IT DevOps Lead

Cornerstone; Theale; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Cornerstone is seeking a skilled Senior DevOps lead to direct and grow the internal DevOps team in a high-velocity, AI-enabled software environment. You will own the roadmap, align with enterprise security, and ensure delivery of bespoke cloud-based applications for internal users, clients and partners.

You will drive integration of AI-assisted tooling across the development lifecycle, mentor engineers, and collaborate with stakeholders to manage risks, dependencies, and roadmaps in a fast-paced

Qualifications

• Experience leading software development teams in Agile/DevOps.
• Proficient with Git, Jira/Azure DevOps, and CI/CD automation.
• Strong knowledge of public cloud platforms and full-stack development.
• Experience with AI-assisted development tools and AI in DevOps.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the internal DevOps team and roadmap.
• Oversee end-to-end technical stack and security alignment.
• Deliver cloud-based DevOps projects with agile methods.
• Embed AI-first practices in development workflows.

Skills

Leadership

Agile/DevOps

Stakeholder management

Full-stack development

AI-assisted development

Education

Degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Systems, Electrical/Electronic Engineering

Tools

Git

Jira

Azure DevOps

Jenkins

CircleCI

AWS

Azure

GCP

Job description

Overview

Cornerstone is the UK's leading mobile and digital infrastructure provider, managing over 15,700 sites and holding 35% of the market. Our Mission is to be famous for excellence in delivery, embracing transformation with our people and our customers at its heart.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the internal DevOps team, setting technical direction, owning the roadmap, and ensuring the right skills and structure are in place to deliver and maintain bespoke software applications. Own the end-to-end technical stack, ensuring compliance with enterprise architecture and data security principles.
• Hands-on software development leveraging modern AI-assisted coding tools and practices. Actively contribute to the codebase, accelerate delivery through AI-enabled development approaches, and champion the adoption of AI tooling across the engineering lifecycle.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

• SCOPE Manage an agile software development team comprising engineers, analysts, and QA specialists to deliver in-house bespoke applications for internal users, clients, and partners. Own the full technical stack, including backend, frontend, APIs, and databases, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture and security standards. Act as the primary point of accountability for technical direction, team capability, and roadmap execution. Engage with stakeholders across the business to manage expectations, dependencies, and critical decisions.

Delivery

• Oversee design and agile delivery of cloud-based DevOps projects, ensuring proactive collaboration with stakeholders and adherence to agreed schedules.
• Maintain high-level monitoring, reporting, and governance of project portfolios in partnership with PMO.
• Produce and maintain clear, achievable plans and roadmaps, managing scope, resources, risks, and impacts of change.
• Ensure operational monitoring and alerting for the DevOps tech stack, applying InfoSec best practices including vulnerability patching and penetration testing.
• Contribute actively to health and safety, environmental, business continuity, and information security arrangements to meet ISO obligations.
• Combine traditional DevOps practices with AI-enabled development workflows to improve speed, consistency, and developer productivity
• Support the team in embedding AI-first engineering practices into everyday delivery
• Maintain governance and oversight of AI usage in development, ensuring compliance with data security and organisational standards

Role Expertise

• Proven experience leading software development teams and delivering cloud-based solutions in Agile/DevOps environments (Scrum, Kanban).
• Expertise in source code version control (e.g., Git), backlog management tools (e.g., Jira, Azure DevOps), and CI/CD automation (e.g., Jenkins, CircleCI).
• Strong knowledge of public cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and full-stack development including frontend, backend, APIs, and databases.
• Skilled in planning, stakeholder management, and driving delivery across complex projects.
• Comprehensive understanding of software development lifecycle, security, scalability, and stability in cloud environments.

AI-Assisted Engineering & Development

• Act as a hands-on contributor to the codebase, using modern programming languages, frameworks, and development tools
• Leverage AI-assisted coding tools (e.g. code generation, copilots, test generation, documentation automation) to accelerate delivery and improve quality
• Define and promote best practices for AI-assisted development, ensuring safe, secure, and effective usage across the team
• Drive adoption of AI tooling across the software development lifecycle, including:
• Design and prototyping
• Code development
• Testing and QA automation
• Documentation and knowledge sharing

Ensure AI-generated outputs meet engineering standards, security requirements, and enterprise architecture principle

Continuously assess emerging AI development capabilities and incorporate them into the DevOps toolchain where appropriate

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Experience running software development teams and architecting cloud-based solutions.
• Proficiency in Agile/DevOps methodologies and tools (Scrum, Kanban, Git, Jira/Azure DevOps).
• Experience with CI/CD automation tools and public cloud platforms.
• Strong technical knowledge across full stack development and security best practices.
• Demonstrated leadership, stakeholder management, and communication skills.
• Experience with AI-assisted development tools (e.g. Cursor, GitHub Copilot, code generation platforms)
• Understanding of prompt engineering, AI limitations, and code validation practices
• Experience integrating AI tooling into CI/CD or DevOps pipelines
• Awareness of secure and responsible AI usage in software engineering

Qualifications

• Degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Systems, Electrical/Electronic Engineering

Cornerstone Values

• Operate and uphold Cornerstones' values of Everyone Matters, Innovate to Elevate, Do the Right Thing and Customer First by being Professional, Respectful and Open