Job Description:
Your Impact
Are you ready to take on complex automation and DevOps challenges that underpin some of the UK's most critical missions?
At Leonardo, our Principal DevOps Engineers are recognised technical leaders who combine hands-on engineering with technical authority, helping to shape, automate and deliver secure platform solutions across highly controlled environments. You will work alongside platform, infrastructure, security and delivery teams to improve the speed, consistency, resilience and security of solution delivery through automation and modern engineering practices.
Your work at Leonardo UK will see you take the lead in solving customer problems in an agile, innovative and team-centric manner. Due to the nature of the programmes supported, the role will require regular and sustained attendance at secure customer locations, alongside working at Leonardo sites where programme and security constraints permit.
Leonardo UK is seeking a Principal DevOps Engineer to join the Cyber & Security Solutions Division team. This role is focused on developing, deploying, operating and improving automated platform solutions that underpin critical defence, government and public sector services.
What you will do as a Principal DevOps Engineer
Act as the technical authority for automation, DevOps and platform engineering practices across projects and programmes.
Lead the design, implementation and continuous improvement of CI/CD pipelines, Infrastructure as Code and platform automation solutions.
Develop and maintain secure deployment pipelines supporting highly controlled and regulated environments.
Work with Platform Engineers, Security Engineers, Architects and Project Teams to automate the deployment, configuration and operation of infrastructure and applications.
Lead the implementation and adoption of DevSecOps approaches, embedding security controls throughout the delivery lifecycle.
Capture, analyse and interpret technical requirements, producing high and low level designs where required.
Provide technical leadership for assigned work packages, including planning, estimation, delivery oversight and reporting.
Drive the adoption of automation, repeatability and engineering best practice across platform teams.
Mentor and coach DevOps Engineers, Platform Engineers and junior engineers, raising technical capability across the wider organisation.
Support technology assessments, feasibility studies, innovation activities and future capability planning.
Engage with customers and stakeholders, presenting, defending and assuring technical solutions.
What you'll bring
Extensive technical expertise across DevOps, automation and modern platform engineering practices.
The ability to balance hands-on engineering with technical leadership and mentorship.
Strong problem-solving capability with the confidence to recommend and justify technical approaches.
Experience driving automation and continuous improvement across engineering teams.
The ability to operate effectively within highly regulated, secure or defence-related environments.
Strong communication skills and the ability to work across engineering, delivery, security and customer teams.
Core areas (must have)
Design, implementation and operation of CI/CD pipelines.
Infrastructure as Code and configuration management.
Containerisation and orchestration technologies.
Automation and scripting using technologies such as Python, PowerShell or Bash.
Platform deployment pipelines and release automation.
DevOps and DevSecOps practices.
Secure software delivery and integration of security controls into engineering workflows.
Enterprise Git-based version control and branching strategies.
Cloud and hybrid platform technologies.
Experience delivering within highly controlled, secure or defence environments.
Technical leadership and mentoring of engineering teams.
Desirable
Experience in one or more of the following areas would be highly desirable:
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