Oracle Database Specialist (Linux) - Short-Term / Freelance

About the role

TOPPAN Security, the international development arm of the TOPPAN Group in the security domain, is looking for an Oracle Database Specialist with strong Linux experience to work alongside its Technical and Development teams. The role covers the installation, optimisation, maintenance and security of Oracle database environments and the Linux servers they run on, and involves collaboration with developers and users to improve performance and support database and server issues. It is a short-term / freelance contract based in Randburg.

Key responsibilities

• Install, configure, patch and upgrade Oracle Database environments on Linux servers.
• Administer and maintain production, test and development databases to ensure availability, integrity and performance.
• Monitor performance and tune SQL, PL/SQL, memory and storage using AWR, ADDM and Oracle Enterprise Manager.
• Design, implement and test backup and recovery strategies with RMAN and Data Pump.
• Support high availability and disaster recovery, including Oracle RAC and Data Guard.
• Administer Linux servers (Oracle Linux / Red Hat Enterprise Linux), including storage, kernel parameters, users, services and OS patching.
• Automate tasks with shell scripting and job scheduling; manage security, access control, auditing, encryption and security patches.
• Plan capacity and storage growth, including tablespaces and ASM.
• Work with developers on schema design, query optimisation and releases; migrate, refresh and clone databases.
• Diagnose incidents, perform root cause analysis and liaise with Oracle Support where needed.
• Report on database health, capacity and risks, and create and maintain documentation, policies and procedures.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems or a similar field.
• At least 5 years of experience installing, administering and optimising Oracle databases in production.
• At least 3 years of experience installing, administering and optimising Linux servers (Oracle Linux, RHEL or similar).
• Extensive hands-on experience in Oracle DBA and Linux server administration, with strong problem-solving and communication skills.
• Willingness to travel to Botswana about one week per month (2-3 weeks total), depending on project needs.

Required skills

• Oracle certification (e.g. OCP) is advantageous.
• Strong SQL and PL/SQL, including query and execution plan tuning.
• RMAN, Data Pump, Oracle RAC, Data Guard, ASM, Oracle Enterprise Manager, AWR / ADDM.
• Linux command-line administration and Bash scripting.
• Knowledge of SDLC, database design, security and management best practices.
• ITIL and Agile experience is advantageous; exposure to SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL is also advantageous.