Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Core Responsibilities

Technical Leadership and Strategy

• Provide technical leadership for UKHSA's cloud platforms, CI/CD pipelines, automation capabilities and engineering standards, acting as the principal DevOps subject matter expert across Digital Development and Operations.
• Define and promote engineering patterns, standards and best practices for Infrastructure as Code, container platforms, automation and cloud services. Evaluate emerging technologies and drive their adoption where they deliver measurable business or operational benefit.
• Work with senior stakeholders, architects and delivery teams to ensure security, resilience, scalability and operational excellence are embedded throughout the service lifecycle.

Security and Assurance

• Lead the adoption of secure engineering practices across the DevOps community, ensuring platforms and services are designed, built and operated to mitigate security risks.
• Provide expert advice and assurance on security, compliance and risk management, establishing standards and ensuring adherence across teams.

Engineering Standards and Governance

• Champion modern engineering practices, ensuring alignment with Government Digital Service standards, accessibility requirements and wider engineering communities of practice.
• Establish and maintain engineering policies, standards and governance that support consistent, high-quality service delivery across UKHSA.

Platform Reliability, Capacity and Continuous Improvement

• Lead the design, development and evolution of platform services, ensuring they remain secure, reliable, performant and cost effective.
• Drive continuous improvement of engineering processes, identifying opportunities to increase automation, reduce operational overhead and improve delivery effectiveness.
• Oversee availability and capacity management, ensuring services can meet current and future business demand.
• Design systems characterised by medium levels of risk, impact and complexity, selecting appropriate standards and methods and reviewing the designs of others. 

Capability Building and Community Leadership

• Develop capability across the DevOps profession through coaching, mentoring and technical leadership. Support talent development, recruitment and succession planning to build a sustainable engineering workforce.
• Foster collaboration across technology, data, security and architecture teams, promoting knowledge sharing and a strong engineering culture.
• Identify opportunities to improve technology services and business outcomes, helping shape the future direction of cloud and platform engineering within UKHSA.

Working Relationships

• The Principal DevOps Engineer is a senior technical leader within Digital Development and Operations, reporting to the Head of HPC. The role provides technical authority across platform engineering and works closely with senior leaders, architects and engineering teams to ensure secure, reliable and high-quality technology services are delivered across UKHSA.

Internal:

• Engineering and Operations teams, Senior Leadership Team, Architecture, Security, Data and Business stakeholders.

External: 

• Cloud providers, technology partners, NHS organisations, Department of Health bodies, Government Digital Service and cross-government engineering communities.

This list is not exhaustive

Essential Criteria

• Expert knowledge of cloud platform engineering, DevOps and modern software delivery practices, with extensive practical experience of enterprise cloud platforms (AWS and Azure), container platforms (Kubernetes), Infrastructure as Code, CI/CD and automation. Ability to provide technical leadership across complex cloud-hosted services. 
• Expert understanding of cloud architecture, information security, systems integration, observability and engineering governance, including Secure by Design principles. Experience designing, assuring and governing secure, resilient and scalable cloud platforms, establishing enterprise engineering standards and reusable architecture patterns across multiple programmes. 
• Strong systems design and software engineering expertise, with experience reviewing and assuring complex technical designs, optimising engineering processes and guiding multidisciplinary teams in the delivery of secure, scalable and maintainable solutions. 
• Proven experience of leading organisational technology strategy and engineering capability, including developing engineering roadmaps, influencing technology investment decisions, providing technical assurance for supplier solutions, and balancing security, resilience, delivery and value for money when making strategic technical decisions.  
• Extensive experience of leading and developing technical capability, including line management, coaching and mentoring senior engineers, establishing professional standards, shaping career pathways, recruiting technical talent and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, innovation and engineering excellence. Experience of owning or leading a professional capability or engineering discipline across an organisation is highly desirable.  
• Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to provide authoritative technical advice to senior leaders, architects, commercial and procurement colleagues, programme teams and external partners.  
• Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience, with evidence of continuous professional development in cloud engineering, DevOps, platform engineering or related disciplines. 

Desirable Criteria

• Experience delivering enterprise-scale cloud transformation, platform modernisation or migration programmes, particularly across hybrid or multi-cloud environments.   
• Experience implementing enterprise observability, platform engineering and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) capabilities, including centralised logging, distributed tracing, reliability engineering, platform telemetry and operational resilience.   
• Experience working in a government, public health or regulated technical environment, with familiarity with the GDS Service Standard and Technology Code of Practice. 
• Demonstrable contribution to the wider engineering profession through speaking, mentoring, publishing, standards development or participation in cross-government technical communities. 
• Active engagement with the wider DevOps or government digital engineering community through speaking, mentoring or contributing to communities of practice. 

Selection Process

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours Experience & Technical skills. 

Stage 1: Application & Sift   

Success Profiles - GOV.UK    

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed 8 essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:   

• Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)  
• 1000 word supporting statement.   

This should outline how you consider your skills, experience and knowledge provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.   

You will receive a joint score for your application form and statement. (The application form is the kind of information you would put into your C.V –please be advised you will not be able to upload your CV. Please complete the application form in as much detail as possible). Please do not email us your CV.  

Healthjobs UK has a word limit of 1500, but your supporting statement must be no more than 1000 words. We will not consider any words over 1000 words.   

Longlisting:  
 
In the event of a large number of applications we will longlist into 3 piles of:  

• Meets all essential criteria   
• Meets some essential criteria   
• Meets no essential criteria   

If used, the pile(s) that meets ALL essential criteria’ will proceed to shortlisting.  

Shortlisting:  

In the event of a large number of applications we may conduct an initial sift, on the lead criteria of:

• Expert knowledge of cloud platform engineering, DevOps and modern software delivery practices, with extensive practical experience of enterprise cloud platforms (AWS and Azure), container platforms (Kubernetes), Infrastructure as Code, CI/CD and automation. Ability to provide technical leadership across complex cloud-hosted services.

Desirable criteria may be used in the event of a large number of applications/large amount of successful candidates.  

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview & assessment.  

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.  

Stage 2: Interview  

Success profiles Success Profiles - GOV.UK  

You will be invited to a single face to face interview at our core HQ in Canary Wharf, London

When face to face interviews are planned, in exceptional circumstances, we may be able to offer a remote interview. 

Behaviours & technical skills will be tested at interview in the form of questions.

There will be a presentation, which should last no more than 8 minutes long and will be based on:

• Providing technical assurance for a critical public health service across multiple cloud platforms 

More information will be provided to candidates invited to interview.

The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be: 

• Lead behaviour - Making effective decisions
• Seeing the big picture
• Communication and Influencing
• Leadership  

Interview dates are yet to be confirmed.  

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. 

Eligibility Criteria 

External - This vacancy is open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service as well as internal applicants.

Location

This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our Core HQs or at one of our Scientific Campuses.

We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's core HQs (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and London) or at one of our Scientific Campuses (Porton, Colindale or Chilton).

Security Clearance Level Requirement

Successful candidates must pass a basic disclosure and barring security check before they can be appointed.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Security Check.

For meaningful National Security Vetting checks to be carried out individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 5 years as the role requires Security Check (SC) UK residency less than the outlined periods may not necessarily bar you from gaining national security vetting and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder/Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice.

Salary Information

If you are successful at interview, and are moving from another government department, NHS, or Local Authority, the relevant starting salary principles for level transfers or promotions will apply. Otherwise, roles are offered at the pay scale minimum for the grade, but in exceptional circumstances there may be flexibility if you are able to demonstrate you are already in receipt of an existing, higher salary. Pay increases are through the relevant annual pay award for the role and terms. Please be aware that the salary is based on the office location.

Grade 6  

£70,797-£81,450 (National) 
£72,950- £83,443 (Outer London) 
£75,104- £85,436 (Inner London) 

This role attracts a Market Pay Supplement (MPS) of up to £10,000 per annum, pro rata, to be reviewed 31/3/27.

Please note: The Digital and Data Directorate, where this role sits, is reviewing its Target Operating Model. While the process is still in the planning stage, some roles may be affected by future changes. We are committed to keeping candidates informed and will share updates as they become available.