Senior DevOps Engineer

Forward Role; Manchester; On-site; GBP 48,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Senior DevOps Engineer (Clearable) role based in the UK, supporting a large technology consultancy working with Central Government and national security clients. You will operate hands-on in AWS, Kubernetes and Terraform environments, contributing to secure deployments and reliability.

Eligible for UK security vetting and willing to progress through vetting processes; there is no active DV/eDV clearance required upfront.

Qualifications

• Experience with AWS and cloud tooling.
• Hands-on with Kubernetes, Docker and automation.
• Ability to navigate secure, complex environments.

Skills

AWS

Kubernetes

Docker

Helm

Terraform

GitLab CI

Jenkins

Prometheus

Grafana

Elastic

Automation

Secure deployment

Monitoring

Troubleshooting

Tools

GitLab CI/Jenkins

Job description

Senior DevOps Engineer (Clearable)

Locations: Manchester, Bristol, Cheltenham or Plymouth
Salary: Up to £80,000 base + wider package
Level: Mid-level to Senior | broadly SFIA 3–5
Clearance: No active clearance required, but you must be eligible and willing to go through UK security vetting

A genuinely rare one for this market:

You do not need to already hold DV/eDV clearance.

I’m supporting a large technology consultancy hiring DevOps Engineers into it's Secure Division, bespoke technical solutions across Central Government, Defence, National Security, Critical National Infrastructure and Law Enforcement.

The team builds secure, highly available platforms for complex government customers, with a strong emphasis on hands‑on engineering, modern cloud tooling and long‑term technical development.

What you’ll be working with

• AWS
• Kubernetes, Docker and Helm
• Terraform
• GitLab CI / Jenkins
• Prometheus, Grafana and Elastic
• Automation and secure deployment
• Platform monitoring and reliability
• Troubleshooting across complex secure environments

AWS is a key requirement here.

You’ll be joining at mid-to-senior level, with scope to stay hands‑on while progressing through a clear SFIA structure into broader technical ownership, mentoring and leadership.

Why it’s worth a look

• Rare route into secure government work without already holding active clearance
• Broad exposure across multiple government and critical infrastructure sectors
• Strong technical communities and engineering guilds
• Structured coaching, training and progression
• Project variety without needing to leave the business to broaden your remit
• Established regional teams with a collaborative, less corporate feel than you might expect from a larger consultancy

This is particularly relevant if you’ve built a strong AWS / DevOps background commercially and have previously found the clearance barrier difficult to get around.

You’ll need to meet the eligibility requirements for UK security vetting and be willing to go through the process.

If you’re already working across AWS, DevOps, Platform or SRE and want a route into more secure, complex engineering work, this is well worth a conversation.