Data and Migration Engineer

Thorn SDS Ltd; Hereford; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Pension contributions

Life Insurance

Dental & Health cashback

Wellbeing services

Wellbeing contribution

EV salary sacrifice scheme

Training & development

Job summary

Thorn SDS Ltd is seeking a Data and Migration Engineer to design and build automated tooling for migrating services and data to a new enterprise platform. You’ll automate discovery, migrations, and validation, contributing to repeatable, scalable workflows within a collaborative, agile team.

The role focuses on integration with VMware Cloud Foundation, Dell storage, Terraform, and Elastic Stack, with containerised tooling and Kubernetes deployments where applicable.

Qualifications

• Experience designing and developing automation using Ansible, Python, Bash/PowerShell or similar languages, including APIs and error handling.
• Applying software delivery practices, including version control, code reviews, automated testing, CI/CD and infrastructure as code.
• Delivering migration and synchronisation tasks, validating data completeness and integrity throughout.
• Working with virtualization, enterprise storage, permissions and infrastructure dependencies.
• Supporting containerised tooling, monitoring, logging and technologies such as Kubernetes and persistent storage.
• Troubleshooting complex integration issues across platforms, adapting to unfamiliar technologies and communicating findings clearly.
• Working with VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), Dell PowerScale, Dell PowerFlex, Terraform and Elastic Stack.

Responsibilities

• Discovery and assessment: automate inventory refreshes, highlight changes and information gaps while retaining source traceability.
• Migration tooling design and delivery: build and integrate scripts, frameworks, and runbooks for the shared migration fabric.
• Target-platform integration: automate integration with storage and compute interfaces; develop containerised tooling and CI/CD pipelines.
• Monitoring and validation: integrate platform monitoring and logging for progress reporting and diagnostics; ensure data integrity.
• Working approach and scope: contribute engineering input, produce maintainable code and clear documentation; support prototypes and reviews.

Skills

Automation

Ansible

Python

Bash/PowerShell

APIs

CI/CD

Version control

Terraform

Elastic Stack

Kubernetes

Tools

VCF

Dell PowerScale

Dell PowerFlex

Terraform

Elastic Stack

Kubernetes

Job description

Overview

Thorn SDS is a UK specialist Managed Service Provider. We empower technology professionals and organisations across the Space, Defence, and Security sectors — and now, we’re growing our team with a Data and Migration Engineer who’s ready to make an impact.

Join an existing team designing and building the shared tooling needed to migrate services and data onto a new enterprise platform. Help turn the Migration Approach into reusable automation that supports migration preparation, rehearsal and execution.

This hands‑on role suits an adaptable engineer who enjoys collaborative, agile delivery across unfamiliar technologies. Manual investigation will sometimes be needed, but the emphasis is on automating repeatable high‑risk work.

Security Clearance

Successful applicants will be required to obtain a high level of security clearance prior to appointment. (See: Gov.UK – United Kingdom Security Vetting)

What you’ll be doing

You’ll work as part of a medium-sized delivery team, taking ownership of technical tasks and helping to ensure solutions are delivered to the required quality, budget and timescales. Responsibilities include:

Discovery and assessment

• Live inventory: Automate discovery and inventory refreshes, highlighting changes, dependencies and information gaps while retaining source traceability.
• Migration Discovery: Support discovery of high level data migration requirements for each application set and their dependencies populating a Migration Passport.

Migration tooling design and delivery

• Reusable automation: Help design, build and integrate scripts, frameworks, pipeline templates and runbooks for the shared migration fabric.
• Reliable execution: Enable non-production rehearsals and safely rerunnable workflows, with recovery controls and controlled promotion of tested tooling.

Target-platform integration

• Infrastructure and storage: Automate integration with VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), NSX, Dell PowerScale and Dell PowerFlex through agreed interfaces, accounting for storage mapping, permissions, metadata, capacity and performance.
• Containers and delivery: Develop containerised tooling and repeatable Kubernetes deployments where appropriate. Integrate CI/CD, infrastructure as code (including Terraform), image registries and binary repositories.
• Engineering controls: Automate builds, tests, dependency versioning, security checks and artefact promotion, maintaining traceability and respecting access, secrets and connectivity constraints.

Monitoring and validation

• Migration visibility: Integrate platform monitoring and logging, potentially Elastic Stack, to automate progress reporting, diagnostics and evidence capture.
• Data integrity: Allow for automation of source-to-target reconciliation using counts, volumes and checksums as appropriate, with item‑level checks where needed. Account for authorised transformations and live-source changes; link results and exceptions to migration records.

Working approach and scope

• Design contribution: Contribute engineering input to the Migration Tooling and Pipeline Design as required, covering tooling options, movement paths, interfaces, orchestration, validation and recovery. Support prototypes, design documentation and reviews without assuming overall design ownership.
• Collaborative delivery: Work iteratively with the existing team, platform service owners and migrating parties. Produce maintainable code, automated tests, clear documentation and practical handover material.
• Platform boundaries: Consume agreed platform capabilities rather than creating parallel services. Support migrations without assuming ownership of every migration or the underlying platform.
• Future extension points: Allow for data cataloguing, tagging, archiving and records keeping; delivery of these capabilities is not currently agreed in scope.

What you’ll bring

• Experience in designing and developing automation using Ansible, Python, Bash/PowerShell or similar languages, including APIs and error handling
• Applying software delivery practices, including version control, code reviews, automated testing, CI/CD and infrastructure as code
• Delivering migration and synchronisation tasks, validating data completeness and integrity throughout
• Working with virtualisation, enterprise storage, permissions and infrastructure dependencies
• Supporting containerised tooling, monitoring, logging and technologies such as Kubernetes and persistent storage
• Troubleshooting complex integration issues across platforms, adapting to unfamiliar technologies and communicating findings clearly
• Working with technologies such as VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), Dell PowerScale, Dell PowerFlex, Terraform and Elastic Stack
• Managing container builds, image registries, software repositories and controlled artefact promotion
• Supporting Windows/Linux, databases, file and object storage, directory services and dependency mapping
• Planning migration rehearsals, synchronisation, cutover and recovery activities to minimise disruption
• Working in secure or restricted-connectivity environments, supporting metadata, cataloguing, archiving and records management
• Producing technical documentation to support implementation, governance and ongoing support
• Maintaining engineering and security standards while keeping up with industry developments and building effective working relationships

What You’ll Get

• Competitive salary
• 25 days Annual Leave that length with years of service (plus Bank Holidays)
• Employer Pension Contributions
• Group Life Insurance
• Dental & Health Cashback Plans
• Wellbeing Services (includes GP, Physio and Savings Benefits)
• Thorn Wellbeing Support Contribution
• Octopus EV Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• Supported Training & Personal Development Opportunities

Important Information

All applicants must already hold the Right to Work in the UK.

Successful applicants will be required to obtain the appropriate UK Government Security Clearance prior to appointment and must meet the required eligibility criteria.

Due to the nature of our work, factors including nationality, previous nationalities and country of birth may affect the projects or roles for which an individual is eligible. Further information on national security vetting and clearance eligibility is available on GOV.UK.

A full UK driving licence would be advantageous, as occasional UK travel may be required.