Unix Engineer

Wolviston Management Services; Glasgow; Hybrid; GBP 58,500 - 71,500; Full time

Job summary

Wolviston Management Services is seeking a Senior UNIX Engineer to join our infrastructure team in Glasgow, with Newcastle as a secondary option. The role blends hands-on UNIX/Linux administration with automation and lifecycle management for large-scale enterprise platforms.

You will develop automation using Python and Ansible, build Airflow workflows, and work closely with virtualization, networking and observability teams to improve patching, upgrades and overall reliability.

Qualifications

• Experience managing large-scale UNIX/Linux environments.
• Strong automation experience using Python and Ansible.
• Experience with infrastructure lifecycle, patching and upgrades.
• Ability to design and implement automation workflows.
• Understanding of networking fundamentals.
• Experience with production systems in critical environments.

Responsibilities

• Administer and support large-scale Linux/UNIX environments.
• Troubleshoot and perform root-cause analyses across OS and infrastructure.
• Support OS lifecycle management, upgrades and patching.
• Collaborate with virtualization, networking and load balancing teams.
• Develop automation tooling with Python and Ansible.
• Build orchestration workflows with Apache Airflow.
• Create automated pre-change validation and post-change verification processes.
• Improve efficiency through automation.
• Implement monitoring and observability for automated workflows.
• Produce high-quality technical documentation.

Skills

UNIX/Linux engineering

Automation with Python

Ansible

Networking fundamentals

Troubleshooting

Production systems management

Tools

VMware

F5 Load Balancers

Infoblox DNS

Apache Airflow

Prometheus

Grafana

Loki

Job description

Senior UNIX Engineer

Location: Glasgow (Preferred) or Newcastle Upon Tyne

Salary: Up to £65,000

Working Pattern: Hybrid with client-site attendance as required

We are seeking an experienced Senior UNIX Engineer to join a highly skilled infrastructure engineering team responsible for managing and evolving critical enterprise platforms across a large-scale client environment.

The team owns and supports core infrastructure technologies including Linux server estates, VMware virtualisation platforms, F5 load balancers, Infoblox DNS, and an extensive suite of internally developed automation tools used to configure, maintain and operate these services.

This role has arisen due to an increasing requirement to respond rapidly to emerging vulnerabilities and platform risks. The successful candidate will help drive the automation capabilities needed to deliver large-scale operating system upgrades, patching activities and infrastructure lifecycle management at enterprise scale.

Whilst experience within Financial Services would be advantageous, candidates from other complex, large-scale technology environments are encouraged to apply.

Location & Travel

• Glasgow is the preferred location due to the existing team presence.
• Candidates based near Newcastle will also be considered.
• During the first few months, successful candidates will be expected to travel regularly to London to embed with the wider engineering team and gain a detailed understanding of the environment.
• Following this onboarding period, travel requirements will reduce and align with business needs.

The Role

You will join a team responsible for maintaining and modernising critical infrastructure platforms supporting a complex enterprise environment.

A major focus of the role will be helping the organisation transform its ability to patch, upgrade and manage infrastructure at scale through the development of robust automation solutions.

This includes:

• Large-scale Linux operating system upgrades.
• Kernel patching across extensive server estates.
• Automation of infrastructure operations and maintenance activities.
• Development of orchestration workflows using Apache Airflow.
• Building automation tooling using Python and Ansible.
• Enhancing observability, monitoring and operational controls.
• Supporting the introduction of live-patching technologies.

The role requires a strong infrastructure engineering mindset, with particular emphasis on UNIX/Linux fundamentals and operating large-scale production environments.

Key Responsibilities UNIX & Linux Engineering

• Administer and support large-scale Linux/UNIX environments.
• Perform troubleshooting and root cause analysis across operating systems and infrastructure platforms.
• Support operating system lifecycle management, upgrades and patching activities.
• Work closely with engineering teams responsible for virtualisation, networking and load balancing technologies.
• Contribute to platform reliability, resilience and operational excellence.

Automation Engineering

• Design, develop and maintain infrastructure automation solutions.
• Develop tooling and integrations using Python and Ansible.
• Build and enhance orchestration workflows within Apache Airflow.
• Create automated pre-change validation and post-change verification processes.
• Improve efficiency and reduce manual intervention through automation.

Platform Observability

• Implement monitoring and observability capabilities across automated infrastructure workflows.
• Develop dashboards, alerting and operational reporting.
• Work with tooling including:
  • Prometheus
  • Grafana
  • Loki
• Ensure automation can be monitored, controlled and supported effectively.

Engineering Collaboration

• Work alongside specialist Engineering teams across UNIX, Load Balancing and Virtualisation.
• Participate in technical discussions and design reviews.
• Share knowledge and contribute to engineering best practice.
• Produce high-quality technical documentation.

Essential Skills & Experience Technical Skills

• Strong UNIX/Linux engineering and administration experience.
• Experience supporting large-scale enterprise infrastructure environments.
• Advanced command-line and troubleshooting skills.
• Strong understanding of Linux operating systems and internals.
• Experience developing automation using Python.
• Experience using Ansible for configuration management and automation.
• Understanding of networking fundamentals and common protocols.
• Knowledge of filesystems, operating system processes and infrastructure architecture.
• Experience managing production systems within critical environments.

Personal Skills

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to work within highly technical engineering teams.
• Proactive and self-driven approach to improvement and innovation.

Desirable Experience

• Financial Services or other highly regulated environments.
• F5 Load Balancers.
• VMware Virtualisation technologies.
• Infoblox DNS.
• Apache Airflow.
• Prometheus, Grafana and Loki.
• Live patching technologies.
• Enterprise-scale infrastructure transformation or automation programmes.

What We're Looking For

This role would suit a candidate who is fundamentally a strong UNIX Engineer first and foremost.

Candidates should be comfortable operating at the command line, troubleshooting complex infrastructure issues, understanding operating system behaviour and working with core technologies such as networking, filesystems and system services.

The successful candidate will combine deep infrastructure knowledge with the ability to automate and modernise operational processes through code.

Interview Process

Stage 1

• 30-minute introductory discussion

Stage 2

• 60-minute technical interview
• Focus on:
  • UNIX/Linux fundamentals
  • Infrastructure engineering
  • Automation
  • Consulting and stakeholder engagement

Stage 3

• 30-minute cultural fit interview with leadership