Lead DevOps Engineer

Northrop Grumman UK; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible and hybrid working

Compressed fortnight with every other”

Private healthcare, dental cover, life

Pension

Flexible benefits package

Holiday buy and sell

Annual performance incentive

Professional development & mentoring

Job summary

Northrop Grumman UK is seeking a DevOps Engineer in Manchester to design, build and operate secure, scalable systems. You’ll automate deployments, manage CI/CD pipelines and promote best practices across agile teams, collaborating with Architects, Software Engineers and Infrastructure specialists.

You’ll work with modern DevSecOps approaches, cloud technologies and IaC tools to enable fast, reliable software delivery and system reliability in mission-critical environments.

Qualifications

• Experience designing, deploying and managing CI/CD pipelines across teams.
• Strong automation and scripting capabilities using common tools.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP) and container orchestration.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and maintain secure, resilient, mission-critical systems in collaboration with stakeholders.
• Automate deployment, configuration and operations using Infrastructure as Code and configuration management tools.
• Create, improve and maintain CI/CD pipelines that support reliable software delivery.

Skills

CI/CD tooling

Automation scripting

Cloud platforms

Containerisation

Infrastructure as Code

DevSecOps practices

Agile / Jira

Tools

Jenkins

Concourse

Maven

Bamboo

Docker

Kubernetes

OpenShift

Terraform

Ansible

PowerShell

Python

Job description

UK CITIZENSHIP REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION: Yes

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time

Location: Manchester

Clearance: Highest Level of Uk Governement Clearance

What’s your possible?

At Northrop Grumman UK, you are part of a team driving innovation where it matters most, solving tomorrow’s challenges and shaping the technology solutions of the future. We call it Defining Possible.

This mindset goes beyond our customer solutions. It underpins how we invest in our people, support career development, and create opportunities to make a meaningful impact for our customers, communities, and colleagues.

This is more than just a job. It's a mission.

As a DevOps Engineer within our National Security Solutions business, you will play a critical role in helping deliver secure, resilient, and innovative technology solutions that support some of the UK's most important programmes.

Working alongside Architects, Software Engineers, Testers and Infrastructure specialists, you'll help build, automate, and optimise mission-critical environments. You'll be part of agile, multidisciplinary teams delivering real-world outcomes, using modern DevSecOps practices, cloud technologies, Infrastructure as Code, and CI/CD tooling to solve complex technical challenges.

Whether you're improving platform reliability, enabling faster software delivery, or helping organisations become cloud ready, your work will directly contribute to the success of systems that matter.

"As a Lead DevOps Engineer I implement and improve end to end CI/CD pipelines to promote stable and efficient environments throughout the SDLC. Using multiple toolsets to automate repetitive processes, monitor and analyse system performance, and enable projects to focus on getting the best value from their tools. I document and share knowledge to help projects grow and learn from previous issues, mentoring junior colleagues to follow best practices."

Craig, Lead DevOps Engineer, National Security Solutions, Northrop

Grumman UK

Joining our Infrastructure Discipline offers the opportunity to work with industry-leading specialists across public cloud and on-premise environments, delivering innovative solutions to highly complex engineering challenges.

What You’ll Do

• Design, build and maintain secure, resilient, mission-critical systems in collaboration with technical and business stakeholders.
• Automate deployment, configuration and operational activities using Infrastructure as Code and configuration management tools.
• Create, improve and maintain CI/CD pipelines that support reliable and high-quality software delivery.
• Lead technical discussions and recommend effective DevOps tools and practices to solve complex project challenges.
• Support cloud migration initiatives and the adoption of containerised and microservices-based architectures.
• Monitor, analyse and continuously improve system performance, reliability and operational efficiency.

What We're Looking For

We're interested in hearing from people with experience in several of the following areas:

• Building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines using tools such as Jenkins, Concourse, Maven or Bamboo.
• Automation and scripting using Ansible, Bash, PowerShell, Puppet or Python.
• Managing virtualised and containerised environments including VMware, Docker, Kubernetes or OpenShift.
• Working with cloud platforms such as AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud.
• Using collaboration and delivery tools such as Jira, Confluence and Bitbucket within Agile environments.
• Monitoring and observability using tools such as Elastic Stack and Grafana.

Desirable Experience Includes

• Designing, deploying and administering Linux or Unix-based platforms.
• Implementing Infrastructure as Code and DevSecOps practices.
• Supporting cloud transformation and modernisation programmes.

If you don't meet every requirement but feel your skills and experience are relevant, we encourage you to apply. We value potential, curiosity and a willingness to learn just as much as technical expertise.

Security Clearance

Due to the nature of our work, you must be a UK national and able to gain and maintain UK Government security clearance in line with the job role and requirements.

Our recruitment team is on hand to answer any questions and will guide you through the process: [e-mail]

Benefits

At Northrop Grumman UK, we recognise that our people are our greatest asset. That's why we offer a comprehensive rewards package that supports your wellbeing, development and lifestyle:

• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
• Compressed fortnight option with every other Friday off (where project requirements allow)
• Private healthcare, dental cover, life assurance and pension
• Flexible benefits package including critical illness cover and health cash plan
• Holiday buy and sell scheme
• Annual performance incentive programme
• Professional development, training and certification support
• Career development programmes and mentoring opportunities

Why Join Us?

A Mission to Believe In

Every day, we contribute to building a more secure and connected world. You'll work on meaningful programmes that protect national interests while having opportunities to support STEM initiatives, community engagement and employee-led networks.

A Place to Belong and Thrive

Diversity of thought, background and experience strengthens our teams and our solutions. We foster an inclusive culture where everyone is respected, supported and empowered to succeed.

Your Career, Your Way

Discover your possible through varied projects, access to emerging technologies, professional development opportunities, and a network of experienced colleagues committed to helping you grow.

Northrop Grumman is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce, and encourages individuals from all backgrounds and all abilities to apply and consider becoming a part of our diverse and inclusive workforce.