Lead DevOps Engineer

Do you want to shape the future of DevOps across the UK’s most critical missions?

At Leonardo, our Lead DevOps Engineers are recognised authorities in automation and secure software delivery.

They set technical direction, act as subject matter experts across programmes, and ensure our DevOps solutions remain robust, secure, and innovative.

Your work at Leonardo UK will see you take the lead in solving customer problems in an agile, innovative and team-centric manner.

This role is based full time at our customer site in Gloucestershire. Existing UK Security Clearance (DV) would be advantageous, although candidates who are eligible to obtain clearance are also encouraged to apply.

• →Act as the technical authority for DevOps across programmes, shaping architectures and guiding technical delivery.

• →Define and influence DevOps roadmaps, innovation, and future strategies for automation and secure delivery.

• →Lead feasibility studies, technology assessments, and solution recommendations for complex engineering challenges.

• →Provide advanced guidance in CI/CD, infrastructure as code, and container orchestration across environments.

• →Mentor Principal, Senior, and early-career engineers to raise capability across the DevOps community.

• →Represent Leonardo at customer reviews, technical boards, and industry events, presenting and defending solutions.

• →Contribute expert input to bids, proposals, and technical strategy.

• →Champion secure-by-design principles, accreditation alignment, and engineering governance.

• Recognised expertise as a technical authority in DevOps and automation.

• Ability to influence technical strategy and represent Leonardo externally as a subject matter expert.

• Strong communication skills to engage with stakeholders from engineers to senior leaders.
  

• Expert knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, automation, and orchestration tooling.

• Strong expertise in containerisation and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift/Tanzu)

• Deep knowledge of cloud environments (AWS, Azure) and hybrid deployments

• Experience embedding cyber security controls and DevSecOps practices into pipelines and infrastructure

• Proficiency in scripting and automation (Python, Bash, PowerShell)

• Familiarity with accreditation, assurance, and governance requirements in secure environments

• Recognised expert certifications (e.g. Kubernetes CKA/CKAD, AWS/Azure Architect, HashiCorp Terraform/ Vault)

• Experience influencing organisational DevOps standards and best practices

• Contributions to research, publications, or professional forums in DevOps/automation

• Knowledge of service mesh, GitOps, and policy-as-code approaches

• Experience with monitoring/logging and observability platforms (ELK, Prometheus, Splunk)

This is not an exhaustive list, and we are keen to hear from you even if you might not have experience in all the above. The most important skill is a good attitude and willingness to learn. 

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) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting