Job Description SummaryThe DevOps Leader serves as the technical lead across the release framework, owning the engineering platform, infrastructure strategy, and delivery readiness posture. This role ensures that the CI/CD ecosystem, cloud infrastructure, and integration approach are secure, scalable, and capable of supporting multiple parallel software pipelines.
The DevOps Leader acts as the primary technical authority within the release governance structure - partnering with the Release Manager and Software Quality Lead to validate technical scope, define readiness criteria, and support Go/No-Go decisions with objective technical input.
Job DescriptionKey Responsibilities:
- Platform & Infrastructure Leadership
- Define and own the DevOps strategy, infrastructure roadmap, and cloud strategy
- Manage cloud infrastructure operations, platform security, and governance
- Drive monitoring, observability, and disaster recovery capabilities
- Lead tool selection and manage budget and licensing for DevOps platforms
- Release Framework Technical Governance
- Act as the technical lead across the release team
- Collaborate with the Release Manager and Software Quality Lead to validate technical scope and readiness
- Ensure a clear Definition of Done is established and maintained across all delivery activities
- Define technical readiness criteria prior to any release commitment
- Align build, integration, automation, and deployment readiness across contributing teams
- Identify technical delivery risks and drive active mitigation actions
- Provide formal technical readiness input into release Go/No-Go decisions
- Team & Capacity Management
- Lead and develop the DevOps function
- Own capacity planning across the engineering platform
- Support team growth, technical mentoring, and competency development
What This Role Is NOT Responsible For
To ensure clear accountability boundaries within the framework:
- Sole ownership of release planning
- Commercial ownership of scope or customer commitments
- Customer deployment execution (owned by Deployment Engineer Support)
- Detailed code review ownership (owned by Software Quality Lead)
- Hands-on test execution (owned by QAA Tester / Test Manager)
Required Skills & Experience:
- Technical Expertise
- Proven experience managing enterprise CI/CD platforms (e.g., Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions)
- Strong background in cloud infrastructure management (Azure, AWS, or GCP)
- Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools (e.g., Terraform, Ansible)
- Solid understanding of platform security, monitoring, and observability practices
- Relevant hands-on foundation in software development
- Relevant experience in software packaging, artifact management, and release pipeline architecture
- Infrastructure expertise, including:
- Domain Controller setup, configuration, and management (Active Directory, DNS, DHCP)
- Group Policy Object (GPO) design and enforcement
- Active Directory user, group, and organizational unit (OU) administration
- Windows Server environment management in enterprise-scale deployments
- Leadership & Governance
- Demonstrated ability to lead a DevOps or platform engineering function
- Experience defining DevOps strategy and translating it into operational execution
- Track record of technical risk identification and mitigation in complex delivery programs
- Ability to participate in and contribute to formal release governance processes
- Collaboration & Communication
- Strong cross-functional communication skills - able to engage with Release Managers, Quality Leads, Test Managers, and engineering teams
- Capable of translating technical status and risk into clear inputs for business decision-making
- Experience working in multi-team, multi-pipeline delivery environments
Preferred Qualifications - Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field
- Relevant certifications (e.g., AWS/Azure Solutions Architect, Kubernetes, DevOps Institute certifications)
- Experience in regulated or complex industrial software environments (e.g., energy, utilities, or grid management systems)
- Previous involvement in upgrade-heavy software programs with parallel development tracks
- Hands-on experience with Jenkins for CI/CD pipeline configuration, management, and optimization
- Proficiency with GitHub and/or GitLab for source control, branching strategy governance, and collaborative development workflows
- Experience with SCCM (Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager) for software deployment, patch management, and endpoint configuration in enterprise environments
Additional InformationRelocation Assistance Provided: No
Candidates should be aware that this role involves a client's critical infrastructure; shortlisted candidates would therefore be subject to heightened security checks as directed by our clients. All personal data will be handled with the utmost confidentiality and in accordance with our data protection policies, solely for recruitment and security purposes.
