Lead DevOps Engineer

Bristol, London, Salford Job Summary At DSIT we’re all about improving people’s lives by maximising the potential of science & technology. We accelerate innovation, investment and productivity through world-class science, research and development. We use technology for good by ensuring new and existing technologies are safely developed and deployed across the UK, with the benefits more widely shared. We are driving forward a modern digital government which gives citizens a more satisfying experience and their time back. We do all this to enable the Government’s 5 national missions: kickstarting economic growth, making Britain a clean energy superpower, taking back our streets, breaking down barriers to opportunity and building an NHS fit for the future. Above all, we focus on improving people’s lives. Whether it’s researching new treatments for disease, developing better batteries, reducing burdens through better public services, keeping children safe online, and much more, outcomes for citizens are at the heart of what we do. Our Inclusive Environment We offer flexible working benefits, employee well-being support and a great pension. We are enormously proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We support candidates with adjustments throughout our recruitment process. Information about disability confidence and just some examples of the adjustments that you can request can be found in the reasonable adjustment section below. Please note Former DSIT recruitment campaigns are continuing as usual, but candidates should be aware that following the Government’s announcement on the changes to some civil service departments, roles will be subject to the machinery of government moves and will ultimately be in one of the new departments. We will provide more information if you are selected for a role. This work remains of high importance to the civil service, and we thank you for your continued interest. Job Description We are building a modern, unified analytical tooling and data platform, giving analysts across the department access to tools and data quickly and securely. The platform is based on the Ministry of Justice’s open-source Analytical Platform, widely recognised as a leading model across government. The team have completed user acceptance testing and are preparing to migrate analysts onto the platform, however there are plenty of new features to be added and we are setting up a short feedback cycle with our users, to rapidly iterate the platform. The project is led by the Head of Platforms and Engineering, and the team brings expertise across data engineering, dev ops and software development. We are a small team with lots of autonomy and work collaboratively to tackle problems and decide on the best ways of working. For the right candidate, there will be the opportunity to take on a leadership role within the team. The platform is made up of several components, divided into two sections: - Analytical tooling – delivering the secure, scalable tools analysts need, such as JupyterLab, RStudio, and VS Code, GitHub integration, and cloud-based workflow orchestration. - Data platform – delivering the pipelines, storage, and ingestion processes that ensure analysts can find and use trusted data efficiently. The role is part of the central Data Science and Engineering team, in the department’s Analysis function. This team plays a key role in shaping the department’s analytical capability. By sitting within Analysis, the team ensures the platform is developed with analysts’ needs front and centre, owned by the analytical community and built to serve it. As a G7 Lead DevOps Engineer in the analytical tooling strand of the project, you will own and extend the infrastructure and tools that enable analysts to work securely, reproducibly and efficiently. You’ll take forward the platform to ensure it is a secure, cloud-based environment for analysis at scale, drawing on best practice across government. Your work will directly improve evidence-based policymaking, unlock efficiency savings across the department, and create the foundations for future innovation and AI based policymaking. The team are led by the needs of our users, and initially this role will focus on strengthening and extending the analytical tooling infrastructure. As the platform matures, you’ll also have opportunities to tackle broader DevOps challenges across the department, including data science and AI applications that improve operational efficiency and widen access to data for non- technical users. We are building a modern, unified analytical tooling and data platform, giving analysts across the department access to tools and data quickly and securely. The platform is based on the Ministry of Justice’s open-source Analytical Platform, widely recognised as a leading model across government. The team have completed user acceptance testing and are preparing to migrate analysts onto the platform, however there are plenty of new features to be added and we are setting up a short feedback cycle with our users, to rapidly iterate the platform. The project is led by the Head of Platforms and Engineering, and the team brings expertise across data engineering, dev ops and software development. We are a small team with lots of autonomy and work collaboratively to tackle problems and decide on the best ways of working. For the right candidate, there will be the opportunity to take on a leadership role within the team. The platform is made up of several components, divided into two sections: - Analytical tooling – delivering the secure, scalable tools analysts need, such as JupyterLab, RStudio, and VS Code, GitHub integration, and cloud-based workflow orchestration. - Data platform – delivering the pipelines, storage, and ingestion processes that ensure analysts can find and use trusted data efficiently. The role is part of the central Data Science and Engineering team, in the department’s Analysis function. This team plays a key role in shaping the department’s analytical capability. By sitting within Analysis, the team ensures the platform is developed with analysts’ needs front and centre, owned by the analytical community and built to serve it. As a G7 Lead DevOps Engineer in the analytical tooling strand of the project, you will own and extend the infrastructure and tools that enable analysts to work securely, reproducibly and efficiently. You’ll take forward the platform to ensure it is a secure, cloud-based environment for analysis at scale, drawing on best practice across government. Your work will directly improve evidence-based policymaking, unlock efficiency savings across the department, and create the foundations for future innovation and AI based policymaking. The team are led by the needs of our users, and initially this role will focus on strengthening and extending the analytical tooling infrastructure. As the platform matures, you’ll also have opportunities to tackle broader DevOps challenges across the department, including data science and AI applications that improve operational efficiency and widen access to data for non- technical users. Person specification - Manage secure, scalable deployments of key analytical tools, including JupyterLab, RStudio and VS Code. - Ensure authentication, access controls, monitoring, and audit capabilities are in line with DSIT and cross-government security standards. - Ensure robust CI/CD (GitHub) and environment management processes are in place. - Work closely with Data Engineers and wider digital colleagues to ensure seamless integration between tooling and data systems. - Extend the analytical platform, developing new features to meet user requirements such as dashboard hosting and AI applications. - Support onboarding of users and act on feedback to refine the platform for wider rollout. Essential Criteria - Strong experience designing and delivering secure cloud-based infrastructure (AWS preferred). - Proficiency in containerisation and orchestration (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes, AWS ECS/Fargate). - Proficiency setting up infrastructure-as-code (Terraform preferred). - Ability to set up CI/CD pipelines. - Knowledge of information security and access control in cloud services. - A collaborative approach to working with data engineers, software developers, service designers and users to shape fit-for-purpose tools. Desirable Criteria - Experience with Python and Django applications. - Familiarity with analytical user requirements and how to build user-friendly analytical platforms. - Familiarity with analytical tools (e.g. JupyterLab, RStudio, VS Code) and how they are deployed in cloud environments. Technical skills We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process: - Competency: Systems design (practitioner) - Modern development standards (expert) - Troubleshooting and problem resolution (expert) Alongside your salary of £58,275, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £16,882 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window). The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology offers a competitive mix of benefits including: - A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours. - Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%. - A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30. - An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue. - Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts. Office attendance The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period. Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use. Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills. As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. Please use your personal statement (in no more than 500 words) to describe how you meet the essential criteria for this role. Applications will be sifted on CV and Personal Statement. In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the CV only. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview. The interview will consist of technical questions. The link to the technical/professional competency framework that candidates will be assessed against, for their reference: https://ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk/role/infrastructure-engineer#lead-infrastructure-engineer Sift and interview dates to be confirmed. Further Information Former DSIT recruitment campaigns are continuing as usual, but candidates should be aware that following the Government’s announcement on the changes to some civil service departments, roles will be subject to the machinery of government moves and will ultimately be in one of the new departments. We will provide more information if you are selected for a role. This work remains of high importance to the civil service, and we thank you for your continued interest. Reasonable Adjustment We are proud to be a disability confident leader and we welcome applications from disabled candidates and candidates with long-term conditions. Information about the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) and some examples of adjustments that we offer to disabled candidates and candidates with long-term health conditions during our recruitment process can be found in our DSIT Candidate Guidance. A DSIT Plain Text Version of the guidance is also available. We encourage candidates to discuss their adjustment needs by emailing the job contact which can be found under the contact point for applicants section. If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section. If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out. New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band. A location based reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position. Candidates who meet the minimum benchmark may be placed on a Reserve List for consideration for similar roles, including those at a lower grade. Candidates who narrowly miss the benchmark and are not placed on the Reserve List may still be considered for an offer in a similar role at a lower grade. Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you. Any move to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website. DSIT does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home). DSIT cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. DSIT holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify. In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website. Feedback Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills. Security Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Nationality requirements This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups - UK nationals - nationals of the Republic of Ireland - nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK - nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) - nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) - individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 - Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window). Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. Contact point for applicants Job Contact - Name : Edward Louth - Email : edward.louth2@dsit.gov.uk Recruitment team - Email : dsitresourcing.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk Further information Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance DSITrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk . If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Click here to visit Civil Service Commission/Complaints.