---
title: 'Senior Database Administrator (MySQL, PostgreSQL) - Takealot at takealot.com'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-database-administrator-mysql-postgresql-takealot-takealot-com-cape-town-4pt7w82ddwet'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-18'
---

# Senior Database Administrator (MySQL, PostgreSQL) - Takealot at takealot.com

- **Company:** takealot.com
- **Location:** Cape Town, South Africa
- **Posted:** 2021-03-12
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-18
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/takealotcom/jobs/2935435

## Job description

Takealot.com, South Africa's leading online retailer, is looking for a highly talented Senior Database Administrator (DBA) to join the Engineering & Product team based in Cape Town, South Africa.

We are a young, dynamic, hyper-growth company looking for smart, creative, hard-working people with integrity to join us!

Think you've been challenged before? Think again!

- Scale: 4 million happy shoppers shop online on takealot.com. Show them what you can do.
- Learn: We work with the best of the best, and then some. Code alongside industry leaders and upskill in record time.
- Grow: Expand your career in the fast-growing Takealot Group: takealot.com, Mr D, and TFS. We like to promote from within: Here's your chance.

Purpose of Role

You will leverage your knowledge of operating systems, networking, and databases to deploy, operate, support, and manage databases that support the applications delivering Takealot features. You will contribute to resolving operational issues, query improvements, and administrative tasks to provide a stable platform resilient to failures. You will also contribute to the Database team roadmap, investigating potential new technologies and designing process improvements. You demonstrate a keen interest in the latest technologies and follow database releases and security reports. You will work in a fast-paced agile environment and collaborate across both technical and non-technical teams.

This position reports to the DBA and DataOps Engineering Manager.

## Key Responsibilities

- Troubleshoot slow queries and assist developers with creating optimisable SQL queries
- Assist developers with schema design, schema changes, and administrative tasks
- Design and execute operational excellence through metrics, monitoring, and documentation
- Design and execute operational standards such as backups, replication, security, and disaster recovery
- Oversee the performance, integrity, and security of corporate databases
- Provide ongoing maintenance and review of existing database systems to ensure optimum operation
- Ensure backups and disaster recovery systems are functional and regularly tested
- Design and implement database optimisations to improve performance
- Manage database architecture changes and ensure compliance with corporate standards
- Assist with the design and administration of database cloud infrastructure as IaC
- Participate in functional and technical specification reviews
- Contribute technical solutions to business problems, considering business and/or product requirements and constraints
- Collaborate with development, network, and system teams to ensure database requirements are met
- Identify and resolve database-related issues promptly
- Report on database health, performance metrics, and system improvements to stakeholders
- Provide technical guidance to internal teams (mentoring) and external teams (collaboration)
- Mentor junior DBAs and engage in knowledge-sharing initiatives
- Think outside the box and explore new and/or alternative approaches to find the best solution

## Minimum Required Qualification and Experience

- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field of study, or 5–7 years of related experience
- Proven extensive knowledge and experience with relational databases such as MySQL or PostgreSQL, including successful deployment, management, and operations
- Proven expertise with other database systems such as key-value stores, document stores, columnar databases, etc.
- Proven experience with one or more non-RDBMS systems such as MongoDB, Redis, Kafka, Elasticsearch, or Solr
- Proven expertise in auxiliary systems such as networking, operating systems, and security
- Experience delivering projects independently and/or contributing to open-source projects
- Experience collaborating on projects as part of a team
- Deep knowledge of database internals, backups, replication, metrics and monitoring, disaster recovery, security, database architecture, database configuration, query design, analysis, and optimisation
- Proven knowledge and experience in auxiliary systems that support databases, including development and/or scripting, configuration management, networking, operating systems, data structures, cloud computing, and operations
- Technical Skills: Proficient in database technologies (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle). Strong understanding of database performance tuning, query optimisation, and systems architecture

Attributes

- Problem-Solving: Effective troubleshooting and analytical skills for complex database issues
- Communication: Strong oral and written communication skills for conveying technical content to both technical and non-technical audiences
- Prioritisation: Ability to manage multiple database projects efficiently and meet tight deadlines
- Collaboration: Effective team player who can work with various teams (e.g., developers, administrators, and managers) across the organisation
- Attention to Detail: High accuracy and attention when performing backups, security configurations, and system monitoring
- Adaptability: Embraces new technologies in the dynamic database management landscape
- Leadership: Ability to mentor junior team members and foster a learning environment within the team

Let's talk about life @ Takealot Group

- Mentorship programme: We aren't kidding when we say the people with the best people win. Now's your chance to be one of the best by learning from the best.
- Naspers Tech Community & Online Learning: Share ideas and grow with global industry leaders who are all just a Slack message away. Love to learn? Upskill with free access to courses on MyAcademy, Udacity, Coursera, and more.
- Good times: Get to know the other extraordinary minds at takealot.com during regular social events and out-of-office activities (think hikes, think mini golf, think good times)
- Staff discount: Millions of products across 28 departments. What more could you ask for?
- Birthday leave: Cake Day all the way. Enjoy your day off you deserve it.
- Right tools, right job: Mac or Linux, two monitors or one. Whatever your preference, you'll work on the latest tech, of the latest tech.
- Help when you need it most: Confidential counselling, legal support, and financial guidance, for free, anytime, anywhere.
- Exposure to the latest technologies: ReactJS, Python, Scala, Kotlin, Swift, Google Cloud, Kafka, Redis, Kubernetes, and all things machine learning. If you build it, they will come.
- Free parking: No more 5km fun runs to your desk (unless you want to).

Like what you see? If you meet the above, you are an Extraordinary Mind. Apply today!!

Takealot is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants from previously disadvantaged groups and people with disabilities will be given preference.

## About takealot.com

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Takealot.com is South Africa's largest online retailer, offering millions of products across 30+ categories through a marketplace and owned logistics network.
- **Entity Type**: Private (division of Takealot Group, majority-owned by Naspers; total funding $1.2B across multiple rounds)
- **Headquarters**: Cape Town, South Africa
- **Founded**: 2011
- **Founders**: Kim Reid

## Core Business
- Primary industry/industries: E-commerce / Online Retail
- Target customers: B2C consumers across South Africa, plus B2B services for 12,000+ marketplace sellers
- Mission or purpose: "Changing lives in South Africa for the better through e-commerce."

## Products & Services
- **Takealot.com Marketplace**: Core e-commerce platform offering millions of products from local and international brands, with options for delivery or collection at 100+ Pickup Points (including 30+ Pick n Pay locations).
- **Mr D**: On-demand food delivery service (part of Takealot Group).
- **Superbalist.com**: Online fashion and homeware retailer (part of Takealot Group).
- **TakealotMORE**: Membership/loyalty program offering perks and faster delivery.
- **Seller CAPITAL**: Funding program for marketplace sellers.
- **Pickup Points**: Nationwide network for order collection, including in-store Pick n Pay locations.
- **Exclusive Brands**: George & Mason, Getup, Campground, Fire Up.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (Takealot Group is private, majority-owned by Naspers)
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue of $808M (2024) for takealot.com; takealot.com became profitable in 2024; Takealot Group targets group profitability by 2026.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Naspers (majority owner, 96% stake), Tiger Global Management (early investor), Pick n Pay (pickup point partner)
- **Growth Signals**: +18% employee headcount growth YoY (2,162 employees); 105 active job postings (+114% YoY); 288,225 LinkedIn followers (+18.9% YoY); operates in 13 countries

## Competitive Advantages
- Largest e-commerce platform in Africa with a vast product selection and owned logistics network (Mr D) enabling fast delivery.
- Extensive physical infrastructure: 100+ Pickup Points integrated into grocery stores, reducing last-mile costs.
- Exclusive financial tools for sellers (Seller CAPITAL) that lock in marketplace loyalty.
- Strong parent company backing (Naspers) providing capital and strategic support.

## Strategic Focus
- Achieving group profitability by 2026 after takealot.com's 2024 profit milestone.
- Expanding the marketplace ecosystem with more sellers and exclusive brands.
- Deepening customer loyalty through TakealotMORE membership and convenient Pickup Points.
- Investing in technology and supply chain automation to improve efficiency.

## Why Work Here
- Culture values: "Customer-obsessed, entrepreneurial, deliver results fast, achieve more together."
- Engineering roles available in Cape Town and Johannesburg, with a focus on Java, Python, Scala, and logistics tech.
- Hybrid/remote policy not explicitly stated; roles are based in South Africa.
- Notable perks: Opportunity to work on Africa's largest e-commerce platform, exposure to high-scale logistics and marketplace systems, and a diverse, trust-based environment.
- Employer rating: 3.2/5 (422 reviews) – strengths in culture (3.4) and career (3.3), but compensation rated lower (2.4).

## Sources
1. [Takealot Group – About Takealot.com](https://takealotgroup.com/takealot-com/)
2. [Takealot Group – Our Story](https://takealotgroup.com/)
3. [Takealot.com LinkedIn](https://za.linkedin.com/company/takealot)
4. [Takealot.com Careers (Greenhouse)](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/takealotcom)
5. [Crunchbase-style data from LinkedIn](https://za.linkedin.com/company/takealot) (financials and employee info)

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