Senior DevOps Engineer

The Granite Group; Liverpool; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in Liverpool is seeking a Senior DevOps Engineer to drive their cloud-first strategy. In this role, you will collaborate with development teams to support microservice architectures, automate workloads, and ensure system resilience. The ideal candidate will have strong expertise in Linux, Azure, and container orchestration tools like Docker and Kubernetes. This position offers hybrid working and a comprehensive benefits package, including enhanced annual leave and wellbeing services.

Benefits

Enhanced Annual Leave

Enhanced paternity pay

16 weeks full maternity pay

Colleague Assistance programme

Company pension scheme

Refer a friend scheme

Flexible benefits platform

Qualifications

• Strong experience with Linux environments.
• Deep expertise in Azure; experience with AWS and GCP is a plus.
• Proficiency in Bash, PowerShell, or similar scripting languages.

Responsibilities

• Help to lead the creation and maintenance of release pipelines.
• Resolve complex issues in DevOps-managed systems.
• Guide the integration of new software into the ecosystem.

Skills

Linux

Git

Scripting

Collaboration

Troubleshooting

Education

Relevant certifications

Tools

Terraform

Ansible

Docker

Kubernetes

Azure DevOps

Job description

At Acorn, we're passionate about building innovative platforms using cutting-edge technologies. As a Senior DevOps Engineer, you'll play a crucial role in driving our cloud-first strategy, collaborating closely with development teams to support and scale their microservice architectures. You'll also work with our Cloud Infrastructure team to automate workloads and ensure scalability, resilience, and fault tolerance. Your leadership and technical expertise will be instrumental in shaping the future of our platform as we continue to grow.

Job Title: Senior DevOps Engineer

Location: Liverpool City Centre with Hybrid working available

Working Hours: 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm

What you will be doing:

• Design and Maintenance – Help to lead the creation, evolution and maintenance of release pipelines for software and infrastructure.
• Troubleshooting - Resolving complex issues in DevOps-managed systems for developers and customers.
• Onboarding – Guide the integration of new software into the ecosystem while ensuring compliance with best practices.
• Collaboration – Partner with other DevOps engineers and Cloud Architects to design and build scalable, resilient, and fault-tolerant systems.
• Peer Review – Provide mentorship and actively participate in peer review processes, providing feedback and guidance.
• Stakeholder Engagement – Translate business and technical requirements into actionable DevOps solutions
• Collaborate with development teams to support and enhance application delivery.
• Champion GitOps and other modern deployment strategies to streamline operations.
• Maintain and improve monitoring and alerting systems.
• Document systems, processes, and configurations to ensure clarity and continuity.

What we are looking for:

• Operating Systems – Strong experience with Linux environments.
• Cloud Platforms – Deep expertise in Azure; experience with AWS and GCP is a plus.
• Scripting – Proficiency in Bash, PowerShell, or similar scripting languages.
• Infrastructure as Code – Advanced experience with Terraform, Ansible, or similar tools.
• Version Control – Expertise in Git and workflows like GitFlow and trunk-based development.
• Containerisation & Orchestration – Extensive hands-on experience architecting, deploying, and managing containerized applications using Docker, Kubernetes, and Helm in production-grade environments.
• Deployment Techniques – Hands-on experience with GitOps tools (e.g., ArgoCD, Flux).
• CI/CD – Skilled in building and managing pipelines using Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, etc.
• Monitoring – Experience with Prometheus, Grafana, and other observability tools.
• Application Stack – Familiarity with .NET, Node.js, React, and web server technologies like Nginx.
• Relevant certifications or the ability to demonstrate equivalent experience, such as:
• Terraform Associate

About Acorn Insurance

With over 40 years of experience, Acorn Insurance is a specialist provider dedicated to helping individuals secure motor insurance across the UK. We proudly serve more than 50,000 customers, ensuring they find policies that meet their needs and provide the peace of mind that comes with high-quality cover.

At Acorn Insurance, we offer comprehensive training and continuous in-house coaching. You'll receive in-depth, FCA-regulated industry knowledge and all the tools necessary to grow your career with us.

We celebrate diversity and are committed to fostering a culture where everyone feels respected and valued. As a Disability Confident Level 1 and Level 2 employer, we ensure our workplace is accessible and inclusive, encouraging our people to bring their best selves to work every day.

The Acorn Group has been recognised as a Great Place to Work for 2024/5. A record number of employees participated in our survey, overwhelmingly highlighting our welcoming and supportive atmosphere as an excellent place to build a career. We are committed to continuous improvement and have ambitious plans for 2025.

Why Acorn Insurance?

Why Acorn Insurance?

Acorn Insurance want to give you more than a job, we want to give you a purpose and a career. So, what can we offer you as an employer? Some of the "your tomorrow" benefits you will receive include:

Wellbeing:

• Enhanced Annual Leave entitlement starting at 31 days and potentially increasing to 35 days per year depending on grade & length of service (including bank holidays)
• Enhanced paternity pay and 16 weeks full maternity pay.
• Colleague Assistance programme offers a suite of wellbeing services such as:
• 6 Free Counselling sessions per year
• Unlimited access to a telephone councillor 24/7
• Access to a free 4-week programme of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with a trained therapist mentor.
• Network of internal qualified mental health first aiders are available to provide support to colleagues.
• A core level of life assurance with the option to increase cover via salary sacrifice and add your spouse/partner
• Ability to access your earnings before payday via Dayforce Wallet.
• Company pension scheme
• Refer a friend scheme with a £250 bonus for every colleague recommended on passing their probation period.
• Access to a flexible benefits platform including an annual flex pot allowance to spend on over 15 benefits of your choice.
• Ability to give back. You can opt into donating money to charity to climate positive organisations directly from your salary.

Reward, Recognition and Culture:

• Long Service Award paid on 5,10- and 15-years’ service
• A reward and recognition hub to celebrate and reward colleagues and peers.
• Consistent and engaging company events including company awards, competitions and charity fundraisers.
• Budgets for department leaders to use for social and engagement events.
  
  Please visit our website to view more of our excellent work benefits!

All roles are subject to DBS and Financial checks, any offer made will be conditional until checks are completed to a satisfactory standard.

Unfortunately, due to the length of training and complexity of the role, we can only accept applications from candidates who have at least one year remaining on their (Graduate/ Post study work) visa. We are unable to provide visa sponsorships.

At Acorn, we are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive work environment. We recognise that candidates may have specific needs and are happy to consider reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process and working environment to accommodate individual requirements. We aim to ensure all employees can perform at their best. If you require any reasonable adjustments, please let us know during the application or interview process, and we will work with you to ensure your needs are met.