As the Database Administrator (DBA) Team Leader for Payfast, you are responsible for leading and managing our existing DBA team. Your role involves overseeing the management, maintenance and optimization of MySQL, MariaDB, and Microsoft SQL Server databases across a multi-tenant, multi-environment infrastructure that spans AWS and on-premises data centers. Additionally, you will play a crucial role in integrating monitoring tools like AWS CloudWatch and Grafana into our workflow while ensuring strict adherence to PCI DSS, GDPR, and local regulatory requirements in African nations.
Responsibilities
- Team Leadership
- Continue to lead, mentor, and provide guidance to the DBA team, fostering a culture of collaboration and excellence.
- Ensure tasks are appropriately assigned, priorities are set, and the team maintains high productivity and performance.
- Database Management
- Oversee the ongoing administration, maintenance, and troubleshooting of MySQL, MariaDB, and MSSQL databases.
- Ensure that best practices for database security, performance optimization, and backup/recovery procedures are consistently followed.
- Multi-Tenant and Multi-Environment Support
- Manage and support the multi-tenant database environment, ensuring proper schema design, access controls, and data isolation.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to adapt database configurations to meet the diverse needs of various applications, tenants, and local regulatory requirements.
- Cloud Infrastructure
- Continue to manage and optimize databases deployed in AWS environments, ensuring scalability and cost-efficiency while maintaining PCI DSS compliance.
- Collaborate with DevOps teams to maintain databases across AWS and on-premises infrastructure.
- Monitoring and Performance Tuning
- Utilize monitoring tools like AWS CloudWatch and Grafana to proactively monitor database health and performance, ensuring compliance with local regulatory requirements.
- Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks and optimize database configurations.
- Compliance and Security
- Maintain a strong focus on enforcing database security policies and ensuring strict compliance with PCI DSS and GDPR requirements.
- Lead regular security audits and implement necessary controls to protect sensitive data while adhering to local regulatory requirements.
- Documentation
- Continue to maintain comprehensive documentation of database configurations, procedures, and troubleshooting guides, with a specific focus on compliance documentation.
- Ensure that team members adhere to documentation best practices.
- Collaboration and Local Regulatory Compliance
- Collaborate closely with development teams to provide database expertise and support application design and optimization while considering local regulatory requirements.
- Maintain strong relationships with local regulatory bodies to ensure compliance with regional financial regulations.
- Proven experience as a Senior DBA with a strong background in MySQL, MariaDB, and MSSQL.
- Demonstrated leadership skills and experience in mentoring and managing DBA teams.
- Expertise in AWS services, cloud architecture, and cloud-native database technologies, with a strong focus on PCI DSS and GDPR compliance.
- Proficiency with monitoring tools such as AWS CloudWatch and Grafana.
- Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to troubleshoot complex database issues.
- Knowledge of multi-tenant database design and administration.
- Experience with database security best practices, PCI DSS, GDPR, and strict adherence to local regulatory requirements.
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
