Data Engineering Lead - Postgres Sql Dba

Optum is a global organization that delivers care, aided by technology to help millions of people live healthier lives. The work you do with our team will directly improve health outcomes by connecting people with the care, pharmacy benefits, data and resources they need to feel their best. Here, you will find a culture guided by inclusion, talented peers, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities. Come make an impact on the communities we serve as you help us advance health optimization on a global scale. Join us to start Caring. Connecting. Growing together.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Design, implement, and manage PostgreSQL (v12-v16+) databases across on-prem, hybrid, and cloud platforms (AWS RDS/Aurora, Azure PostgreSQL, GCP Cloud SQL)
• Ensure high availability and disaster recovery using streaming replication, logical replication, Patroni/repmgr, and cloud-native failover mechanisms
• Participate in 24/7 on-call rotation, handling production incidents, troubleshooting P1/P2 issues, and driving war room bridges to resolution
• Lead incident, problem, and change management processes including RCA preparation, corrective actions, and adherence to ITIL practices
• Manage customer escalations with solid communication, providing timely updates and ensuring SLA adherence
• Plan and execute PostgreSQL patching, upgrades (major/minor), and security remediation with minimal downtime
• Implement and manage backup and recovery strategies using pgBackRest, WAL-G, and native WAL archiving; conduct regular DR drills
• Develop and maintain automation frameworks using Python and Shell scripting for database provisioning, health checks, failover handling, monitoring, and maintenance tasks
• Enable database CI/CD pipelines using tools like Flyway/Liquibase; integrate deployments with DevOps workflows
• Build and integrate AI/ML-driven solutions for anomaly detection, predictive capacity planning, and self-healing database operations
• Perform performance tuning and optimization (query tuning, indexing, partitioning, vacuum tuning) using pg_stat_statements, EXPLAIN ANALYZE, and monitoring tools
• Implement and manage monitoring and observability solutions (Prometheus, Grafana, Cloud-native tools) with proactive alerting
• Ensure database security compliance: RBAC, encryption (in transit/at rest), auditing (pgaudit), secrets management using KMS/HashiCorp Vault
• Collaborate with SRE/DevOps/Application teams to improve reliability, scalability, and performance
• Optimize cloud cost and performance (right-sizing, storage, IOPS, read replicas, backups lifecycle)
• Maintain comprehensive documentation (runbooks, SOPs, architecture diagrams) and enforce operational standards
• Comply with the terms and conditions of the employment contract, company policies and procedures, and any and all directives (such as, but not limited to, transfer and/or re-assignment to different work locations, change in teams and/or work shifts, policies in regard to flexibility of work benefits and/or work environment, alternative work arrangements, and other decisions that may arise due to the changing business environment). The Company may adopt, vary or rescind these policies and directives in its absolute discretion and without any limitation (implied or otherwise) on its ability to do so

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's/Master's degree in Computer Science, IT, or related field
• 8+ years of experience as a PostgreSQL DBA in enterprise environments
• Solid hands-on experience with PostgreSQL administration, replication, and performance tuning
• Experience in database automation and DevOps practices, including CI/CD pipelines and Infrastructure as Code (Terraform)
• Solid experience in incident management, on-call support, and handling high-severity production issues
• Experience managing customer-facing escalations and working in SLA-driven environments
• Hands-on experience with backup/recovery tools (pgBackRest/WAL-G) and HA frameworks (Patroni/repmgr)
• Proven expertise in cloud platforms: AWS (RDS/Aurora), Azure PostgreSQL, or GCP Cloud SQL
• Solid programming skills in Python (must-have) for building automation tools, scripts, and database utilities
• Familiarity with monitoring tools (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack)
• Solid understanding of database security, patching, and compliance requirements
• Proven excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate across global teams.

Preferred Qualification:

• Knowledge of AI/ML use cases in database operations (anomaly detection, predictive tuning)

At UnitedHealth Group, our mission is to help people live healthier lives and make the health system work better for everyone. We believe everyone - of every race, gender, sexuality, age, location and income - deserves the opportunity to live their healthiest life. Today, however, there are still far too many barriers to good health which are disproportionately experienced by people of color, historically marginalized groups and those with lower incomes. We are committed to mitigating our impact on the environment and enabling and delivering equitable care that addresses health disparities and improves health outcomes - an enterprise priority reflected in our mission.