Database Architect (Hands-On)

The organization is a rapidly growing internet service provider based in Melbourne Australia delivering lightning-fast, rock-solid internet for all customers. We’re passionate about creating positive experiences and fostering a workplace built on collaboration, efficiency, and continuous improvement. The organization scales we rely on our in-house software development expertise to maintain and improve our operational and customer-facing systems.

Position summary

In this role, you will be reporting directly to the Development Manager, with support from the wider Development team. Your primary focus will be to take ownership of organization's data layer by optimizing, designing, and architecting our database structures to meet both current operational demands and future scalability requirements.

The ability to audit complex legacy schemas, communicate technical improvements to stakeholders, and translate business requirements into highly performant data models is key. This role is accountable for ensuring data integrity, driving query performance optimization, and establishing the foundational database architecture that supports our high-traffic, customer facing and internal systems.

Key responsibilities of the role

• Architecture & design - Architect, design, and implement highly scalable, resilient, and secure database systems to support rapidly growing business needs.
• Performance Optimization - Proactively monitor database performance, analyse bottlenecks, and execute advanced query optimization, indexing strategies, and server tuning.
• Structure Review & Refactoring - Conduct comprehensive audits of existing database structures and legacy schemas. Propose and safely implement structural improvements with zero to minimal system downtime.
• Data Modelling - Lead both logical and physical data modelling efforts, ensuring strict data integrity, normalization where appropriate, and alignment with modern software design principles.
• High Availability & Security - Design and oversee robust data replication, clustering, disaster recovery protocols, and strict access controls to guarantee data security and maximum uptime.
• Cross-Peer Technical Mentorship - Mentor and exchange expertise with the engineering team, elevating team-wide SQL capabilities and enforcing database interaction best practices.
• Technology Adoption - Continuously evaluate and recommend new database technologies, storage engines, and caching strategies (e.g., advanced Redis implementations) to enhance product performance.
• Problem Solving & Communication - Utilize strong analytical skills to solve complex data challenges and communicate architectural decisions clearly to both technical and non technical stakeholders.

Required experience & technical skills

To succeed in this role you need experience with the following tools (or similar) and a demonstrated ability to learn to use new technologies quickly will be highly favoured:

• Relational Databases: MySQL / MariaDB or similar.
• Database Design: Advanced logical and physical data modelling.
• Performance Tuning: Query profiling, indexing strategies, and execution plan analysis.
• Caching & In-Memory Stores: Redis or Memcached.
• Linux Servers: Database administration and shell scripting in a Linux environment.
• Version Control: Git/GitHub/Gitlab/Bitbucket for managing schema changes. The following skills are not essential but familiarity is desirable:
• Database CI/CD Tools: Experience with database migration and versioning tools (e.g., Flyway, Liquibase)
• Observability/APM tools: Prometheus, Grafana, or dedicated database monitoring suites
• Cloud Based DBaaS: AWS RDS, Aurora, or similar managed database services
• NoSQL/Alternative Databases: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or time-series databases

Key selection criteria

To be considered for this role, you should be able to demonstrate:

• Strong English language skills, both written and verbal.
• Willingness to work in Melbourne (Australia) hours to align with company head office.
• Bachelor's Degree in appropriate field of study or equivalent work experience.
• 5+ years' experience in a dedicated Database Architect, Senior DBA, or Data Engineering role, ideally within telecommunications or a high-volume ISP environment.
• Experience working in remote-based teams.
• Extensive experience designing, implementing, and managing databases for complex service-based systems.
• Exceptional understanding of complex SQL queries, transaction isolation levels, and concurrency control.
• Initiative to 'roll up your sleeves' and figure things out when necessary.
• Ability to problem solve and work independently and as part of the development team.