Principal DevOps Engineer

Placements24; Rustenburg; Hybrid; ZAR 1,200,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Home office stipend

Remote‑first company

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Principal DevOps Engineer to lead the design, implementation, and operation of scalable CI/CD pipelines in a distributed, remote-first environment. You will automate infrastructure, drive automation, and foster a strong DevOps culture across multiple projects.

You will mentor engineers, collaborate with development and QA teams, and champion IaC, continuous integration, and delivery practices to sustain high availability and rapid delivery.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in system administration, software engineering, or DevOps roles.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain scalable CI/CD pipelines for multiple projects.
• Automate infrastructure provisioning and configuration management with IaC tools.
• Develop and manage container orchestration platforms (Kubernetes, Docker Swarm).
• Implement monitoring, logging, and alerting to ensure health and performance.
• Collaborate with development and QA to optimize the SDLC.
• Mentor junior engineers and promote DevOps best practices.
• Tackle production incidents and drive continuous improvement.

Skills

DevOps leadership

CI/CD practices

Mentoring

Remote work

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Engineering

Equivalent extensive experience

Tools

Jenkins

GitLab CI

CircleCI

Terraform

Ansible

Chef

Puppet

Docker

Kubernetes

Prometheus

Grafana

ELK stack

Job description

About the Role

Our client, a trailblazing software development company, is seeking a highly experienced and influential Principal DevOps Engineer to join their entirely remote engineering division. This senior position is critical for enhancing our client's development, deployment, and operational processes. You will be instrumental in building and scaling robust CI/CD pipelines, automating infrastructure, and fostering a culture of collaboration between development and operations teams. Working remotely, you will have the autonomy to innovate and implement cutting‑edge DevOps practices across multiple projects. This role demands a proactive leader who thrives in a fast‑paced, distributed environment and is passionate about operational excellence and continuous improvement in Rustenburg, North West, ZA and beyond.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain scalable and reliable CI/CD pipelines for various applications and services.
• Automate infrastructure provisioning, configuration management, and application deployment using tools like Terraform, Ansible, or Chef.
• Develop and manage container orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes or Docker Swarm.
• Implement and manage monitoring, logging, and alerting systems to ensure application health and performance.
• Collaborate closely with development and QA teams to optimize the software development lifecycle.
• Champion DevOps best practices, including Infrastructure as Code (IaC), continuous integration, and continuous delivery.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex infrastructure and deployment issues in production environments.
• Develop and maintain robust security practices within the DevOps pipeline.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to the team's technical growth.
• Explore and integrate new DevOps tools and technologies to improve efficiency.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent extensive experience.
• 8+ years of experience in system administration, software engineering, or DevOps roles.
• Deep expertise in building and managing CI/CD pipelines using tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI, or CircleCI.
• Proficiency in scripting languages such as Python, Bash, or PowerShell.
• Extensive experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and their respective services.
• Strong understanding of containerization technologies (Docker) and orchestration (Kubernetes).
• Experience with configuration management tools (Ansible, Chef, Puppet).
• Familiarity with monitoring tools like Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack.
• Excellent problem‑solving skills and the ability to work independently in a remote setting.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.

Benefits

Our client offers a highly competitive salary, performance‑based bonuses, comprehensive health coverage, and a generous retirement savings plan. They provide significant opportunities for professional development, including access to training, conferences, and certification programs. As a remote‑first company, you will enjoy maximum flexibility, a home office stipend, and the chance to work with a global team of talented professionals. Join a culture that fosters innovation, autonomy, and continuous learning.