Database Administrator (DBA)
Also written as DBA, Database Administrator, Database Administration, Oracle DBA, Production DBA
The person responsible for keeping a company's databases running, safe and fast: installing and upgrading them, backups and restores, security and access, performance tuning and high availability. Managed cloud databases such as Amazon RDS have taken over some routine work, so the role is shifting towards performance, automation and cost.
Think of it like
The chief librarian of a huge library: not writing the books, but keeping them catalogued, safe from fire and theft, and quick to find.
Junior or senior?
Ask which databases and which side of the work: production DBAs run live systems, development DBAs help teams design schemas and queries.
Senior sounds like
Has handled a major upgrade or a move to the cloud, and a real recovery under pressure.
Ask them
“Which databases have you looked after in production, and what's the worst incident you handled as a DBA?”
Sounds like real experience
Names the databases, versions and rough sizes, and walks through a real incident: what failed, how they restored service, and what they changed afterwards.
Probe further if
Their work was running scripts and checks from a runbook, or all their examples come from development databases rather than production.
Reading Database Administrator (DBA) on a resume
- Table-stakes
- Most people in this field list Database Administrator (DBA), so its presence tells you little, and opening a screen with it can make the call sound junior. Ask what they built with it instead.
Sourcing for Database Administrator (DBA)
Every way it's written
("Database Administrator" OR "DBA" OR "Database Administration" OR "Oracle DBA")Paste into LinkedIn Recruiter, Naukri or your ATS. Combine with a job title and location.
Wider net, with accepted substitutes
("Database Administrator" OR "DBA" OR "Database Administration" OR "Oracle DBA" OR "Production DBA")Includes skills a hiring manager would usually accept instead. Use it when the exact search runs dry.