Database Administrator
Location: Remote and client site
About us
Methods is a £100M+ IT Services Consultancy who has partnered with a range of central government departments and agencies to transform the way the public sector operates in the UK. Established over 30 years ago and UK-based, we apply our skills in transformation, delivery, and collaboration from across the Methods Group, to create end-to-end business and technical solutions that are people-centred, safe, and designed for the future.
Our human touch sets us apart from other consultancies, system integrators and software houses - with people, technology, and data at the heart of who we are, we believe in creating value and sustainability through everything we do for our clients, staff, communities, and the planet.
We support our clients in the success of their projects while working collaboratively to share skill sets and solve problems. At Methods we have fun while working hard; we are not afraid of making mistakes and learning from them.
Methods was acquired by the Alten Group in early 2022.
Role Purpose
We are seeking an experienced Database Administrator to support critical services, 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 (PET / 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).
Requirements
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
- 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 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 (e.g. JSON/JSONB fields)
Development Support & Collaboration
- Collaborate with engineering teams on:
- Database design and schema evolution
- 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:
- Experience with Azure PostgreSQL Flexible Server
- Proficiency in SQL and database troubleshooting
- Experience with Terraform or similar IaC tooling
- 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
- 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.
Benefits
By joining us you can expect:
- Autonomy to develop and grow your skills and experience
- Be part of exciting project work that is making a difference in society
- Strong, inspiring and thought-provoking leadership
- A supportive and collaborative environment.
As well as this, we offer:
- Development access to LinkedIn Learning, a management development programme and training
- Wellness 24/7 Confidential employee assistance programme
- Social – Breakfast Tuesdays, Thirsty Thursdays and Pizza on the last Thursday of each month as well as commitment to charitable causes
- Time off 25 days a year
- Pension Salary Exchange Scheme with 4% employer contribution and 5% employee contribution
- Discretionary Company Bonus based on company and individual performance
- Life Assurance of 4 times base salary
- Private Medical Insurance which is non-contributory (spouse and dependants included)
- Worldwide Travel Insurance which is non-contributory (spouse and dependants included)