Aker Systems was founded in 2017 by a team of experienced technology professionals who recognised an opportunity to provide highly secure enterprise data platforms to large organisations. We build and operate ground-breaking, ultra-secure, high performance, cloud-based data infrastructure for the enterprise. Our proprietary technology solutions drive performance and reduce costs while helping our clients to improve the management and sharing of data across their organisations.
In 2024, Aker Systems won the Breakthrough Culture Awards highlighting growth companies putting culture first. In 2020 Aker Systems was recognised as a ‘One to Watch’ on the Sunday Times Tech Track. The Company was also recognised at the Thames Valley Tech Awards 2020; winning the Thames Valley Tech Company of the year, the Emerging Tech Company and High Growth Tech Business categories. We encourage people of all different backgrounds and identities to apply. We are committed to maintaining an inclusive, and supportive place for you to do your very best work.
A UK Government Security Check (SC) clearance is required for this role. If you don’t hold SC clearance, we will support you to apply assuming you have lived and worked in the UK for a minimum of 5 years.
As a Principal DevOps Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in leading the development, implementation, and management of secure, scalable, and efficient cloud environments. You will work with data and batch/real-time analytical platforms for public and private sector clients, utilizing the latest commercial and open-source technologies and methodologies. This role requires a deep technical expertise combined with strong leadership and strategic thinking.
You will be responsible for driving the automation of deployments, overseeing the integration of new modules and upgrades, and ensuring the stability and security of both test and production environments.
Key Responsibilities
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Infrastructure and Application Deployment:
- Architect, build, test, and deploy cloud-based infrastructure and applications using CI/CD and Infrastructure-as-Code practices.
- Develop and maintain automated deployment pipelines and processes.
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Custom Automation and Maintenance:
- Contribute to the coding of custom test automation frameworks.
- Perform script maintenance and updates in response to changes in requirements or implementations.
- Assist with the setup and maintenance of environments for both manual and automated testing.
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Production Support:
- Lead production support efforts by investigating and resolving incidents.
- Perform ongoing routine application maintenance tasks.
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Gap Analysis and Solution Design:
- Conduct gap analyses to identify feasible alternative solutions.
- Assist in defining the scope of modifications and implement the necessary changes.
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Contingency Planning:
- Participate in contingency planning, including developing reliable backup and restore procedures.
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Documentation:
- Document functions, changes to new or modified modules, and test activities/results.
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Mentorship and Leadership:
- Mentor and drive the team to deliver high-quality solutions that meet customer requirements.
- Lead and manage a team of engineers, setting objectives, managing tasks, and ensuring the successful delivery of specific outcomes.
Core Competencies and Qualifications
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Education and Experience:
- Bachelor's degree or higher in a relevant field.
- Minimum of 10 years of experience in a DevOps capacity, with at least 5 years in a senior or principal role.
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Technical Skills:
- Extensive experience deploying and operating infrastructure (network, servers, services) and applications on AWS and other cloud environments.
- Proficient in server build and administration (Linux and Windows).
- Expertise in CI/CD and Infrastructure-as-Code technologies (e.g., Terraform, Ansible).
- Experience with cloud orchestration and containerization technologies (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker).
- Strong knowledge of large-scale databases and distributed technologies (e.g., RDS).
- Experience with distributed event streaming technologies (e.g., Kafka).
- Skilled in writing and maintaining automation scripts using Bash/Shell or Python.
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Security:
- Deep understanding of security best practices and tools for ensuring secure DevOps processes.
- Ability to interpret requirements and high-level solution designs to build secure foundational environments, networks, and platforms.
- Support the architecture team in presenting designs to client design authorities.
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Networking:
- Solid understanding of networking concepts, including DNS, TCP/IP, firewalls, load balancing, and VPNs.
- Ability to design network layers that meet specific requirements.
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Soft Skills:
- Excellent communication skills for collaborating with cross-functional teams, including developers, QA, operations, and management.
- Proven ability to mentor and lead junior engineers.
- Critical thinking and innovative problem-solving abilities.
- Proven leadership experience in driving DevOps culture and practices within an organization.
- Capability to lead by example and influence others to adopt best practices.
- Continuous learning mindset to stay updated with the latest industry trends, tools, and technologies.
- Willingness to adapt to new technologies and methodologies as they emerge.
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Leadership and Management:
- Experience in line management, including setting objectives, task management, and planning for delivery within larger projects.
Aker Systems Attributes
At Aker we work as a team, we are collaborative, hardworking, open, and delivery obsessed. There is no blame culture here: try things, and take responsibility for the outcomes. You are always part of the wider Aker. We help out our colleagues and take pride in successfully achieving difficult tasks. We run towards problems and help solve them. Communicate always, do so accurately and in a timely fashion.
In return, we offer a competitive salary, 25 days holiday (excluding bank holidays), Company Paid Medical Insurance, Life Assurance (4x times basic salary), Pension scheme, Perks at Work, Cycle Scheme, Tech Scheme and Season Ticket Loan. Plus, a list of voluntary benefits including Dental Insurance, Critical illness cover and Virtual GP.
Equal Opportunities
Aker Systems fosters a diverse environment that encourages openness in its communications and is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, age, marital status, national origin, citizenship status, disability, veteran status or other personal characteristics. We embrace differences of opinion and diversity because they help challenge us and find new groundbreaking technical solutions.
