Senior DevOps Engineer

Who you are

• You'll be self-motivated, with high standards and a commitment to excellence. You'll have experience of using AI within engineering processes, reviewing the output of AI, guiding AI to produce software and deployments that meet corporate standards, and experience integrating AI capabilities into production systems, including familiarity with emerging standards such as the Model Context Protocol (MCP)
• You'll have a relevant degree or equivalent experience in industry, and a passion for writing code, improving processes, and communicating with technical and non-technical colleagues alike. You'll be constantly looking to improve yourself and learn new things, and you'll thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment

What the job involves

• We're MI6, also known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). Our mission is to protect the security and economic wellbeing of the UK from overseas threats such as regional instability, terrorism, and cyber attacks. Working across the globe and in close partnership with MI5 and GCHQ, we help the Government to counter these threats through the provision of secret intelligence. You’ll provide vital support to this work, within a collaborative and encouraging environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.
• We are looking for experienced professionals to collaborate on some of the biggest challenges facing the UK
• Operating at the heart of the mission, you’ll use your technical skills to protect the UK, disrupt the activities of hostile states, and exploit opportunities in the digital space
• Almost all of MI6’s operational work is underpinned by technology; from keeping our officers safe overseas, to the secure platforms that connect our global partnerships. The challenges we face are complex, varied, and vast
• You will share our vision and values, and will work on seemingly impossible puzzles, to make the country safer and more prosperous
• This is what we do, every day, at MI6
• As a senior member of our software engineering team, you'll be expected to provide technical direction and mentorship to less experienced colleagues. You will be a hands-on practitioner responsible for deploying, operating and maintaining software services across a variety of platforms, from standalone systems to large Kubernetes clusters on cloud platforms, and everything in between
• You will deploy and operate software services on established platforms, where you will build, maintain, and continuously improve Kubernetes-based deployments. Your role involves developing and optimising CI/CD pipelines and release automation to ensure seamless delivery. You’ll apply Site Reliability Engineering principles to production services, and monitor service health, performance, availability, and reliability to maintain high standards of stability
• When challenges arise, you will troubleshoot deployment and operational issues, while working to improve observability, incident response, and general operational processes. You will make appropriate use of AI-assisted tools to improve delivery efficiency. Throughout these tasks, you will collaborate closely with development, platform, and infrastructure teams, always seeking out opportunities to reduce manual effort and increase the speed of deployment

Benefits

• Merit awards – we have a merit award system to recognise exceptional contributions by individuals or team
• Flexible working – opportunities to work part-time, compressed hours or as a job share are available, dependent on the role and business needs
• Pension – we understand the importance of saving for retirement and offer a desirable pension scheme, which gives you a guaranteed pension based on career average earnings
• Annual leave – our employees are entitled to 25 days annual leave, rising to 30 days after five years’ service. In addition to this, employees are entitled to public and privilege holidays. Part-time employees receive the same entitlement calculated on a pro-rata basis
• Maternity and paternity leave – we offer maternity and paternity leave over and above the statutory entitlements
• Voluntary service leave – we offer special leave for our employees who wish to undertake voluntary work
• Rented accommodation loan – moving house to take up an offer of employment can be expensive. We offer new joiners the opportunity to take out an interest-free loan of up to £2,500, via our benevolent fund, to assist with the financial burden of relocating into privately rented accommodation. You will be sent an application for the loan at the point of receiving a final offer of employment
• Season ticket loan – we recognise that travel expenses from your home to the office can be significant, so we offer an interest-free season ticket loan which can be used for travel, car park costs or the purchase of a bicycle
• On-site facilities – there is a gym, restaurant, and coffee bar at some locations
• Clubs and societies – we offer a range of sports clubs, fitness classes, societies, and language training facilities
• Childcare Vouchers – we offer two childcare voucher schemes which provide a simple and cost-effective way for employees to receive help towards the cost of childcare
• Eye Voucher Scheme – we offer eye care vouchers and a financial contribution towards prescription glasses
• Physiotherapy – we offer subsidised in-house physiotherapy
• Personal learning – all our staff can undertake professional development to improve their skills and performance in the workplace