About the position
Introduction
The purpose of the Senior DBA is to lead the administration, security, and optimisation of the Oracle database and application server estate that underpins Adapt IT Education’s software delivery and on-premises hosted platforms. This includes taking technical ownership of the Oracle WebLogic, Forms, Reports, and ADF environments, the underlying Linux server estate, and the CI/CD pipelines and multi-cloud (AWS and Azure) infrastructure that support the Adapt IT Education ITS and Infinity platforms. The Senior DBA owns database and platform architecture decisions, mentors junior DBAs and engineers, and drives continuous improvement in automation, performance, and security practices across the team.
Description
Database Administration & Architecture
• Lead the design, installation, configuration, upgrade, and patching of Oracle Database instances (19c) across all environments.
• Own database architecture decisions, including capacity planning, consolidation, and upgrade strategy.
• Manage tablespaces, schemas, users, roles, and privileges in line with least-privilege principles.
• Perform advanced SQL and instance-level performance tuning using AWR, ASH, SQL Tuning Advisor, and execution plan analysis.
• Plan and lead database upgrades, migrations, and consolidation projects.
Backup, Recovery & High Availability
• Design, implement, and test RMAN backup and recovery strategies, including retention policies and backup automation.
• Configure and administer Oracle Data Guard for disaster recovery and business continuity.
• Install and administer Oracle RAC (Real Application Clusters) for high-availability database environments.
• Own disaster-recovery testing strategy and maintain up-to-date recovery runbooks.
WebLogic, Forms, Reports & ADF Administration
• Install, configure, and administer Oracle WebLogic Server domains, clusters, and application deployments.
• Administer and support Oracle Forms and Reports Services, including deployment and troubleshooting.
• Support the deployment and operation of Oracle ADF (Application Development Framework) applications.
• Tune application server performance and diagnose issues across the WebLogic/Forms/Reports/ADF stack.
Linux Systems Administration
• Administer and harden Linux servers (Oracle Linux and Ubuntu) hosting Oracle database and application server infrastructure.
• Write and maintain shell scripts to automate routine administration, monitoring, and housekeeping tasks.
• Apply OS-level performance tuning and kernel parameter configuration to support database workloads.
• Manage Linux patch cycles in coordination with database and application patching schedules.
Cloud Infrastructure & CI/CD
• Design, build, and maintain CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps YAML pipelines) for automated build, test, and deployment of database and application changes.
• Automate quality and security gates such as SonarQube within the CI/CD pipeline.
• Apply Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles to provision and version-control environments repeatably.
• Support and maintain AWS (EC2, Elastic Load Balancing, Security Groups, Auto Scaling, RDS, Target Groups, CloudWatch, S3, Lambda, IAM, Certificate Manager, Amazon Machine Images) and Azure (API Gateways, microservices architecture) infrastructure underpinning the database and application estate.
Security
• Apply Oracle Critical Patch Updates (CPU) and security patches in line with vendor advisories and internal policy.
• Implement database security controls including Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), auditing, and role-based access control.
• Identify and deploy cybersecurity measures — including CrowdStrike endpoint protection, Web Application Firewalls (WAF), and Rapid7 vulnerability scanning — by continuously performing vulnerability assessment and risk management.
• Run application security and code-quality testing using SonarQube, Burp Suite, and Lighthouse, and remediate findings in collaboration with development teams.
• Configure and maintain SAML/SSO integrations, including ADFS and Windows Server-based identity infrastructure.
• Manage security incidents affecting database, application server, or infrastructure environments, including root cause analysis.
Documentation & Monitoring
• Maintain comprehensive, up-to-date technical documentation for databases, application servers, CI/CD pipelines, and operational runbooks.
• Configure and maintain proactive monitoring and alerting (e.g. Oracle Enterprise Manager, Zabbix, Prometheus, CloudWatch) across database, application, and infrastructure layers.
• Communicate and document technical direction related to database and platform decisions across the organisation.
Mentorship & Technical Leadership
• Provide mentorship and technical guidance to junior DBAs and engineers.
• Lead internal training for technical staff as required.
• Manage periodic reporting on database and platform health to management and stakeholders.
• Act as the technical escalation point for complex database, application server, and infrastructure issues.
Key Competencies
Technical Skills
• Strong, senior-level hands-on experience administering Oracle Database (11g/12c/19c) in production environments.
• Oracle WebLogic Server administration, including domains, clusters, deployments, and performance tuning.
• Oracle Forms and Reports Services installation, configuration, and support.
• Oracle ADF (Application Development Framework) deployment and application support.
• Strong Linux administration skills (RHEL/OEL) — user management, shell scripting, performance tuning, and patching.
• RMAN backup and recovery strategy design and execution.
• Oracle Data Guard configuration and administration for disaster recovery.
• Oracle RAC (Real Application Clusters) installation and administration.
• Performance tuning using AWR, ASH, SQL Tuning Advisor, and Explain Plan analysis.
• Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) Cloud Control administration.
• Hands-on experience across AWS (EC2, Elastic Load Balancing, Security Groups, Auto Scaling, RDS, Target Groups, CloudWatch, S3, Lambda, IAM, Certificate Manager, Amazon Machine Images) and Azure (DevOps YAML pipelines, Infrastructure as Code, API Gateways, microservices architecture).
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools such as Prometheus, Zabbix, and Amazon CloudWatch.
• Experience with endpoint protection and vulnerability management tools such as CrowdStrike and Rapid7, and application security testing tools such as Burp Suite, SonarQube, and Lighthouse.
• Database security: TDE, auditing, and role-based access control.
• Hands-on experience with developer tooling including VS Code, Docker, and Azure DevOps.
• Scripting for automation using Shell, Python, PowerShell, or PL/SQL.
Broad understanding of tools and technologies
• Oracle Database (19c or higher)
• Oracle WebLogic Server
• Oracle Forms & Reports
• Oracle ADF
• Oracle RAC / Data Guard / RMAN
• Oracle Enterprise Manager
• Linux (Oracle Linux and Ubuntu) administration
• Virtualisation (Oracle VM or similar)
• Cloud (AWS, Azure)
• CI/CD & IaC (Azure DevOps YAML pipelines, Terraform)
• Monitoring tools (OEM, Zabbix, Prometheus, CloudWatch)
• Security & Monitoring (CrowdStrike, Rapid7, WAF, SonarQube, Burp Suite, Lighthouse)
Security training
Minimum Requirements
Qualification and Experience Requirements
• BSc/BA/BCom in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field, or comparable certifications or experience.
• 8 – 12 years’ experience as an Oracle DBA or in a related database/infrastructure role, including demonstrated senior or lead experience.
• Technology product certifications desired, for example:
• Oracle Certified Professional (OCP) – Oracle Database Administration
• Oracle WebLogic Server Certified Implementation Specialist or similar
• Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) / Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) or similar
• Linux / LPIC certification or similar
• AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
• Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert (Azure DevOps) or similar
• Ansible for DevOps or similar
Desired Skills:
- Oracle DBA
- PL/SQL
- Database
- Architecture
- Application deployment
- Linux
- AWS
