Nils Meyer - Database Architecture for PostgreSQL

Q: Where is Nils based?

Nils is based in Offenburg, Germany and can operate in on-site , hybrid , and remote work models.

Q: What languages does Nils speak?

Nils speaks the following languages: German (Native), English (Advanced) .

Q: How many years of experience does Nils have?

Nils has at least 8 years of experience. During this time, Nils has worked in at least 11 different roles and for 13 different companies . The average length of individual experience is 1 year and 7 months . Note that Nils may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

Q: What is Nils's latest experience?

Nils's most recent position is Database Architecture for PostgreSQL at ComputaCenter / Deutsche .

Q: What companies has Nils worked for in recent years?

In recent years, Nils has worked for ComputaCenter / Deutsche , Wonder Tech Sp. z o.o. , mrge Group GmbH / shopping24 , InsidePacket Inc. , and K-Mail Order GmbH & Co. KG .

Q: Which industries is Nils most experienced in?

Nils is most experienced in industries like Information Technology (IT) , Retail , and Banking and Finance . Nils also has some experience in Fashion and Apparel , Telecommunication , and Beauty and Cosmetics .

Q: Which business areas is Nils most experienced in?

Nils is most experienced in business areas like Information Technology (IT) , Operations , and Product Development . Nils also has some experience in Quality Assurance (QA) .

Q: Which industries has Nils worked in recently?

Nils has recently worked in industries like Information Technology (IT) , Banking and Finance , and Retail .

Q: Which business areas has Nils worked in recently?

Nils has recently worked in business areas like Information Technology (IT) , Operations , and Product Development .

Recommended expert

Offenburg, Germany

Experience

Jan 2024 - Present

2 years 2 months

Berlin, Germany

Database Architecture for PostgreSQL

ComputaCenter / Deutsche

Planning and documentation of database architecture and integration with other components provided by other teams and vendors
Extensive documentation for the architecture, security, access control, encryption, roles and user management, backup and restore, disaster recovery and general operations
Deployment of database clusters over 2 locations with 2 availability zones each
Automation of deployment and operations including backup using Ansible
Hardening of the database and operating system
Migration of existing stand-alone database systems to cluster setup
Technologies: PostgreSQL, Patroni, etcd, barman, RedHat Enterprise Linux 9 (RHEL), Ansible, Ansible Automation Platform, TLS, Hashicorp Vault, LUKS

Aug 2023 - Dec 2023

5 months

Migration from AWS to Hetzner

Wonder Tech Sp. z o.o.

Consulting regarding replacement of proprietary AWS components with open source alternatives
Consulting and assistance with automating deployment of services on Hetzner using Ansible
Database migration for MariaDB / MySQL using replication
Analysis and resolution of performance issues through the whole stack
Technologies: Ansible, Ubuntu Linux, MariaDB / MySQL, node.js, nginx

May 2023 - Aug 2023

4 months

PostgreSQL Cloud Migration

mrge Group GmbH / shopping24

Ensure working backups with barman and pgbackrest
Create replicas for databases using pgbackrest
Prepare existing servers for migration to AWS using pglogical and DMS
Use Ansible to manage the on-prem infrastructure
Migrate databases from on-prem to AWS RDS using logical replication
Database performance optimization post-migration
Consulting regarding instance sizing and product selection for cloud based database
Technologies: PostgreSQL, CentOS, barman, pgbackrest, Ansible, GitHub, git, AWS, RDS, pglogical, logical replication, Terraform, Prometheus, Grafana

Feb 2023 - Aug 2023

7 months

Develop Image Builder for Whitebox Switch

InsidePacket Inc.

Built a solution to create Debian Linux images automatically installed to an x86 / Broadcom Jericho2 based switch
Used Ansible to build images containing a custom kernel and proprietary software running in a Docker container
Implemented GitLab pipeline to build the image once
Enabled installation to the switch via DHCP boot or through ONIE over local network without internet access
Technologies: Ansible, Debian Linux, GitLab, Docker

Feb 2022 - Aug 2022

7 months

PostgreSQL Database Automation

K-Mail Order GmbH & Co. KG

Developed Ansible roles for managing PostgreSQL instances
Automated testing of roles using molecule and GitLab CI
Performed database migration and major version upgrade using pglogical replication
Implemented database backup with wal-g
Provided consulting on database table structure and performance optimization
Set up PostgreSQL monitoring and alerting with Icinga
Configured PostgreSQL log shipping to Elasticsearch using fluentd
Technologies: PostgreSQL, wal-g, pglogical, GitLab, git, Icinga, fluentd, Elasticsearch, Ansible, molecule, gitlab-ci, CentOS

Nov 2021 - Jun 2023

1 year 8 months

Berlin, Germany

PostgreSQL Database Consulting SRE Team

IONOS SE

Consulting regarding database structure and performance
Planned database upgrade and new high-availability setup
Performed backup and restore of databases/tables with barman
Automated infrastructure with Ansible
Transferred database responsibilities to another internal team
Maintained Postgres clusters running on Debian Linux
Implemented database monitoring with Prometheus/Thanos and Grafana
Technologies: PostgreSQL, Barman, Patroni, etcd, Proxmox, Prometheus, Grafana

Jan 2021 - Oct 2021

10 months

Consultant PostgreSQL Database

IBM Germany

Designed database schema, table structure, data types and partitioning for a multi-terabyte encrypted database
Wrote Python scripts for data expiration
Assisted in high-availability setup planning
Technologies: PostgreSQL, repmgr, barman, Python 3, RHEL 8, IBM Cloud

Jan 2020 - Oct 2021

1 year 10 months

Berlin, Germany

PostgreSQL Database Automation

Ratepay GmbH

Migrated applications from EXASOL to PostgreSQL
Automated setup of PostgreSQL clusters
Set up highly-available PostgreSQL clusters using Patroni
Optimized SQL query performance for applications
Migrated a mission-critical PostgreSQL cluster from BDR2 to BDR3
Developed backup solutions
Automated maintenance and setup tasks with Ansible
Technologies: PostgreSQL, Patroni, 2nd Quadrant BDR, Consul, VMWare ESXi, Ansible, Terraform, git, Debian Linux, HAProxy

Nov 2019 - Dec 2019

2 months

Heusenstamm, Germany

PostgreSQL Database Automation

ITSG GmbH

Performed capacity planning for database servers
Developed backup concept
Wrote automation code in Ansible
Set up streaming replication with repmgr
Implemented backups with barman
Technologies: PostgreSQL, Ansible, RedHat Enterprise Linux 8 (RHEL), VMWare ESX, Barman, RepMGR, git (GitLab)

Sep 2018 - Jan 2019

5 months

Düsseldorf, Germany

Consultant – Performance / Reliability Engineering

Parfümerie Douglas GmbH

Prepared complex e-commerce site for Black Friday, achieving 100% availability in a high-revenue, business-critical phase
Conducted performance analysis, load testing and configuration review
Made recommendations and applied changes to production code and configuration
Technologies: Java/Scala/JVM, SAP Hybris, Tomcat, InfluxDB, Grafana, Graylog, Elasticsearch, Sensu, StormForger, nginx, HAProxy, SaltStack, Prudsys, FactFinder

May 2018 - Aug 2018

4 months

Hamburg, Germany

Consultant – Operations Engineering

ABOUT YOU GmbH

Maintained, extended and troubleshooted LEMP (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, PHP) applications (Laravel/Lumen) on AWS
Developed Ansible roles with Packer for creating Amazon Machine Images (AMI)
Assisted in database migration from EC2 instances to AWS RDS
Optimized AWS costs (scaling policies, instance sizing)
Onboarded new employees onto the Infrastructure as Code environment

Nov 2017 - Mar 2018

5 months

Berlin, Germany

Consultant – Database Administration

Zalando SE

Optimized legacy database infrastructures based on MySQL and complex stored procedures
Migrated ETL processes from Bash scripts and stored procedures to Python, Airflow and Docker
Prepared database migration to PostgreSQL on AWS

Aug 2017 - Jul 2018

1 year

Bielefeld, Germany

Consultant – DevOps Engineering

OEDIV KG

Wrote comprehensive Ansible playbooks for installing applications (Atlassian Stack, OwnCloud, LAMP) on-premises and on AWS/Azure
Troubleshooted Java applications (Atlassian stack)
Built a CI pipeline for Ansible playbooks on GitLab

Mar 2017 - Jul 2017

5 months

Hamburg, Germany

Consultant – DevOps Engineering

ABOUT YOU GmbH

Assisted in migration to AWS
Created CloudFormation templates
Migrated databases to AWS RDS
Created and upgraded Ansible playbooks
Troubleshooted MySQL databases and Redis key-value stores
Assisted teams in troubleshooting PHP (Laravel/Lumen) applications

Industries Experience

See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time. Longer bars indicate deeper hands-on experience, while shorter ones reflect targeted or project-based work.

Experienced in Information Technology (6 years), Retail (2 years), Banking and Finance (2 years), Telecommunication (0.5 years), Cosmetics (0.5 years), and Fashion (0.5 years).

Information Technology

Retail

Banking and Finance

Telecommunication

Cosmetics

Fashion

Business Areas Experience

The graph below provides a cumulative view of the freelancer's experience across multiple business areas, calculated from completed and active engagements. It highlights the areas where the freelancer has most frequently contributed to planning, execution, and delivery of business outcomes.

Experienced in Information Technology (8 years), Operations (5 years), Product Development (0.5 years), and Quality Assurance (0.5 years).

Information Technology

Operations

Product Development

Quality Assurance

Summary

Experienced in systems and database operation as well as software development, bridging the gap between the disciplines.

A technology and open source enthusiast since young age, driven and self-directed, 100% self taught.

Enjoys debugging and troubleshooting as well as new development.

Pragmatic and iterative approach.

Versed in cloud deployments as well as on-prem and hybrid.

Skills

Public Cloud: Aws (Expert), Working With Cloudformation Templates, Rds Databases (Mysql / Postgres), Auto Scaling Groups, Vpc, Iam, Alb, Building Machine Images, Troubleshooting Performance
Databases: Postgresql Sql Syntax (Expert), Database Administration, Performance Optimization, Replication Setup, Backup & Restore (Barman, Pgbackrest, Wal-g), Logical And Physical Replication, High Availability With Patroni, Repmgr, Bdr, Pl/python3 Development, Database Design
Databases: Mysql Sql Syntax (Expert), Database Administration, High Availability (Replication, Galera/wsrep), Performance Optimization On Server / Query Level, Experience With Mysql Derivatives Percona Server And Mariadb, Backup Solutions (Xtrabackup, Lvm, Zfs), Database / Table Design, Mysql On Aws (Rds/ec2), Alternative Storage Engines (Myrocks / Toku)
Elasticsearch: Setup (Proficient), Querying, Java Garbage Collection Optimization/debugging, Cluster Recovery And Backup
Mongodb: Administration And Backup (Proficient), Cluster Setup (Automated Through Ansible)
Redis: Highly Available Setup, Master ↔ Replica Failover
Etcd: Setup And Operation, Troubleshooting And Backup
Consul: Setup And Operation (Automated)
Configuration Management: Ansible (Expert), Writing Python Modules, Writing Playbooks, Bug Fixing For Playbooks, Cross-distribution Work, Stateful Playbooks, Rolling Cluster Deployment, Dynamic Inventory, Automated Testing With Molecule
Operating Systems: Gnu/linux, Working With Different Distributions Including Ubuntu, Debian, Centos/rhel, Sles, Shell Scripting, Networking And Firewall, Virtualization (Kvm, Xen, Libvirt), Cluster Filesystems (Ocfs, Gfs), Backup And Restore, Zfs, Automated Installation (Ansible, Debootstrap), Drbd High Available Storage, Troubleshooting (Strace, Ltrace, Perf, Gdb), Ipc Concepts (Shm, Pipes Etc.), Cgroups And Namespaces
Version Control: Git, Git Flow With Pull / Merge Requests
Git Platforms: Gitlab, Bitbucket, Github, Using And Administrating Gitlab / Bitbucket, Setting Up Ci/cd Pipelines In Gitlab, Setting Up Pipelines With Github Actions
Monitoring / Alerting: Graylog (Setup Of Whole Stack, Debugging Problems), Elk Stack (Setup And Troubleshooting Of Large Clusters), Prometheus (Setup And Integration), Grafana (Setup, Building Dashboards From Various Data Sources)
Software Development: Python (Proficient), Developing Helper/hook Applications For Libvirt And Extending Ansible Through Modules, Writing Etl Software, Using Aws Through Boto3
Software Development: Java (Proficient), Basic Development Skills, Fixing And Modifying Existing Applications / Writing Small Programs, Configuration Of Application Servers Like Tomcat, Troubleshooting Jvm, Building With Gradle And Maven
Software Development: Php (Proficient), Administration And Troubleshooting Of Large Php Applications Based On Laravel, Lumen, Symfony And Yii, Working With Legacy Applications, Deployment With Fpm Or Apache, Scaling, Securing Php
Web Servers / Proxies: Nginx (Expert), Setup, Configuration, Performance Optimization, Caching
Web Servers / Proxies: Haproxy (Expert), Automated Setup And Configuration, Performance Tuning, Fail-over Operation
Web Servers / Proxies: Apache Httpd, Setup, Configuration, Troubleshooting
Container Technology: Docker (Expert), Writing Dockerfiles, Container Orchestration, Container Service Discovery, Container Security, Creating Optimized Images
Container Technology: Podman (Expert)
Container Technology: Kubernetes (Basic), Building Kubernetes Clusters From Scratch, Network Overlays, Persistent Storage
Hashicorp Packer (Expert): Building Machine Images With Ansible For Amazon And Virtualbox
Terraform (Expert): Setup Of Complex Structures For Aws
Ci/cd / Build Servers: Gitlab (Setting Up A Full Ci/cd System), Jenkins (Setup And Administration, Pipeline As Code With Groovy)
Atlassian Stack: Jira, Bamboo, Bitbucket, Confluence, Setup, Upgrade And Configuration, Troubleshooting, Kanban And Scrum Workflows
Networking: General Routing, Firewall / Packet Filtering, Ipv6, Vlan, Tcp Troubleshooting, Rdma Technology (Infiniband), Network Overlays
Vpn: Openvpn, Wireguard

Languages

German

Native

English

Advanced

Profile

Created

February 2024

Last Update

February 2026

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Frequently asked questions

Do you have questions? Here you can find further information.

Where is Nils based?

Nils is based in Offenburg, Germany and can operate in on-site, hybrid, and remote work models.

What languages does Nils speak?

Nils speaks the following languages: German (Native), English (Advanced).

How many years of experience does Nils have?

Nils has at least 8 years of experience. During this time, Nils has worked in at least 11 different roles and for 13 different companies. The average length of individual experience is 1 year and 7 months. Note that Nils may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

What roles would Nils be best suited for?

Based on recent experience, Nils would be well-suited for roles such as: Database Architecture for PostgreSQL, Migration from AWS to Hetzner, PostgreSQL Cloud Migration.

What is Nils's latest experience?

Nils's most recent position is Database Architecture for PostgreSQL at ComputaCenter / Deutsche.

What companies has Nils worked for in recent years?

In recent years, Nils has worked for ComputaCenter / Deutsche, Wonder Tech Sp. z o.o., mrge Group GmbH / shopping24, InsidePacket Inc., and K-Mail Order GmbH & Co. KG.

Which industries is Nils most experienced in?

Nils is most experienced in industries like Information Technology (IT), Retail, and Banking and Finance. Nils also has some experience in Fashion and Apparel, Telecommunication, and Beauty and Cosmetics.

Which business areas is Nils most experienced in?

Nils is most experienced in business areas like Information Technology (IT), Operations, and Product Development. Nils also has some experience in Quality Assurance (QA).

Which industries has Nils worked in recently?

Nils has recently worked in industries like Information Technology (IT), Banking and Finance, and Retail.

Which business areas has Nils worked in recently?

Nils has recently worked in business areas like Information Technology (IT), Operations, and Product Development.

What is the availability of Nils?

Nils is immediately available full-time for suitable projects.

What is the rate of Nils?

Nils's rate depends on the specific project requirements. Please use the Meet button on the profile to schedule a meeting and discuss the details.