Principal DevOps Engineer

Leonardo; Gloucester; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Time to Recharge

Pension scheme

Mental health support

Job summary

Leonardo is seeking a Lead DevOps Engineer to join an established team working with a customer near Gloucester. You will provide technical leadership to shape the approach and ensure robust, secure, and innovative DevOps delivery aligned with customer needs.

The role is based at the customer site near Gloucester with security clearance required. You will guide and support the existing team, mentor engineers, and drive DevOps best practices across projects.

Qualifications

• Experience designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, Azure DevOps) and Git.
• Proficient in Terraform, Ansible, Helm for infrastructure automation.
• Containerisation and orchestration with Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift/Tanzu.
• Scripting in Python, Bash, PowerShell for automation.
• Strong cloud knowledge (AWS, Azure) with hybrid deployments.
• Understanding of DevSecOps and secure software delivery.

Responsibilities

• Act as the technical authority for automation and DevOps solutions across projects and programmes.
• Lead the design and implementation of CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code, and container orchestration.
• Provide domain expertise in secure DevOps/DevSecOps, embedding cyber security into pipelines and environments.
• Capture and analyse requirements, shaping high- and low-level technical designs.
• Take ownership of technical delivery for assigned work packages, including planning, estimation, and reporting.
• Mentor and coach DevOps Engineers and Technicians, raising the technical capability of the team.
• Support technology assessments, feasibility studies, and roadmap development.

Skills

CI/CD pipelines

Git

IaC

Docker

Kubernetes

OpenShift/Tanzu

Scripting

AWS/Azure

DevSecOps

Security

Tools

GitHub Actions

GitLab CI

Jenkins

Azure DevOps

Job description

Job Description:

Your Impact

Do you want to shape the future of DevOps across the UK's most critical missions? At Leonardo, our Lead DevOps Engineers are recognised authorities in automation and secure software delivery. They set technical direction, act as subject matter experts across programmes, and ensure our DevOps solutions remain robust, secure, and innovative.

We are recruiting a Lead DevOps Engineer to join an established team working closely with one of our customers on an important delivery. The customer has a clear set of requirements and outcomes, and this role will provide the technical leadership to help the team determine how best to deliver against them.

You will guide and support the existing team, helping shape the technical approach, solve delivery challenges and ensure that the team delivers effectively against the customer's needs. While the overall outcomes and requirements are customer-led, there is still plenty of opportunity to influence how those outcomes are achieved, bring your experience to bear, and drive strong DevOps engineering practices within the team.

The role is based at the customer site near Gloucester. Longer term opportunities to work across other projects and customer engagements may also be available, providing scope to apply and develop your experience across Leonardo.

Security clearance is a requirement for this role. If you already hold an appropriate clearance, this would be beneficial. Where clearance needs to be obtained, you would initially contribute to central initiatives and capability development while the clearance process is completed.

What you will do as a Principal DevOps Engineer

• Act as the technical authority for automation and DevOps solutions across projects and programmes.
• Lead the design and implementation of CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code, and container orchestration.
• Provide domain expertise in secure DevOps/DevSecOps, embedding cyber security into pipelines and environments.
• Capture and analyse requirements, shaping high- and low-level technical designs.
• Take ownership of technical delivery for assigned work packages, including planning, estimation, and reporting.
• Mentor and coach DevOps Engineers and Technicians, raising the technical capability of the team.
• Support technology assessments, feasibility studies, and roadmap development.
• Engage with stakeholders and customers, presenting and defending technical solutions.

What you'll bring

Extensive technical expertise in automation, orchestration, and secure DevOps practices.

Ability to balance hands‑on engineering with technical leadership and mentorship.

A problem‑solving mindset with the confidence to recommend and justify technical approaches.

Core areas (must have):

• Experience in the design, build and maintenance of CI/CD pipelines (Github Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, Azure DevOps) and version control (Git)
• Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Ansible, Helm)
• Containerisation and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift/Tanzu)
• Scripting and automation (Python, Bash, PowerShell)
• Strong understanding of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure) and hybrid deployments
• Knowledge of DevSecOps and cyber security practices in software delivery

Desirable:

• Expertise in secrets management and PKI (e.g. HashiCorp Vault)
• Experience with monitoring/logging tools (ELK stack, Prometheus, Splunk)
• Familiarity with service mesh and modern networking (Istio, Envoy)
• Exposure to data engineering and integration (Apache ecosystem, SQL, Python)
• Recognised technical certifications (AWS/Azure Architect, Kubernetes CKA/CKAD, Terraform)
• Experience in influencing technical standards, best practices, or contributing to professional forum s

This is not an exhaustive list, and we are keen to hear from you even if you might not have experience in all the above. The most important skill is a good attitude and willingness to learn.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre‑employment screening in line with the UK Government's Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) will apply which include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) and Developed Vetting (DV).

For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting

Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a comprehensive, company‑funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work‑life balance. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

• Time to Recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.
• Secure your Future: Benefit from our award‑winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and emp