Takealot.com, South Africa's leading online retailer, is looking for a highly talented Senior Database Administrator (DBA) to join the Engineering & Product team based in Cape Town, South Africa.

We are a young, dynamic, hyper-growth company looking for smart, creative, hard-working people with integrity to join us!

Think you've been challenged before? Think again!

Scale: 4 million happy shoppers shop online on takealot.com. Show them what you can do.
Learn: We work with the best of the best, and then some. Code alongside industry leaders and upskill in record time.
Grow: Expand your career in the fast-growing Takealot Group: takealot.com, Mr D, and TFS. We like to promote from within: Here's your chance.

Purpose of Role

You will leverage your knowledge of operating systems, networking, and databases to deploy, operate, support, and manage databases that support the applications delivering Takealot features. You will contribute to resolving operational issues, query improvements, and administrative tasks to provide a stable platform resilient to failures. You will also contribute to the Database team roadmap, investigating potential new technologies and designing process improvements. You demonstrate a keen interest in the latest technologies and follow database releases and security reports. You will work in a fast-paced agile environment and collaborate across both technical and non-technical teams.

This position reports to the DBA and DataOps Engineering Manager.

Key Responsibilities

Troubleshoot slow queries and assist developers with creating optimisable SQL queries
Assist developers with schema design, schema changes, and administrative tasks
Design and execute operational excellence through metrics, monitoring, and documentation
Design and execute operational standards such as backups, replication, security, and disaster recovery
Oversee the performance, integrity, and security of corporate databases
Provide ongoing maintenance and review of existing database systems to ensure optimum operation
Ensure backups and disaster recovery systems are functional and regularly tested
Design and implement database optimisations to improve performance
Manage database architecture changes and ensure compliance with corporate standards
Assist with the design and administration of database cloud infrastructure as IaC
Participate in functional and technical specification reviews
Contribute technical solutions to business problems, considering business and/or product requirements and constraints
Collaborate with development, network, and system teams to ensure database requirements are met
Identify and resolve database-related issues promptly
Report on database health, performance metrics, and system improvements to stakeholders
Provide technical guidance to internal teams (mentoring) and external teams (collaboration)
Mentor junior DBAs and engage in knowledge-sharing initiatives
Think outside the box and explore new and/or alternative approaches to find the best solution

Minimum Required Qualification and Experience

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field of study, or 5–7 years of related experience
Proven extensive knowledge and experience with relational databases such as MySQL or PostgreSQL, including successful deployment, management, and operations
Proven expertise with other database systems such as key-value stores, document stores, columnar databases, etc.
Proven experience with one or more non-RDBMS systems such as MongoDB, Redis, Kafka, Elasticsearch, or Solr
Proven expertise in auxiliary systems such as networking, operating systems, and security
Experience delivering projects independently and/or contributing to open-source projects
Experience collaborating on projects as part of a team
Deep knowledge of database internals, backups, replication, metrics and monitoring, disaster recovery, security, database architecture, database configuration, query design, analysis, and optimisation
Proven knowledge and experience in auxiliary systems that support databases, including development and/or scripting, configuration management, networking, operating systems, data structures, cloud computing, and operations
Technical Skills: Proficient in database technologies (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle). Strong understanding of database performance tuning, query optimisation, and systems architecture

Attributes

Problem-Solving: Effective troubleshooting and analytical skills for complex database issues
Communication: Strong oral and written communication skills for conveying technical content to both technical and non-technical audiences
Prioritisation: Ability to manage multiple database projects efficiently and meet tight deadlines
Collaboration: Effective team player who can work with various teams (e.g., developers, administrators, and managers) across the organisation
Attention to Detail: High accuracy and attention when performing backups, security configurations, and system monitoring
Adaptability: Embraces new technologies in the dynamic database management landscape
Leadership: Ability to mentor junior team members and foster a learning environment within the team

Let's talk about life @ Takealot Group

Mentorship programme: We aren't kidding when we say the people with the best people win. Now's your chance to be one of the best by learning from the best.
Naspers Tech Community & Online Learning: Share ideas and grow with global industry leaders who are all just a Slack message away. Love to learn? Upskill with free access to courses on MyAcademy, Udacity, Coursera, and more.
Good times: Get to know the other extraordinary minds at takealot.com during regular social events and out-of-office activities (think hikes, think mini golf, think good times)
Staff discount: Millions of products across 28 departments. What more could you ask for?
Birthday leave: Cake Day all the way. Enjoy your day off you deserve it.
Right tools, right job: Mac or Linux, two monitors or one. Whatever your preference, you'll work on the latest tech, of the latest tech.
Help when you need it most: Confidential counselling, legal support, and financial guidance, for free, anytime, anywhere.
Exposure to the latest technologies: ReactJS, Python, Scala, Kotlin, Swift, Google Cloud, Kafka, Redis, Kubernetes, and all things machine learning. If you build it, they will come.
Free parking: No more 5km fun runs to your desk (unless you want to).

Like what you see? If you meet the above, you are an Extraordinary Mind. Apply today!!

Takealot is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants from previously disadvantaged groups and people with disabilities will be given preference.