Senior Platform Engineer (RHEL)

Leonardo; Yeovil; Hybrid; GBP 44,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

Leonardo UK is seeking a Senior Platform Engineer to lead the design, build, and support of secure platforms for critical defence and government services. The role blends hands-on engineering with technical leadership in an agile environment.

You will own delivery for work packages, mentor Platform Engineers, and collaborate with stakeholders to meet security, performance, and accreditation requirements in a hybrid, on-site and remote work model.

Qualifications

• Windows and Linux (RHEL) administration and engineering.
• Virtualised infrastructure design, build and support (VMware/Hyper-V).
• Platform hardening, patching, and security compliance across Windows and Linux.
• Identity and access integration (AD, GPO, LDAP).
• Automation and configuration management (PowerShell, Bash, Ansible).
• Networking basics (TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, routing, firewalls).
• Awareness of cyber security controls and accreditation requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, build, and support of secure platforms on-premise and hybrid environments.
• Take ownership of engineering delivery for one or more work packages, including planning, estimation, execution, and reporting.
• Develop and review system architectures, low-level designs, and technical documentation.
• Integrate and test platform components ensuring security and performance compliance.
• Provide mentoring and technical leadership to Platform Engineers and Technicians.
• Collaborate with stakeholders, project teams and customers to meet requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement and contribute to engineering standards.

Skills

Windows Admin (RHEL)

Linux Admin

VMware/Hyper-V

Security Hardening

Active Directory

Group Policy

LDAP concepts

PowerShell

Bash

Ansible

Networking basics

Security controls

Tools

VMware

Hyper-V

Job description

Job Description

Salary Range: £44,171 - £61,950

Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands. The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market. Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.

Your Impact

Are you ready to take the next step in your engineering career and lead the delivery of critical platforms that protect national security? At Leonardo, our Senior Platform Engineers combine technical expertise with leadership, driving the design, integration, and support of complex systems that underpin our customers' missions.

Your work at Leonardo UK will see you take the lead in solving customer problems in an agile, innovative and team-centric manner. The role may involve a blended hybrid working model, with a mixture of working from home and working on site at one of our Leonardo offices to ensure close collaboration with the wider team and with our customers.

Leonardo UK is seeking a Senior Platform Engineer to join the Cyber & Security Solutions Division team. This role is focused on delivering, maintaining, and improving platform and systems engineering solutions that underpin critical defence, government and public sector services.

What You Will Do As a Senior Platform Engineer

• Lead the design, build, and support of secure platforms on-premise and hybrid environments.
• Take ownership of engineering delivery for one or more work packages, including planning, estimation, execution, and reporting.
• Develop and review system architectures, low-level designs, and technical documentation.
• Integrate and test platform components, ensuring compliance with security and performance requirements.
• Provide mentoring, guidance, and technical leadership to Platform Engineers and Technicians.
• Collaborate with stakeholders, project teams, and customers to ensure solutions meet requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives and contribute to internal engineering standards.

What you'll bring

• Strong technical ability with experience of delivering and supporting complex platforms.
• Ability to balance hands-on engineering with technical leadership and mentoring responsibilities.
• Confidence to take ownership of solutions and represent engineering in technical discussions.

Core Areas (must Have)

• Windows and Linux (RHEL) operating systems administration and engineering
• Virtualised infrastructure (VMware / Hyper-V) design, build, and support
• Platform hardening, patching, and security compliance across Windows and Linux environments
• Enterprise identity and access integration (Active Directory, Group Policy, LDAP concepts)
• Automation and configuration management (PowerShell, Bash, Ansible, or similar)
• Networking concepts (TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, routing, firewalls)
• Knowledge of cyber security controls and accreditation requirements
• Experience across the systems engineering lifecycle
• Integration of compute, storage, and virtualisation layers into a unified platform
• Delivery within secure / enterprise / defence environments

Desirable

• RHEL ecosystem tooling (e.g. Satellite, lifecycle management)
• Windows enterprise services (e.g. AD advanced config, Group Policy design)
• Virtualisation platform depth (VMware stack, clustering, HA/DR)
• Performance tuning and troubleshooting across Linux and Windows systems
• Container platforms (Kubernetes / OpenShift / Docker)
• Integration with enterprise services (PKI, PAM, monitoring, backup)
• Automation at scale (Infrastructure as Code, pipelines)
• Experience supporting mixed OS environments in secure or regulated contexts

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. This role requires Developed Vetting (DV) clearance prior to starting.