Database Infrastructure Engineer

Job Posting Organization:
CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is a leading scientific research institution established to probe the fundamental structure of the universe. It employs physicists and engineers who utilize the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments to study the basic constituents of matter. CERN operates in multiple countries and is known for its collaborative environment that fosters innovation and scientific discovery. The organization values diversity and inclusion, making it a central part of its mission since its inception.

Job Overview:
As a Database Infrastructure Engineer at CERN, you will be instrumental in supporting and evolving the database systems that are critical to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments, accelerator operations, and various support services. Your role will encompass general database administration, with a strong emphasis on the engineering, operation, and modernization of orchestrated High Availability (HA) infrastructures. You will be responsible for developing and operating a resilient, distributed PostgreSQL HA platform, leveraging modern consensus, orchestration, and proxy routing technologies. This hands-on engineering position focuses on ensuring the reliability, automation, and evolution of CERN’s PostgreSQL and relational database platforms, which are vital for mission-critical scientific and organizational services.

Duties and Responsibilities:
Your primary responsibilities will include the administration, operation, and evolution of MySQL and PostgreSQL database platforms. This involves troubleshooting, configuration, migrations, upgrades, scaling, and patching of databases. You will design, deploy, and continuously improve highly available and resilient PostgreSQL infrastructures. Additionally, you will develop and maintain automation for database provisioning, configuration, failover, and operational workflows. Proactive monitoring of database environments to ensure optimum performance, throughput, stability, availability, and security" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #007bff !important;">security will be a key part of your role. You will also define and evolve database architecture, resilience, disaster recovery, and service continuity strategies. Providing technical expertise and troubleshooting support to application development teams, as well as sharing domain and technical expertise through mentorship and training, will be essential duties.

Required Qualifications:
Candidates must possess a Master's Degree or equivalent relevant experience in Computing Science or a related field, such as Physics with significant computing content. Demonstrated experience in operating production relational database services, particularly PostgreSQL, in environments where reliability, availability, backup, recovery, and service continuity are critical is required. Strong troubleshooting skills in database operations, including performance analysis, query optimization, replication, clustering, partitioning, upgrades, and incident resolution are essential. A solid understanding of high-availability and disaster-recovery concepts for relational databases is necessary, with practical experience in PostgreSQL HA tooling such as Patroni, Consul, HAProxy, or PgBouncer being a strong asset. Candidates should also have technical skills with open-source database clustering and automated failover tools, as well as solid SQL knowledge to write and troubleshoot stored procedures, functions, tables, indexes, and constraints.

Educational Background:
A Master's Degree or equivalent relevant experience in Computing Science, Physics, or a related field is required. The educational background should include significant computing content to ensure a strong foundation in the technical aspects of database management and operations.

Experience:
Candidates should have demonstrated experience in operating production relational database services, preferably PostgreSQL, in critical environments. This includes a strong background in troubleshooting database operations and a solid understanding of high-availability and disaster-recovery concepts. Experience with PostgreSQL HA tooling and open-source database clustering is highly desirable.

Languages:
Fluency in spoken and written English is mandatory, with a commitment to learn French being a valuable asset for the position.

Additional Notes:
This position is offered as a limited duration contract for 5 years, with the possibility of extension up to 8 years and eligibility for an indefinite contract tenure. The job requires a commitment of 40 hours per week, with hybrid work flexibility. Candidates should be prepared to work during nights, Sundays, and official holidays as required by the organization's needs. The job grade is classified as 6-7, and the reference for this position is IT-DA-DB-2026-174-LD. The compensation package includes a competitive salary that is tax-free, 30 days of paid leave per year, comprehensive health insurance coverage, family allowances, and a relocation package depending on individual circumstances.