Senior DevOps Engineer

About the role

The Digital Services Platform team builds and operates the infrastructure platform and digital services that support REANNZ's network and high-performance computing operations, alongside services used directly by our members. We are modernising that platform, and we are looking for a Senior DevOps Engineer to help lead the work. This is design and build, not lift-and-shift, with security designed in from the start: establishing our AWS foundations, moving services onto Kubernetes, standing up new delivery pipelines, rethinking how we monitor cloud-native services, and extending compute to the network edge. You will shape the technical direction alongside the team and the Networks and Digital Platforms Lead.

Key responsibilities

• Lead significant platform workstreams end to end, from options analysis and design through to operational handover
• Design and build our AWS landing zone, covering account structure, identity, networking, security guardrails and cost controls
• Design, deploy and operate services on Kubernetes across cloud and edge environments, including migrating services from traditional virtual infrastructure
• Embed security into the platform by design, so that access control, secrets handling and patching are built in rather than applied after the fact
• Build and maintain infrastructure as code, CI/CD pipelines and the automation underpinning the team's delivery
• Contribute to the redesign of our observability capability for cloud-native environments
• Set technical standards, participate in peer reviews for others work, and lift engineering capability across the team

About you

• Extensive hands-on experience building and operating Linux-based infrastructure, virtualisation and container platforms in production
• Deep AWS expertise, including landing zone design covering account structure, identity, networking, security guardrails and cost management
• Strong Kubernetes experience running production workloads, and infrastructure as code with Terraform, Ansible or equivalent
• Demonstrated cloud and infrastructure security capability, including identity and access management, secrets management and vulnerability remediation
• Proven delivery of CI/CD pipelines and automated deployment practices, with practical experience instrumenting and monitoring cloud-native services
• Scripting or programming proficiency sufficient to build and maintain real automation and tooling, alongside sound networking
• Strong troubleshooting in complex distributed environments, and the ability to explain technical complexity to non-technical stakeholders
• Experience migrating established services to cloud or container platforms, operating services across distributed locations, or a background in research and education, telecommunications or other nationally significant infrastructure would be an advantage

About us

Research and Education Advanced Network New Zealand (REANNZ) is entering an exciting phase of growth and transformation, strengthening the digital foundations that underpin Aotearoa's research, education and innovation ecosystem. As demand for data-intensive research and global collaboration accelerates, the organisation is focused on expanding capability, modernising platforms, and enabling researchers to push the boundaries of discovery. We are a small, highly skilled organisation with a strong focus on innovation, practical solutions and meaningful impact, and part of the global National Research and Education Network community connecting New Zealand researchers with the world.

Applications close 5pm 30 October 2026