Lead DevOps Engineer

Sanderson Government & Defence; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 89,000 - 121,000; Full time

Job summary

Sanderson Government & Defence is seeking an experienced Azure-focused Lead DevOps Engineer to join our secure UK Defence and Government programmes in London on a hybrid basis. You will lead the design, deployment and optimisation of cloud platforms, driving automation, reliability and DevOps best practices in highly secure environments.

The role requires strong Azure expertise, hands-on experience with Azure DevOps, Terraform and CI/CD pipelines, and the ability to lead platform engineering

Qualifications

• Experience leading DevOps and platform engineering teams in secure environments.
• Azure cloud engineering and architecture expertise.
• Hands-on with Azure DevOps, Azure Pipelines, and Azure Deployments.
• Infrastructure as Code using Terraform, Bicep, or ARM templates.
• CI/CD pipeline design and automation.
• Kubernetes (AKS), Docker, Git, PowerShell, and scripting.
• Defence/Government or other secure delivery experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, deployment, and optimization of Azure cloud platforms.
• Drive automation, reliability, and DevOps best practices in secure environments.
• Provide technical leadership and stakeholder engagement.

Skills

Azure cloud

Leadership

Azure DevOps

Azure Pipelines

Azure Deployments

Terraform

Bicep

ARM templates

CI/CD

Kubernetes (AKS)

Docker

Git

PowerShell

Scripting

Secure environments

Tools

Terraform

Bicep

ARM templates

Azure DevOps

Azure Pipelines

AKS

Job description

Lead DevOps Engineer
2 days on site in London
£570 a day - Inside IR35
Requires Active SC Clearance expiring after 2030

We're seeking an experienced Azure-focused Lead DevOps Engineer to support secure Defence and Government programmes. You'll lead the design, deployment, and optimisation of cloud platforms, driving automation, reliability, and DevOps best practices within highly secure environments.

Key Skills & Experience:

• Strong Azure cloud engineering and architecture expertise
• Experience leading DevOps and platform engineering teams
• Hands-on experience with Azure DevOps, Azure Pipelines, and Azure Deployments
• Infrastructure as Code using Terraform, Bicep, or ARM templates
• CI/CD pipeline design and automation
• Kubernetes (AKS), Docker, Git, PowerShell, and scripting
• Experience delivering solutions within Defence, Government, or other secure environments

Requirements:

• Active SC Clearance with an expiry date after 2030
• Ability to work on a hybrid basis in London
• Strong stakeholder engagement and technical leadership skills

This is an excellent opportunity to join a high-impact programme delivering secure Azure cloud capabilities for critical UK Defence and Government customers.

Reasonable Adjustments:

Respect and equality are core values to us. We are proud of the diverse and inclusive community we have built, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and perspectives. Our success is driven by our people, united by the spirit of partnership to deliver the best resourcing solutions for our clients.