DevOps Engineer

National Physical Laboratory; Coventry; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading research institution in Coventry is seeking an experienced Senior Software Engineer with expertise in DevOps automation and container orchestration. In this role, you will oversee software release management, develop automation scripts, and contribute to the design of critical UK infrastructure for time maintenance. Ideal candidates should have a solid background in automation tools, Unix administration, and strong communication skills. Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis, so apply early.

Qualifications

• Recent experience in the delivery of DevOps solutions.
• Experience in overseeing software release management.
• Ability to manage content deployment.

Responsibilities

• Oversee software release management – automated deployment.
• Develop scripts to automate DevOps functions.
• Manage all content going live.

Skills

DevOps solutions delivery

Team leadership

Risk assessment and management

Security mindset

Clear communication

Automation tools (Packer, Terraform, Ansible)

Unix system administration

Cloud platform administration

Docker

Python and shell scripting

Job description

Our world-leading Time & Frequency department are seeking an experienced and practicing Senior Software Engineer with proven expertise in DevOps automation and container orchestration.

You will be joining our team at an exciting time - we maintain the UK’s National Time Scale, UTC (NPL), and are currently developing a new resilient Time Scale facility that will underpin our Critical National Infrastructure. This will address the risks associated with our dependency on global navigation satellite systems (such as GPS) that are vulnerable to both natural and intentional interference.

You’ll work closely with the Product Manager(s) and Delivery Manager(s) to align product and business requirements, develop proposals, and balance tech debt to deliver product functionality.

Key responsibilities:

• Oversee software release management – automated deployment to multiple on-prem and cloud environments
• Develop scripts to automate DevOps functions
• Manage all content going live

Reporting to a Programme Manager, you'll play a pivotal role in the design of critical UK infrastructure that pushes the boundaries of measurement accuracy for the UK's new resilient Time Scale.

Required skills, experience and qualifications

• Proven and recent experience in the delivery of DevOps solutions
• Team leadership
• Risk assessment and management
• Security mindset
• Clear communicator
• Automation – Packer, Terraform, Ansible, CI/CD practices, developing pipelines
• Unix system administration
• Cloud platform administration
• Docker, container orchestration
• Python and shell scripting
• Professional software development experience

Desirable skills

• Interest in Physics, measurements, and communications, for example time and frequency measurement and time scale steering, real‑time monitoring and control of electronic hardware, satellite communication, optical fibre and GNSS-based systems.

We actively recruit citizens of all backgrounds, but the nature of our work in specific departments means that nationality, residency and security requirements can be more tightly defined than others. You will be asked about this throughout the recruitment process. To work at NPL, you will need to obtain BPSS security clearance. However, to work in this role in the Time & Frequency department, you will need to have an SC clearance with no restrictions, or you must have the ability to obtain an SC clearance.

Please note: Applications will be reviewed, and interviews conducted throughout the duration of this advert therefore we may at any time bring the closing date forward. We encourage all interested applicants to apply as soon as practical.