Lead DevOps Engineer - Cheltenham based

Aker Systems

Aker Systems was founded in 2017 by a team of experienced technology professionals who recognised an opportunity to provide highly secure enterprise data platforms to large organisations.  We build and operate ground-breaking, ultra-secure, high performance, cloud-based data infrastructure for the enterprise. Our proprietary technology solutions drive performance and reduce costs while helping our clients to improve the management and sharing of data across their organisations. In 2024, Aker Systems won the Breakthrough Culture Awards highlighting growth companies putting culture first. In 2020 Aker Systems was recognised as a ‘One to Watch’ on the Sunday Times Tech Track.  The Company was also recognised at the Thames Valley Tech Awards 2020; winning the Thames Valley Tech Company of the year, the Emerging Tech Company and High Growth Tech Business categories.  We encourage people of all different backgrounds and identities to apply.  We are committed to maintaining an inclusive, and supportive place for you to do your very best work. Company Aker Systems designs, builds & operates advanced, ultra-secure data infrastructure, delivering data modernisation at enterprise scale to enable AI-driven transformation and seamless sharing of trusted data at scale, predominantly for highly regulated and Central Government clients in the UK. Aker has proven tech-enabled service offerings - covering the entire client lifecycle through strategic cloud & data capability leadership, secure cloud and data infrastructure modernisation, managed services in client environments and data & platform engineering. Aker powers AI digital transformation through trusted, enterprise scale data modernisation with proven mission critical, secure, trusted and real-time expertise & solutions. With deeply trusted relationships and influence, innovative technology and excellent delivery track record. Client Focus You will be working for national security and defence clients in the Southwest, across both short and long-lived programmes of work, as part of an Agile team of likeminded individuals that thrive on solving real-world problems, keeping the UK safe. Due to the nature of the work and the customers, you must hold enhanced DV Security Clearance. As a Lead DevOps Engineer, you will help lead the development and implementation of secure cloud environments hosting data and batch/real-time analytical platforms for National Security and Defence clients, leveraging the latest commercial and open-source technologies and techniques. This also involves building automated deployments using configuration management technology, deploying new modules, upgrades and fixes to test and production environments. Duties & Responsibilities * Build, test and deploy cloud-based infrastructure and applications using CI/CD and Infrastructure-as-Code * Contribute to the coding of custom test automation frameworks * Perform script maintenance and updates due to changes in requirements or implementations * Assist with setup/maintenance of environments for both manual and automated testing * Assist in production support through the investigation and resolution of incidents * Perform ongoing routine application maintenance tasks * Assist in conducting gap analysis, identifying feasible alternative solutions, and assisting in the scope of modifications * Participate in the contingency planning, including reliable backup and restore procedures * Document functions and changes to new or modified modules and test activities/results * Mentoring and driving the team to deliver our customer's requirements Core Experience & Competencies The successful candidate will have at least 5 years professional experience delivering production grade cloud solutions. * Experience working in DevSecOps environments and Zero Trust Architecture * Commercial Experience in deploying and operating infrastructure (network, servers, services) and applications on AWS and other public and private cloud (hybrid) environments * Developing and operating using open source and commercial software within a cloud-centric environment * GitHub/GitLab/Atlassian Suite for source control and performing code reviews as part of the build and deployment cycle * CI/CD and Infrastructure-as-Code technologies, e.g. Terraform and Ansible * Test Driven Development with appropriate tools and frameworks * Experience of cloud orchestration and containerisation technologies, such as Kubernetes, Docker, ECS/EKS & AKS * Knowledge of distributed event streaming technologies, such as Kafka and Flink   Aker Systems Attributes At Aker we work as a team; we are collaborative, hardworking, open, and delivery obsessed. There is no blame culture here: try things, and take responsibility for the outcomes. You are always part of the wider Aker. We help our colleagues and take pride in successfully achieving difficult tasks. We run towards problems and help to solve them. Communicate always, do so accurately and in a timely fashion. In return, we offer a competitive salary, 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, company paid medical insurance and life assurance, pension scheme, annual training allowance, wellbeing allowance, virtual GP, Employee Assistance plan and more. Equal Opportunities Aker Systems fosters a diverse environment that encourages openness in its communications and is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, age, marital status, national origin, citizenship status, disability, veteran status or other personal characteristics. We embrace differences of opinion and diversity because they help challenge us and find new groundbreaking technical solutions.

Aker Systems

Aker Systems was founded in 2017 by a team of experienced technology professionals who recognised an opportunity to provide highly secure enterprise data platforms to large organisations.  We build and operate ground-breaking, ultra-secure, high performance, cloud-based data infrastructure for the enterprise. Our proprietary technology solutions drive performance and reduce costs while helping our clients to improve the management and sharing of data across their organisations. In 2024, Aker Systems won the Breakthrough Culture Awards highlighting growth companies putting culture first. In 2020 Aker Systems was recognised as a ‘One to Watch’ on the Sunday Times Tech Track.  The Company was also recognised at the Thames Valley Tech Awards 2020; winning the Thames Valley Tech Company of the year, the Emerging Tech Company and High Growth Tech Business categories.  We encourage people of all different backgrounds and identities to apply.  We are committed to maintaining an inclusive, and supportive place for you to do your very best work. Due to the nature of the work and the customers, you must hold enhanced DV Security Clearance. As a Lead Data Platform Engineer, you will help lead the development of backend services for a government client leveraging the latest commercial and open-source technologies. This involves designing, developing, documenting and deploying backend services with a focus on high availability, low latency and scalability.  Duties & Responsibilities * Design, develop, document and deploy new or enhanced features to our backend services that meet functional / non-functional business requirements  * Actively participate in the team’s elaboration and estimation of user stories  * Build frequent, small releases to maintain the team’s momentum  * Collaborate closely with other engineers in our cross-functional feature teams; ensuring that others can cover for you, and that you can cover for them  * Build, optimise and operate our Continuous Deployment pipelines  * Maintain operational responsibility for the services that your team owns  Core Experience & Competencies The successful candidate will have a Bachelor's degree or greater in Computer Science or a related field or an equivalent of at least 5 years of working experience in a similar capacity.  You will have demonstrated the following competencies to the proficiency level appropriate to the seniority of the role. * JAVA programming experience as the core language, including Spring Boot. * Fluent in writing JAVA coding. * Experience with Kafka or a similar platform. * Experience with Scala and Spark. * Integrating with backing services, such as PostgreSQL, Redis or S3 * Good engineering practices including continuous delivery, clean code, documentation, defensive programming, automated testing and code reviews * Working in Agile development and/or DevOps teams * Using GitHub/GitLab for source control * Test Driven Development with appropriate tools and frameworks * Experience in Big Data technologies * Experience in Public Cloud services, such as AWS Aker Systems Attributes At Aker we work as a team; we are collaborative, hardworking, open, and delivery obsessed. There is no blame culture here: try things, and take responsibility for the outcomes. You are always part of the wider Aker. We help our colleagues and take pride in successfully achieving difficult tasks. We run towards problems and help to solve them. Communicate always, do so accurately and in a timely fashion. In return, we offer a competitive salary, 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, company paid medical insurance and life assurance, pension scheme, annual training allowance, wellbeing allowance, virtual GP, Employee Assistance plan and more. Equal Opportunities Aker Systems fosters a diverse environment that encourages openness in its communications and is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, age, marital status, national origin, citizenship status, disability, veteran status or other personal characteristics. We embrace differences of opinion and diversity because they help challenge us and find new groundbreaking technical solutions.

Aker Systems

Aker Systems was founded in 2017 by a team of experienced technology professionals who recognised an opportunity to provide highly secure enterprise data platforms to large organisations.  We build and operate ground-breaking, ultra-secure, high performance, cloud-based data infrastructure for the enterprise. Our proprietary technology solutions drive performance and reduce costs while helping our clients to improve the management and sharing of data across their organisations. In 2024, Aker Systems won the Breakthrough Culture Awards highlighting growth companies putting culture first. In 2020 Aker Systems was recognised as a ‘One to Watch’ on the Sunday Times Tech Track.  The Company was also recognised at the Thames Valley Tech Awards 2020; winning the Thames Valley Tech Company of the year, the Emerging Tech Company and High Growth Tech Business categories.  We encourage people of all different backgrounds and identities to apply.  We are committed to maintaining an inclusive, and supportive place for you to do your very best work. Due to the nature of the work and the customers, you must hold enhanced DV Security Clearance. As a Lead Data Architect, with a minimum of 6 years of experience, you will play a role in shaping data strategy and ensuring the success of our client’s complex, critical high-profile projects. You will support the design and implementation of secure, scalable, and resilient data architectures on AWS and other cloud platforms, while also serving as a mentor to a team of skilled data professionals. Duties & Responsibilities * Engage with stakeholders, both internal and external, to understand business requirements, provide strategic guidance, and ensure that data solutions meet their objectives * Support the design, development, and implementation of data architectures that meet the needs of our clients, ensuring alignment with security, performance, and scalability requirements * Utilise extensive experience with AWS tooling and other cloud providers to architect and deploy secure, cloud-native solutions for batch and real-time data processing * Provide technical leadership and guidance to cross-functional teams, ensuring best practices in data architecture, security, and cloud computing * Proficiency in data modelling, ETL processes, data warehousing, distributed systems and metadata systems * Utilise Apache Flink and other streaming technologies to build real-time data processing systems that handle large-scale, high-throughput data * Ensure all data solutions comply with industry standards and government regulations, maintaining the highest levels of data security and integrity * Monitor technical deliverables against the designs, manage and report on design divergences * Support the sales and pre-sales teams by providing expert advice and input on proposals, ensuring technical feasibility and alignment with client needs * Advise and support on breaches of data standards and make recommendations about how they should be resolved * Stay up to date with the latest advancements in cloud technologies, data architecture, and security practices, and apply this knowledge to continuously improve our offerings Core Experience and Competencies * 6+ years of experience in data architecture, with a focus on secure, large-scale, and complex projects * Extensive experience with AWS services, including but not limited to EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, and Redshift. Experience with other cloud providers (e.g., Azure, GCP) is a plus * In-depth knowledge and hands-on experience with Apache Flink for real-time data processing * Proven experience in mentoring and managing teams, with a focus on developing talent and fostering a collaborative work environment * Strong ability to engage with and influence senior stakeholders, understanding their needs and translating them into actionable technical plans * Desirable skills in Scala and Spark to support wider programmes of work * Hands-on Public Cloud experience in either AWS/Azure/Google Cloud Platform, both their ‘services’ and ‘how’ to work in the cloud such as DevOps-centric approach * Having worked in sensitive data environments and ideally have experience facing off to cyber security specialists * Understand and apply recognised data modelling patterns and standards Aker Systems Attributes At Aker we work as a team; we are collaborative, hardworking, open, and delivery obsessed. There is no blame culture here: try things, and take responsibility for the outcomes. You are always part of the wider Aker. We help our colleagues and take pride in successfully achieving difficult tasks. We run towards problems and help to solve them. Communicate always, do so accurately and in a timely fashion. In return, we offer a competitive salary, 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, company paid medical insurance and life assurance, pension scheme, annual training allowance, wellbeing allowance, virtual GP, Employee Assistance plan and more. Equal Opportunities Aker Systems fosters a diverse environment that encourages openness in its communications and is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, age, marital status, national origin, citizenship status, disability, veteran status or other personal characteristics. We embrace differences of opinion and diversity because they help challenge us and find new groundbreaking technical solutions.