DDAT – Lead Devops Engineer

Apply before 11:55 pm on Thursday 12th September 2024

Job summary

The Ministry of Defence deploys software globally to hundreds of thousands of users.  From native mobile apps through to massively scaling workloads in Amazon Web Services (AWS), we need to manage these deployments securely and safely.

We are growing our in-house DevSecOps engineering team to address this challenge.

We are The Digital Foundry part of the MOD's Defence Digital, which provides digital and technology services to our Armed Forces. We ensure they can operate securely via radio, satellite, and the internet 24/7/365.

We are Defence’s centre of expertise for software, automation and data integration, and provides a range of Platform as a Service (PaaS) for hundreds of digital teams.

Do you want to Work with incredible technologies at incredible scale and make a difference for the UK in the Geopolitical context? Let's ignite your Devops Career, join our team and make a real impact!

Watch our video;

DevOps Engineers , Defence Digital Foundry (youtube.com)

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Strategic Command is going through a significant transformation programme which aims to improve the way the Command conducts its business and delivers for Defence and the nation. As a consequence of this, all posts within Strategic Command Headquarters and in time the wider organisation, are/will be subject to review and potential changes as we continuously improve across the period of the transformation programme. These changes may be minor or could be more substantive and will generate new opportunities.  Throughout, the Command’s transformation programme is committed to following the MOD’s framework on managing and supporting people through the change process and places an emphasis on early and open consultation and engagement with the Command’s personnel and Trade Unions.

Job description

As our Lead DevOps Engineer, you'll be part of the engineering team in the Digital Foundry working to develop a segment of our technology stack.

You will work with hands-on delivery and help drive the engineering culture and quality across our teams of civil servants, military, contractors, and service providers.  Delivering an exceptional service to our users is at the heart of our mission.

Your responsibilities include: 

• Acting as a hands-on expert in many technical areas and/or as a specialist with strong knowledge in a particular technical area.
• Working effectively with multiple teams.
• Developing testing, and championing the adoption of industry best practice.

Person specification

We're looking for people with a strong engineering background, as well as the analytics and soft skills to make them a great lead DevOps engineer.

You'll need to be accomplished in one or more programming languages such as Java, Bash, C#, PHP, Python or Go and a solid understanding of languages used by our users such as Javascript, React, and Python.

 You will need to have the following Essential Criteria; 

• Solid practical experience of cloud architectures and infrastructure in a production environment
• Exposure to supporting technologies and methodologies of cloud architectures and infrastructure
• Work around multiple parts of the software life-cycle and be comfortable presenting and sharing your knowledge.

Do you want to hear more about this role? Join us at our candidate brief

Learn more about this role by joining senior members of the team at our upcoming Candidate Brief.

The Candidate Brief is being held on the 27th August 2024, from 5pm to 6pm GMT, and we would love you to join to discuss the lead DevOps Engineer role and much more.

To confirm your attendance, please email us at ukstratcomdd-hr-talentacqdel@mod.gov.uk with your name and email address.

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Version control
• Quality assurance
• Supportability
• Information Security

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,670, Ministry of Defence contributes £15,570 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

As well as exciting, meaningful work, joining Defence Digital gives you access to brilliant
benefits to support your well-being, family life and finances.

• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• An environment with flexible working options
• 25 days annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years’ service
• Ability to roll over up to 10 days annual leave per year
• In addition to 8 public holidays per year you will also receive leave for HM The King's birthday
• Minimum of 15 Days Special Leave in a rolling 12-month period to for volunteer military or emergency service reserve commitments
• Special Paid Leave for volunteering up to 6 days a year
• Enhanced parental and adoption leave
• Employee Assistance Programme to support your well-being
• Most sites have good travel links with free car parking; many also have other facilities such as a Sports & Social Club and Gyms
• A highly competitive pension scheme.

Discover my benefits for more information

This post may be eligible for a Digital Skills Allowance of up to £15,300 per annum. Eligibility for this allowance will be assessed at interview and reviewed annually in line with departmental policy.

Learning & Development

In Defence Digital we have a strong learning and development ethos, supporting you to fulfil your potential by providing –

• Learning and development tailored to your role
  • Professional and Personal Development of skills
  • Access to thousands of training courses through Civil Service Learning, some free or paid by MOD
  • Ability to obtain industry recognised qualifications supported by MOD

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working.  This is a non-contractual arrangement where all office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to capacity and any required workplace adjustments. Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or work in another MOD office, will also count towards this level of attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements.

The post does not offer relocation expenses.

External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.

This post may be eligible for a Digital Skills Allowance of up to £15,300 per annum. Eligibility for this allowance will be assessed at interview against the 4 core technical skills only and reviewed annually in line with departmental policy. ​

Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed.

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

Any move to MOD 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. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – we may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

Hybrid Working

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came in to effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact: DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk .

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical.

The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a 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

Open to UK nationals only.

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.

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).

APPLY HERE: DDAT - Lead Devops Engineer