PostgreSQL Aurora/AWS EMR Specialist

This role requires deep knowledge of Aurora architecture, PostgreSQL internals, EMR cluster operations, Spark and Hive performance optimization, and AWS native automation and security practices. Engineer and operate AWS EMR clusters including master, core, and task node design, HDFS and EMRFS behavior, and full cluster lifecycle management.

PostgreSQL Aurora/AWS EMR Specialist

Opportunity:

PostgreSQL Aurora/AWS EMR Specialist to support mission critical cloud-based data platforms using Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL and AWS EMR. This role requires deep knowledge of Aurora architecture, PostgreSQL internals, EMR cluster operations, Spark and Hive performance optimization, and AWS native automation and security practices.

*This is a permanent role expected to be onsite 5 days a week.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Engineer, operate, and optimize Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL clusters including architecture, failover mechanics, storage layer behavior, and reader and writer topology.
• Configure and manage Aurora Serverless v2, autoscaling, and cost optimized cluster designs.
• Implement logical and physical replication, version upgrades, patching, backups, restores, snapshots, and point in time recovery.
• Perform advanced PostgreSQL tuning including indexing strategies, execution plan analysis, vacuum operations, and slow query diagnostics.
• Engineer and operate AWS EMR clusters including master, core, and task node design, HDFS and EMRFS behavior, and full cluster lifecycle management.
• Optimize big data workloads using Spark including partitioning and shuffle management.
• Tune Hive workloads including query performance and execution engine selection.
• Manage distributed compute tools such as HBase, Presto, or Flink depending on workload requirements.
• Use CloudWatch, CloudTrail, and EMR metrics for monitoring, logging, and performance tuning.
• Design resilient EMR clusters using multi master configurations, instance fleets, Spot usage strategies, and autoscaling policies.
• Automate EMR operations including bootstrapping, EMR steps, Spark job submission, and pipeline scheduling.
• Integrate EMR and database workloads into CI and CD workflows using Git, Jenkins, CodePipeline, and related automation tools.
• Implement secure architectures including encryption in transit and at rest, secure S3 access, EMR security configurations, IAM governance, and audit logging.
• Configure VPC networking including subnets, security groups, network ACLs, and private cluster deployments.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Public Trust clearance is required.
• Bachelor's degree with 7+ years of relevant experience.
• Hands on experience engineering, operating, and optimizing Aurora PostgreSQL clusters.
• Strong proficiency in PostgreSQL internals, query tuning, indexing, vacuum strategies, and replication.
• Experience with Aurora failover behavior, storage mechanics, endpoints, and performance tuning.
• Strong skills with EMR architecture including node roles, EMRFS, HDFS behavior, and lifecycle operations.
• Experience tuning Spark and Hive workloads in production environments.
• Proficient in core AWS services (IAM, VPC, CloudWatch, CloudTrail, Secrets Manager).
• Experience with snapshot management, point in time recovery, and high availability database architectures.
• Strong scripting skills using Python, Bash, or PowerShell.
• Experience integrating database or EMR workloads into CI and CD workflows.
• Familiarity with automation tools including Ansible, CloudFormation, Terraform, or CDK.
• Ability to troubleshoot performance issues, errors, and architectural bottlenecks.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience supporting mission critical or high availability federal systems.
• Exposure to CloudFormation, Terraform, or broader IaC frameworks.
• Experience creating governance standards and compliance best practices for EMR and database workloads.
• Familiarity with multi-Region architectures and advanced DR strategies.
• AWS certifications such as Solutions Architect, Database Specialty, or DevOps Engineer.