Lead DevOps Engineer

  • Location: Bristol
  • Term: Permanent Position
  • Annual salary: Competitive
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Job description

Waracle is looking for a Lead DevOps Engineer to join our world-class digital technology consultancy. We are a diverse, smart, and ambitious community of specialists dedicated to technology-driven transformation. We partner with bold clients to solve their most significant business challenges, creating intelligent digital products that make a real impact.

This is a Hybrid role working from the Bristol office 2 days per week.


The Opportunity

As a Lead DevOps Engineer, you will be a pivotal technical anchor within our squads. You will define project-level infrastructure architecture and automation strategies while fostering a collaborative, supportive, and psychologically safe environment where every voice is heard. This is an opportunity to lead with empathy and expertise, ensuring our cloud roadmaps meet long-term goals while empowering your team to thrive.


Key Aspects of the Role

  • Platform Leadership: Defining cloud architecture and Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) approaches while proactively managing risks in distributed systems.
  • Strategic Automation: Translating high-level business objectives into technical strategies that ensure delivery pipelines meet client goals.
  • Stakeholder Engagement: Facilitating workshops to understand requirements and managing expectations around security, budget, and cloud priorities.
  • Team Empowerment: Leading a project squad with accountability for platform stability and nurturing a high-trust team culture.
  • Practice Leadership: Owning Community of Practice (CoP) initiatives and defining the standards for infrastructure, security, and shared practices.

What you'll bring

  • Cloud Expertise: Deep proficiency in at least one major provider (AWS, GCP, or Azure) with a focus on cloud-native design.
  • Automation Mastery: Proven experience with Jenkins pipeline architecture and a strong command of scripting (Python, Bash).
  • Orchestration & Containers: Expert-level hands-on experience scaling Kubernetes clusters and practical expertise in Docker.
  • Security Mindset: A robust understanding of DevSecOps, vulnerability management, and mobile platform security tools.
  • Operational Excellence: A high standard for observability (Logs, Metrics, Traces) and the ability to optimize systems for both performance and cost.
  • Inclusive Leadership: A demonstrated ability to define technical roadmaps and lead engineering squads with a focus on mentorship and growth.

Recruitment process

  1. Initial Chat: You’ll start with a call with your dedicated Talent Acquisition Partner to talk about Waracle, your aspirations, salary, and benefits.
  2. Two-Stage Interview: You’ll then be invited to a two-stage process to dive deeper into the role and showcase your unique skills and experience.
  3. Supportive Guidance: Your Talent Partner will be by your side, guiding you through every step until your first day.

Our Benefits

We believe in supporting our team, inside and outside of work. Here's a glimpse of what you can expect:

You'll receive 27 days of annual leave, plus 8 bank holidays, totalling 35 days of holiday to unwind and pursue your passions.

Plan for retirement with our company-matched 5% pension contribution. For added peace of mind, we also offer a Death in Service benefit, providing 2 x your annual salary for your loved ones.

Our Medicash Health Cash Plans help cover everyday healthcare costs, complemented by an Employee Assistance Programme for confidential support, and Group Sickness Cover for peace of mind.

We champion hybrid working, providing a home office setup budget to ensure you're comfortable and productive wherever you are.

Invest in yourself with access to Udemy Business and a dedicated learning and development budget for continuous growth.

Make the most of our Cycle to Work Scheme, and enjoy exclusive gym and retail discounts.

Our enhanced parental leave policies include support for fertility journeys, recognising diverse family needs.

We foster a vibrant culture with regular fun meet-ups and lunch on us in the office once a month. You'll also have the opportunity to make a local impact through Spirit of Waracle, our initiative for getting involved in charitable causes locally, building strong team bonds and giving back.

Our values

To make the world a better place through impactful software

We take pride in delivering high quality work and seeing the impact it has. We are curious, proactive, and always learning; continuously improving ourselves and our skills. We strive for excellence in everything we do. We see every opportunity as a chance to raise the bar - for Waracle, our clients, and for our own professional growth.

We succeed together: whether we’re leading, supporting or learning. We lead with empathy, working as a unified team to understand and appreciate other people’s perspectives and experiences. This commitment to one another empowers everyone to do their best work and reach their full potential. We build trust, celebrate every contribution, and create a space where everyone has the opportunity to shine.

We have big goals, but we don’t try to do everything. We know there are a limited number of hours in a day, so we make every one of them count. We accomplish this by regularly pausing to assess the potential impact of our work, prioritising what matters most and then acting with purpose.

We are transparent in how we think and act. We seek and share context, give and accept feedback, and communicate openly. We take full ownership of what we deliver as individuals and as a team, and hold ourselves accountable. This openness and accountability gives us the clarity and purpose to deliver at our best.

We love what we do and find the fun in each day, celebrating our shared successes and the satisfaction of doing hard work well. We’re in this together, creating space for connection, laughter, and fun. When we look after our clients and each other, and do work we’re proud of, we go home happy.

Frequently-asked questions

Here are some of the things that people tend to ask about working at Waracle.

Absolutely! At Waracle, we welcome both permanent and contract applicants. Each job posting indicates if it's open to contract applications. We offer a diverse range of projects, both within and outside IR35 regulations, catering to various preferences and expertise levels.

We work on a Hybrid working model and offer flexible working hours. We're spread across 4 vibrant UK offices, but our teamwork isn't confined to those spaces, it's all about collaboration! While using the office is encouraged for our teams to work together, each of us has a home office setup, relishing the freedom of hybrid workstyles. As of now, remote work outside the UK isn't part of our standard practice.

We always want to hear from talented people, join our talent pool 👇 and we'll contact you when a new opportunity becomes available.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, gender, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.

We are not accepting applications from recruitment agencies.

Feel like a good fit?

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