Senior Devops Engineer

Open Cities Lab; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 600 000 - 900 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading tech organization in Cape Town is seeking a highly skilled Senior DevOps Engineer to lead the DevOps team. The successful candidate will be responsible for building and optimizing cloud and on-premise platforms, ensuring system reliability and security. Candidates should have significant experience in DevOps, cloud engineering, and must be proficient in tools like Docker and Terraform. A Bachelor's degree in a relevant field is required. This position fosters a culture of collaboration and continuous learning.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in DevOps, Cloud Engineering, or Site Reliability Engineering.
• Proven experience delivering across all phases of the software development lifecycle.
• Strong understanding of databases (SQL/NoSQL) and data pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor the DevOps team, fostering collaboration and innovation.
• Design, develop, and maintain cloud and on-premises infrastructure.
• Manage AWS environments, including provisioning, monitoring, and cost optimization.

Skills

Linux

Containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)

Python

SQL

RESTful API development

Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation)

CI / CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI)

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS, IT, Engineering, Math, or equivalent practical experience

Tools

AWS

Azure

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

Job description

We are looking for a highly skilled Senior DevOps Engineer to lead our DevOps team in building, optimizing, and scaling our cloud and on-premise platforms.

Reporting to the CTO, you will shape our infrastructure, streamline our development workflows, and ensure our systems are secure, reliable, and cost-effective.

This role combines hands-on technical expertise with team leadership and strategic thinking. Responsibilities : Lead and mentor the DevOps team, fostering a culture of collaboration, learning, and innovation. Design, develop, and maintain cloud and on-premises infrastructure to support scalable, secure, and highly available solutions. Build, maintain, and improve CI / CD pipelines for faster, safer deployments. Manage AWS environments, including provisioning, monitoring, and cost optimization. Implement and maintain infrastructure as code (IaC) using tools like Terraform or CloudFormation. Ensure systems are observable through logging, monitoring, and alerting tools. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure infrastructure supports business needs and product goals. Drive automation of repetitive tasks and processes for efficiency. Implement security best practices, compliance standards, and disaster recovery strategies.

What We Are Looking For : Strong analytical and critical thinking abilities. Excellent communication skills — able to clearly articulate complex ideas. Highly collaborative, with a track record of working effectively across teams. Adaptable problem-solver who thrives in changing environments. Passionate about data and software engineering, with a naturally curious mindsetmitment to secure, inclusive, and equitable technical solutions. Self-motivated and proactive in identifying and pursuing improvements. Demonstrates exemplary software engineering practices in daily work.

Culture and values Personal values aligned with OCL's aspirational culture Passion for data and technology High ethical standards, integrity, and commitment to continuous learning Dedication to ongoing performance improvement and coaching programmes.

REQUIREMENTSSkills and Experience - Must haves : Proven experience delivering across all phases of the software development lifecycle. 5+ years of experience in DevOps, Cloud Engineering, or Site Reliability Engineering. Advanced skills with : Linux, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), Python, R, SQL, WSL2. Strong experience with RESTful API development. Expertise in designing and implementing cloud architecture (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and on-premises solutions (VMware, OpenStack, KVM, HPC clusters). Solid understanding of databases (SQL / NoSQL) and data pipelines. Proficiency in Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation) and CI / CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI). Experience implementing automated testing and designing scalable software solutions. Knowledge of security best practices, including IAM, encryption, and compliance frameworks. Familiarity with web application frameworks and machine learning deployment. Skills and Experience - Nice to haves Experience in Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), Champion operational excellence and resilience, backups, disaster recovery, and security Experience in building web services on AI / ML models Qualifications : Bachelor's degree in CS, IT, Engineering, Math, or equivalent practical experience AWS certifications are a plus Our Technology Stack AWS and AzurePythonDocker, Kubernetes, AWS EKS / ECSAWS CDK and TerraformCKAN, Metabase & other Open Source solutionsMysql, MsSQL, PostgreSQLGithub actions, AWS Code Pipeline