Principal DevOps Engineer

at  Aker Systems

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. Aker builds and operates 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 2022, Aker Systems was proud to win the ‘Scale up Business of the Year’ award by the British Business Excellence Awards. In 2020 Aker Systems was recognised as a ’One to Watch’ on the Sunday Times Tech Track and 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.
Most recently in September 2021, we were successfully acquired by a new investor (Abry Partners) who have a deep industry expertise in our field to support us in the next part of our journey and as we continue to grow and diversify as a business.
We encourage people of all different backgrounds and identities to apply. We are committed to maintaining an inclusive, and supportive place for you do your very best work.

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.

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.

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.

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.