Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Certification
Timeline
Generic

Richmond Opare

Summary

Cloud & open-source DBA (10+ yrs) focused on MySQL/PostgreSQL on AWS, with practical MongoDB admin experience. Drive performance tuning, HA/DR, and security at scale; automate with Ansible/Terraform; and deliver reliable migrations and monitoring (PMM, CloudWatch, RDS Enhanced Monitoring).

Overview

12
12
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Lead PostgreSQL DBA

Prudential Financial
07.2019 - Current
  • Transitioned 44+ AWS RDS databases to KMS-backed AES-256 at-rest encryption with minimal disruption to service.
  • Developed Ansible playbooks to automate user management, permissions, and configuration tasks, reducing manual workload and increasing system reliability.
  • Utilized Terraform to automate provisioning, scaling, and management of AWS RDS instances and replicas, streamlining infrastructure management.
  • Optimized SQL performance by analyzing and refactoring queries, creating indexes, and working closely with developers to improve data access efficiency.
  • Redefined database schema by implementing table partitioning to boost query speed and maintain scalability for large datasets.
  • Performed non-disruptive schema updates such as adding indexes and new columns without causing service interruptions.
  • Performed PostgreSQL failover simulations using Enterprise Failover Manager (EFM) and repmgr, validating high availability and disaster recovery configurations in staging and production environments.
  • Built stored procedures to automatically detect and terminate long-running queries, safeguarding system resources and maintaining performance.
  • Automated backup and recovery tasks across environments using scripts and scheduling tools like cron, enhancing data protection and operational efficiency.
  • Managed PostgreSQL version upgrades from 9.5/10 to 16 across production, staging, and development environments with zero data loss.
  • Administered Percona Monitoring and Management (PMM) for proactive performance monitoring, alerting, and diagnostics.
  • Automated database deployment pipelines using Ansible and Terraform, accelerating release cycles and improving CI/CD reliability.
  • Maintained secure data practices by implementing encryption at rest and in transit, aligned with compliance and audit requirements.
  • Created and maintained detailed documentation for operational procedures, troubleshooting, and architecture for team-wide knowledge sharing.
  • Contributed to Agile workflows, including daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and retrospectives to align database deliverables with development goals.
  • Implemented Git-based version control for database schema management, enabling change tracking and collaborative development.
  • Coordinated database patching and upgrade testing efforts with application teams to ensure seamless transitions with minimal downtime.
  • Refreshed dev/test environments using production data sets, ensuring realistic testing and quality assurance.
  • Provided guidance to developers and DBAs on complex database design, performance optimization, and SQL best practices.
  • Designed efficient ETL processes to support reporting and analytics, improving data accuracy and timeliness.
  • Resolved high-priority production issues with minimal downtime, avoiding potential revenue impact and maintaining SLAs.
  • Supported high availability and disaster recovery efforts with robust backup strategies and failover planning.
  • Delivered training sessions for junior DBAs and new team members, promoting a culture of shared learning and excellence.
  • Designed and maintained optimized, complex SQL queries for BI/reporting teams, improving business insights and reducing query times.

Senior PostgreSQL DBA

HORIZON BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF NJ
10.2018 - 06.2019
  • Provisioned and managed Amazon RDS PostgreSQL instances using Terraform, automating infrastructure as code to ensure repeatable, scalable deployments.
  • Automated PostgreSQL configuration, user management, and parameter tuning using Ansible playbooks, reducing manual overhead and configuration drift.
  • Implemented cross-region read replicas and high availability architectures using Terraform and AWS-native tools, supporting fault tolerance and disaster recovery.
  • Utilized Git for version control of SQL scripts, infrastructure code, and Ansible playbooks, enabling collaborative change tracking and safe rollbacks.
  • Set up secure PostgreSQL access inside VPCs using security groups, SSL/TLS encryption, and fine-grained IAM roles.
  • Managed PostgreSQL user roles, access privileges, and authentication through automated Ansible tasks.
  • Migrated production data from on-premise PostgreSQL to AWS using AWS DMS, automating schema conversion, full load, and ongoing replication with minimal downtime.
  • Monitored RDS PostgreSQL and MongoDB instances using Amazon CloudWatch, automating alerting and metric dashboards for CPU, IOPS, and replication lag.
  • Managed major PostgreSQL version upgrades (9.1 to 16) using Terraform-controlled RDS lifecycle and automation scripts to validate database integrity.
  • Backed up and restored PostgreSQL and MongoDB instances using automated scripts integrated with lifecycle hooks and Terraform state tracking.
  • Designed and maintained MongoDB replica sets, automating replica provisioning and failover tests using Ansible.
  • Reduced recovery time objectives (RTOs) by automating disaster recovery procedures and validating through regular simulated failovers.
  • Wrote and maintained infrastructure and database automation scripts in Python and Bash to handle backups, health checks, and configuration changes.
  • Participated in 24x7 on-call rotations, using proactive automation (Ansible + CloudWatch alarms) to minimize incident response times.
  • Optimized performance by automating index maintenance, query analysis, and vacuum operations across production environments.
  • Streamlined development workflows by integrating Git and CI/CD pipelines for schema changes, ensuring consistent deployments across dev/test/prod environments.
  • Documented end-to-end database workflows, automation runbooks, and architecture diagrams to support onboarding and reduce knowledge silos.
  • Improved reporting and analytics through automated ETL processes, feeding accurate, real-time data into dashboards and BI tools.
  • Collaborated with DevOps teams to standardize PostgreSQL and MongoDB deployments across environments using infrastructure-as-code (IaC) principles.

Senior Database Administrator (MySQL DBA)

ALC
05.2017 - 10.2018
  • Deployed and maintained complex MySQL architectures, including multi-source replication, master-slave, and semi-synchronous replication, with Git-based change tracking and automation.
  • Implemented and maintained MySQL Replication as part of high availability (HA) strategies, including failover and redundancy setups across environments.
  • Automated MySQL configuration, replication setup, and user management using Ansible playbooks, reducing manual overhead and ensuring consistency.
  • Developed automation scripts for monitoring, alerting, performance tuning, and capacity planning, integrating with Percona Monitoring and CloudWatch/Grafana dashboards.
  • Ensured uptime and system stability through proactive monitoring, strict change management, and industry best practices.
  • Responded to performance issues and production outages; implemented tools to auto-detect slow queries and replication lag.
  • Maintained detailed system documentation covering database architecture, platform integrations, and operational procedures.
  • Collaborated with application and storage teams to design and implement scalable architecture components for data processing platforms.
  • Worked with the engineering team to design new data systems and assisted with integration into production infrastructure.
  • Participated in testing, upgrades, and new deployments of MySQL clusters, including major version upgrades and storage tuning.
  • Optimized performance by modifying MySQL configurations (e.g., innodb_buffer_pool_size, query_cache_size), scaling instances, and upgrading hardware where necessary.
  • Designed and implemented logical data models and ensured referential integrity across large-scale relational databases.
  • Developed and optimized stored procedures, triggers, and SQL logic to reduce traffic between client applications and database servers.
  • Tuned queries and performed buffer tuning, improving execution time and reducing resource consumption.
  • Ensured secure remote access by managing firewall-level port access and authentication settings on Linux and Windows platforms.
  • Automated data replication into the data warehouse while maintaining data integrity and eliminating anomalies.
  • Performed daily performance tuning, monitoring slow queries and resolving bottlenecks using MySQL Enterprise Monitor and open-source tools.
  • Assisted with backup and recovery processes using mysqldump, Percona XtraBackup, and automated scripts scheduled via cron.
  • Administered Git repositories for tracking infrastructure-as-code changes and version-controlled MySQL configurations and stored logic.
  • Provided technical support for database software installation, patching, and security hardening activities.
  • Demonstrated strong proficiency with Unix/Linux shell commands, scripting, and remote administration.

MySQL & PostgreSQL DBA

UNITED HEALTH GROUP (OPTUM/OFE)
10.2017 - 09.2018
  • Tuned critical MySQL configuration parameters (e.g., innodb_buffer_pool_size, log_buffer_size, file-per-table) to significantly improve database performance.
  • Used MySQL Enterprise Monitor (MEM 2.1–3.0) to monitor 140+ production, QA, and dev instances, identifying bottlenecks and scaling pain points.
  • Enabled MySQL Enterprise Auditing for comprehensive user activity logging and compliance reporting.
  • Configured and maintained MySQL replication for HA (master-slave, master-master) and Galera Cluster (Active-Active) environments across production systems.
  • Refreshed dev/test environments with masked production data using automated scripting and Ansible, enabling realistic QA testing without risking data exposure.
  • Used AWS EC2/RDS for hosting MySQL databases, and automated database backup processes directly to Amazon S3 using custom scripts and cron jobs.
  • Benchmarked and profiled database performance using SYSBENCH (CPU, I/O, memory) and EXPLAIN plans, analyzing query execution time and tuning schemas.
  • Performed error log parsing and health checks using Shell scripts, triggering alerts and auto-remediation when possible.
  • Automated database deployment and configuration with Terraform and Ansible, maintaining infrastructure-as-code standards for consistency across environments.
  • Supported 10+ TB of production data across 140+ MySQL instances on CentOS servers with master-master, master-slave, and MySQL Cluster configurations.
  • Used Git for version controlling database configuration files, schema changes, and Ansible playbooks, enabling collaborative development and rollback capability.
  • Managed and monitored MongoDB clusters across Dev, GA, and Production environments, ensuring uptime, replication health, and secure access controls.
  • Conducted regular backup and restore validation tests for both MySQL and MongoDB to ensure recoverability and compliance with RTO/RPO objectives.
  • Collaborated with developers to design database schemas, optimize indexes, and tune queries for high-traffic web applications.
  • Studied application behavior to forecast database resource needs and performed capacity planning for horizontal and vertical scaling.
  • Proactively monitored database health, activity, exceptions, and replication using Percona tools, CloudWatch, and custom scripts.
  • Participated in a 24x7 on-call rotation, quickly responding to critical incidents and using automation to minimize downtime and resolution time.
  • Used tools such as MySQL Workbench, TOAD for MySQL, SQLyog, Monyog, and MySQL Migration Toolkit to streamline DB development and migration.
  • Performed schema analysis and performance tuning on both MySQL and PostgreSQL environments.
  • Wrote and maintained documentation covering architecture, recovery procedures, operational workflows, and automation logic.

MySQL & PostgreSQL DBA

Real Page Inc.
11.2015 - 08.2017
  • Supported dozens of MySQL databases running on all versions 9.0- 9.4, 9.5 5.1, 5.5, 5.6.5.7 on a 24x7 basis.
  • Administration, installation/configuration, development, version upgrades, data migration, backup and recovery, replication, disaster recovery, performance monitoring & tuning, index optimization, shell scripts, database development, writing stored procedures & triggers.
  • Performed a variety of PostgreSQL& MySQL tasks related to problem resolution and monitoring, administration, availability, performance and security.
  • Configured MySQL multi-source replication to back up multiple servers to one single server to merge table shards and consolidate data.
  • Provided technical Support to around 140 instances of MySQL 5.0, 5.1, 5.4 and 5.5 running on 50 Production/QA/Dev Linux servers with Centos 4.x and 5.x and around 10TB of data on direct Storage. Some tables with more than 500 million rows. This includes master-master and master-slave configurations, as well as, testing MySQL Cluster.
  • Performed DB profiling and optimization; analyzed and proposed schema changes to PostgreSQL databases as needed.
  • Proactively monitored activity, utilization, exceptions and database health; deployed appropriate improvements; automated repetitive tasks.

System MySQL DBA (SDBA)

AT&T Research Lab
01.2014 - 10.2015
  • Installed, upgraded, optimized, troubleshot, performed root cause analysis on, and maintained MySQL servers versions from between 5.0 to 5.6, distributions from Red Hat, CentOS, and Ubuntu MySQL releases, Percona Server with XtraDB.
  • Setup, troubleshot, and fixed backups and restore data using tools such as Mydumper, Myloader, Mysql enterprise backup, and PerconaXtrabackup.
  • Implementation of MySQL stored procedures, triggers, and views.
  • Provided technical Support to around 120 instances of MySQL 5.0, 5.1, 5.4 and 5.5 running on 50 Production/QA/Dev Linux servers with Centos 4.x and 5.x and around 10 TB of data on direct Storage. Some tables with more than 500 million rows. This included master-master and master-slave configurations, as well as, testing MySQL Cluster and the administration of the PCI database environment using PCI General appliance.
  • MySQL tuning/optimization for InnoDB, MyISAM.
  • Participated in oncall rotation answering pages for trouble issues.
  • Performed with data migrations on MySQL RDBMS.
  • Used MySQL Enterprise backup and recovery tools including 3rd party backup solutions.
  • General Linux system administration tasks included configuration, troubleshooting of services such as Apache, Postfix.

Education

MBA - Management Information Systems

St. Peters University
Jersey City, NJ
05.2015

Bachelor of Science - Accounting, Computer Science

New Jersey City University
Jersey City, NJ
12.2012

Skills

  • Languages & Scripting: Python; SQL (query authoring/optimization)
  • Databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB
  • PostgreSQL Admin/Backup: pg_dump, pg_dumpall, pg_basebackup, pgBackRest, BART, Barman
  • MySQL Monitoring/Backup: MySQL Enterprise Monitor (MEM), MySQL Enterprise Backup (MEB), Percona XtraBackup, ClusterControl
  • HA/Orchestration: Patroni, repmgr
  • Cloud & Observability: Cloud DB services, EDB Postgres Enterprise Manager (PEM), Percona Monitoring and Management (PMM), AWS CloudWatch, RDS Enhanced Monitoring, AWS DMS
  • Automation & IaC: Ansible, Terraform
  • Methodologies: Agile

Certification

  • Oracle 11G Oracle Certified Associate (OCA)
  • MySQL 5.6 Oracle Certified Professional (OCP)
  • M102: MongoDB for DBAs (MongoDB University)
  • AWS Certified Developer Associate
  • AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional

Timeline

Lead PostgreSQL DBA

Prudential Financial
07.2019 - Current

Senior PostgreSQL DBA

HORIZON BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF NJ
10.2018 - 06.2019

MySQL & PostgreSQL DBA

UNITED HEALTH GROUP (OPTUM/OFE)
10.2017 - 09.2018

Senior Database Administrator (MySQL DBA)

ALC
05.2017 - 10.2018

MySQL & PostgreSQL DBA

Real Page Inc.
11.2015 - 08.2017

System MySQL DBA (SDBA)

AT&T Research Lab
01.2014 - 10.2015

MBA - Management Information Systems

St. Peters University

Bachelor of Science - Accounting, Computer Science

New Jersey City University

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Richmond Opare