Graduate DevOps Engineer

OCU; Preston; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading utility engineering contractor in the UK is seeking a motivated Junior DevOps Engineer to enhance pipeline automation and support deployment processes. The ideal candidate will have a foundational understanding of CI/CD, exposure to Git, and a strong desire to learn about infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform and Docker. Opportunities for growth and development are paramount, making this role perfect for someone at the start of their DevOps career.

Qualifications

• Motivated individual early in their DevOps career.
• Strong willingness to work hands-on with infrastructure-as-code and cloud technologies.
• Ability to document processes clearly.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to CI/CD pipeline updates and infrastructure-as-code training.
• Assist with environment provisioning tasks and automation improvements.
• Use monitoring dashboards to track deployment outcomes.

Skills

Foundational understanding of CI / CD concepts and software delivery pipelines

Basic hands-on exposure to Git, YAML scripting or command-line interfaces

Willingness to learn Terraform, Ansible or other infrastructure-as-code tools

Strong attention to detail with disciplined approach to following processes

Clear written/verbal communication

Tools

Docker

Terraform

Cloud services

Job description

Graduate DevOps Engineer

Role Overview

We are seeking a motivated Junior DevOps Engineer to support the reliability automation and continuous delivery of OCU One. This role is ideal for someone early in their DevOps career with foundational technical understanding and a strong willingness to will work hands‑on with pipelines infrastructure‑as‑code containerisation and cloud technologies initially on well‑scoped tasks under senior guidance. Over time you will take on greater ownership of automation environment stability and deployment processes contributing directly to the performance and reliability of our platform.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. CI / CD & Infrastructure‑as‑Code Support

• Contribute to pipeline updates, variable management, configuration changes and template maintenance.
• Learn core DevOps concepts such as CI / CD workflows, infrastructure‑as‑code, containerisation and cloud fundamentals with guided support.
• Assist with simple environment provisioning tasks, scripted jobs and basic automation improvements.
• Maintain clear documentation for changes made and steps taken.

2. Deployment & Environment Operations

• Execute deployment steps under direction and ensure accurate evidence is captured.
• Support environment configuration versioning and access checks following established processes.
• Run predefined checks or smoke tests after deployments to verify successful execution.
• Follow environment‑handling standards to ensure stability and reduce risk.

3. Monitoring Issue Identification & Troubleshooting

• Use monitoring dashboards to observe pipeline runs, deployment outcomes and environment health.
• Capture logs or diagnostics to support senior engineers in root‑cause analysis.
• Identify anomalies or failures and raise them quickly to the appropriate engineer.
• Keep accurate notes on findings to support retrospective improvement.

4. Collaboration & Communication

• Provide clear daily updates on progress, blockers and planned work.
• Escalate risks or uncertainty early to allow senior engineers to support decision‑making.
• Document processes or steps you learn/improve team knowledge bases.
• Work constructively with Engineering, QA and TechOps to support shared goals.

5. Continuous Learning & Self‑Development

• Actively seek coaching from senior engineers and apply feedback consistently.
• Pursue structured learning on tools such as Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes and cloud services.
• Participate in retros and sprint ceremonies, sharing insights or observations.
• Suggest small improvements to scripts, documentation or workflows as your experience grows.

Skills and Experience :

Essential Skills

• Foundational understanding of CI / CD concepts and software delivery pipelines.
• Basic hands‑on exposure to Git, YAML scripting or command‑line interfaces.
• Willingness to learn Terraform, Ansible or other infrastructure‑as‑code tools.
• Strong attention to detail with disciplined approach to following processes.
• Clear written/verbal communication with ability to raise issues early.
• Positive attitude toward feedback, coaching and skill development.

Desirable Skills

• Exposure to Docker containerisation or simple cloud deployments.
• Experience with basic monitoring dashboards or log analysis tools.
• Understanding of networking fundamentals (DNS, load balancers, firewalls).
• Familiarity with Agile delivery practices (stand‑ups, retros, sprint planning).
• Interest in automation scripting and DevOps career progression.

What We Value

We value our commitment to each other summed up in our five values we all sign up to: We care about safety. We lead with integrity. We strive to be better every day. We make a positive impact. We deliver to grow. We are one company united.

Our Aim & Vision at OCU

To be the UK’s leading energy transition and utilities contractor.

We are committed to leading the way in utilities and energy transition contracting. Our mission is to innovate and deliver sustainability. At OCU, our passion for addressing complex challenges brings new standards of growth in our people and capabilities. OCU is an equal opportunities employer.

Company Information :

Established in 1994, OCU Group is one of the fastest growing utility engineering contractors in the UK with a long successful track record in delivering customer‑focused civil engineering solutions.

Working directly with many of the country’s leading blue‑chip power, water, telecoms and rail clients we are looking for the very best talent to join our growing team.

We pride ourselves on empowering our employees and offering opportunities for them to take control of their own personal development and career progression in a supportive environment.

We believe that being successful is a choice. We choose to be successful.

We are OCU One Company United.

We celebrate difference and appreciate diverse backgrounds. We encourage everyone who joins us to be themselves at work and create inclusive teams in our workplace.

Key Skills

Clerical, Engineering, Assembly Language, Credit, Clinical

Employment Type: Full Time

Experience: years

Vacancy: 1