Linux Engineer

iSAM; London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is looking for a Platform Automation Engineer to enhance their infrastructure through innovative automation frameworks. This role involves hands-on work in colocation data centres, focusing on designing, implementing, and maintaining systems that streamline operations. The successful candidate will play a key role in reducing manual tasks, optimizing performance, and ensuring compliance with security policies. With opportunities for international travel and a collaborative team environment, this position is perfect for those who thrive on problem-solving and driving efficiency in a dynamic setting.

Qualifications

• 5+ years experience in data centre operations and hardware management.
• Strong Linux skills and ability to automate with Python and Bash.

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain automation frameworks for infrastructure management.
• Perform hands-on work in data centres including racking and cabling.

Skills

Data Centre Expertise

Linux Administration (RHEL)

Docker

Infrastructure Automation (Python, Bash)

DevOps Tools (GitLab/GitHub, Artifactory/Nexus)

Analytical Thinking

Tools

Terraform

Packer

Ansible

CI/CD Pipelines

Kubernetes

Helm

ArgoCD

Job description

Platform Automation Engineer

Department: Infrastructure

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: London

Description

We are seeking a Platform Engineer with extensive experience in colocation data centre environments. This role will focus on designing, implementing, and maintaining automation frameworks to manage infrastructure, network, and hardware provisioning efficiently. The successful candidate will be instrumental in reducing manual tasks, increasing operational efficiency, and ensuring the scalability of infrastructure through automation best practices. This role requires international travel to data centre locations and hands-on involvement in physical racking, cabling, and provisioning of server, storage, and networking equipment.

Key Responsibilities

Data Centre Operations & Hardware Management

• Perform hands-on work in colocation (colo) data centres, including racking and cabling servers, switches and storage.
• Troubleshoot and optimize data centre operations, addressing issues related to performance, hardware failures, and automation anomalies
• Manage the full hardware lifecycle from procurement to decommissioning.
• Handle firmware updates and ensure optimal performance of hardware infrastructure.
• Ensure structured cabling best practices for power, network, and storage connectivity to maintain operational efficiency and uptime.
• Strong networking skills and experience troubleshooting networking issues

Infrastructure Automation & Configuration Management

• Use Terraform, Packer, and Ansible to automate infrastructure provisioning and configuration of baremetal servers and VMs.
• Maintain RHEL and VMware ESX environments with best practices.
• Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines to streamline infrastructure deployments.
• Implement Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles to ensure consistency and scalability.

Security & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with security policies, industry standards, and best practices through automation-driven enforcement
• Regularly rebuild/patch systems to mitigate security vulnerabilities.
• Conduct audits and implement controls to comply with industry standards and regulations.

Scripting & Automation

• Write and maintain automation scripts in Python and Bash to streamline operations
• Develop custom tooling to enhance system monitoring and operational efficiency.
• Troubleshoot and optimise automation workflows to improve reliability and performance.
• Maintain documentation and version control of all automation scripts and configurations.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Required Qualifications

• Data Centre Expertise: 5+ years hands on experience working in colo data centres, racking and cabling servers/switches and performing hardware diagnostics
• Strong Linux administration skills (RHEL preferred)
• Firm understanding of docker
• Experience with deploying/managing standard DevOps tools (eg. GitLab/GitHub, Artifactory/Nexus, Grafana/Prometheus)
• Ability to write infrastructure automation scripts with python and bash
• Understanding of storage concepts (Block/Object)

Nice to Have Qualifications:

• Experience working in hybrid cloud environment (AWS)
• Hands on experience with Kubernetes, Helm, ArgoCD

Personal Attributes and Key Outcomes

Personal Attributes

• Clear communication – explains technical concepts concisely and effectively
• Adaptability – adjusts to new technologies and unexpected challenges
• Analytical thinking – breaks down complex issues logically and methodically
• Decision-making – balances speed and accuracy when making technical decisions
• Collaboration over competition – prioritises team success over individual wins
• Accountability – follows through on commitments and owns mistakes
• Patience – supports teammates as they learn or troubleshoot issues
• Open to feedback – accepts and applies suggestions for improvement
• Growth mindset – always looks for ways to improve skills and workflows
• Proactiveness – takes initiative instead of waiting for instructions

Key Outcomes

Success in a Platform Engineer role at iSAM isn’t just about writing great code—it’s about building relationships, problem-solving, and making a lasting impact on the team and business.

• Contributes to a positive, inclusive team culture where knowledge sharing is the norm
• Improves automation frameworks, reducing manual effort and deployment risks
• Fixes issues swiftly and documents solutions for future reference
• Takes full responsibility for automation scripts, CI/CD pipelines and IaC tools
• Recognised by peers and leadership as a reliable resource for automation challenges
• Trusted to make informed decisions that align with team and company goal