Lead DevOps Engineer

Description

You will be the go-to DevOps authority across programmes, helping shape the future of DevOps on some of the UK's most critical missions.

Recognised DevOps experts at the company set technical direction, act as subject matter experts across programmes, and keep DevOps solutions secure, robust and innovative.

You will lead the work of solving customer problems, approaching it in an agile, team-focused and inventive way.

The company is a global aerospace, defence and security business headquartered in Italy. It employs over 53,000 people worldwide, including 8,500 across 9 UK sites.

Responsibilities

• Act as the technical authority for DevOps across programmes, shaping architectures and guiding delivery.
• Define and influence DevOps roadmaps, innovation and long-term strategy for automation and secure delivery.
• Lead feasibility studies, technology assessments and solution recommendations for complex engineering problems.
• Give advanced guidance on CI/CD, infrastructure as code and container orchestration across environments.
• Mentor Principal, Senior and early-career engineers to build capability across the DevOps community.
• Represent the company at customer reviews, technical boards and industry events, presenting and defending solutions.
• Contribute expert input to bids, proposals and technical strategy.
• Champion secure-by-design principles, accreditation alignment and engineering governance.

Requirements

• Recognised expertise as a technical authority in DevOps and automation.
• Ability to influence technical strategy and speak for the company externally as a subject matter expert.
• Strong communication skills, able to engage stakeholders from engineers up to senior leaders.
• Expert knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, automation and orchestration tooling.
• Strong expertise in containerisation and orchestration with Docker, Kubernetes and OpenShift or Tanzu.
• Deep knowledge of cloud environments, including AWS and Azure, and hybrid deployments.
• Experience building cyber security controls and DevSecOps practices into pipelines and infrastructure.
• Proficiency in scripting and automation with Python, Bash and PowerShell.
• Familiarity with accreditation, assurance and governance requirements in secure environments.
• This list is not exhaustive. The company wants to hear from you even if you lack some of these skills, and a good attitude and willingness to learn matter most.
• Desirable: Recognised expert certifications, such as Kubernetes CKA or CKAD, AWS or Azure Architect, and HashiCorp Terraform or Vault.
• Desirable: Experience influencing organisational DevOps standards and best practices.
• Desirable: Contributions to research, publications or professional forums on DevOps and automation.
• Desirable: Knowledge of service mesh, GitOps and policy-as-code approaches.
• Desirable: Experience with monitoring, logging and observability platforms such as ELK, Prometheus and Splunk.

Conditions

This is a permanent, full-time role at a customer site in Gloucestershire, with the primary location in Gloucester and additional locations in Bristol (Coldharbour Lane) and Luton (Cap. Green 300).

Working is onsite.

Holding current UK Security Clearance (DV) is an advantage, but candidates who can obtain clearance are encouraged to apply.

The role requires pre-employment screening to the UK Government's Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Further National Security Vetting may apply, which could include eligibility for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV).

The company is committed to an inclusive, accessible workplace, so tell us if you need adjustments during recruitment.

Benefits

• Generous leave, plus the option to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.
• Pension scheme with up to a 15% employer contribution.
• Free access to mental health support and financial advice, plus employee-led networks.
• Bonus scheme open to all employees at management level and below.
• Free access to over 4,000 online courses through Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
• Financial reward through the company referral programme.
• Up to £500 a year in flexible benefits, such as private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech and lifestyle discounts and gym memberships.
• Flexible hours with hybrid working options. Part-time arrangements can be discussed for this role.
• Salary sits within a grade-based band, benchmarked against the external market. The advertised range reflects the approved grade band or a narrower hiring range within it.