systems.
• Good technical knowledge of SQL, relational database concepts, indexing, query optimisation, and database performance troubleshooting.
• Experience with backup and recovery processes, restore testing, patching, upgrades, and change implementation for critical database platforms.
• Ability to monitor database environments, analyse incidents, perform root cause investigation, and improve operational resilience.
• Experience managing database security, permissions, and operational controls in line with enterprise standards and audit requirements.
• Familiarity with modern cloud and on-prem database platforms, and enough technical depth to support migrations, releases, and platform improvements.
• A structured, hands-on approach with strong ownership, attention to detail, and the ability to operate calmly in support and incident-driven environments.

Technologies & Tools

• Databricks, Delta Lake, Spark, and NoSQL technologies
• Cloud platforms: Azure and GCP
• Relational databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, and SQL Server
• DevOps tools: Git, CI/CD frameworks, and Terraform
• Scripting and query languages: SQL, Bash, and Python