Database Administrator

Silverchair

Silverchair

Software Engineering, IT
United Kingdom
USD 125k-150k / year
Posted on Mar 28, 2026
About Silverchair

Silverchair is the premier independent platform partner for scholarly and professional publishers, dedicated to expanding the reach of the world’s most valuable knowledge. By connecting creators, publishers, and users, we amplify the impact of scholarship and enhance the accessibility of critical information. Our global teams build, maintain, and innovate platforms across the publishing lifecycle, facilitating submission, peer review, hosting, dissemination, and impact measurement.

The Silverchair Platform hosts critical research content from such prestigious publishers as Oxford University Press, the American Medical Association, and McGraw Hill, comprising more than 12 million articles and 97k books. ScholarOne Manuscripts is the world's leading scholarly workflow management platform, processing over 3 million manuscripts annually for 9,000+ journal sites and serving 1.1 million monthly active users. ScholarOne Conferences streamlines the academic conference lifecycle for 135+ conferences annually, supporting scholarly publishers and associations worldwide.

Silverchair is a remote-first organization with Silverchairians living and working in over ten countries supporting our clients and operations throughout the globe.

DEI Statement

At Silverchair, we celebrate and embrace diversity in all its forms. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment from the moment you consider joining our team. We actively encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply, believing that a variety of perspectives and experiences enriches our community, drives innovation, and strengthens our impact.

Equity and inclusion are at the core of our hiring practices, and we strive to build a team that reflects a broad spectrum of cultures, experiences, and viewpoints. We are particularly committed to increasing representation from groups historically underrepresented in technology careers. Your unique experiences and perspectives are not just welcomed but are integral to our collective success. Join us in our mission to create a culture that unites and brings out the best in all of us.

Learn more about our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at Silverchair.

Overview

We are seeking a Senior Database Administrator with strong experience in IBM Db2 LUW to support and evolve a critical production data platform. This role combines operational DBA responsibilities with development-facing support, partnering closely with engineering teams to design, optimize, and maintain high-performance database systems.

You’ll be part of a small, highly experienced, and collaborative team where automation, ownership, and continuous improvement are core to how we work.

Key Responsibilities

Database Administration (Operational)

  • Administer, monitor, and maintain Db2 LUW databases in production and non-production environments
  • Ensure high availability, backup/recovery, and performance tuning of database systems
  • Perform routine maintenance including patching, upgrades, and capacity planning
  • Participate in a 24×7 on-call rotation (4-person team) for production support
  • Troubleshoot and resolve database-related incidents and performance issues

Development DBA (Engineering Support)

  • Partner with developers to design efficient database schemas and access patterns
  • Review and optimize SQL, stored procedures, and queries
  • Support application releases and database changes
  • Provide guidance on indexing strategies, query plans, and data modeling

Automation & Tooling

  • Identify opportunities to automate repetitive operational tasks and improve reliability
  • Build and maintain tooling using Python, shell scripting, or similar
  • Contribute to infrastructure management and automation using:
    • Terraform
    • Ansible
  • Improve monitoring, alerting, and operational workflows through automation
Cloud & Platform

  • Support databases running on AWS EC2 and RDS
  • Work across infrastructure and application layers to diagnose and resolve issues

Tools & Workflow

  • Use Jira for issue tracking and operational workflows
  • Use Git for version control and change approvals
  • Use Jenkins for build/deploy processes and automated job scheduling
  • Work in a structured, ticket-driven but engineering-focused environment

Modern Engineering Practices

  • Use AI-assisted development tools (e.g., Claude Code or similar) to accelerate:
    • scripting and automation
    • SQL development and optimization
    • troubleshooting and root cause analysis
  • Continuously refine workflows to reduce manual effort and increase system resilience
Required Qualifications

  • Strong hands-on experience with IBM Db2 LUW, 5+ years (required)
  • Experience administering databases on Linux platforms (preferred)
  • Proven experience in both:
    • Operational DBA responsibilities
    • Development DBA / application-facing support
  • Strong SQL skills, including performance tuning and query optimization
  • Demonstrated experience writing scripts or tools to automate operational tasks
  • Experience supporting production systems with high availability requirements
  • Ability to troubleshoot across database, OS, and application layers
Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with PostgreSQL
  • Familiarity with AWS (EC2, RDS)
  • Experience with Terraform, Ansible, or similar tools
  • Experience improving monitoring, alerting, or operational workflows

Silverchair is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws. We are dedicated to ensuring a fair and inclusive hiring process for all candidates.

We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and experiences and are committed to providing reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities in the application and hiring process.

Disclaimer: At this time, we cannot sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization for this position.

No agencies please.

Salary Range: $125,000-150,000