DevOps Engineer

DevOps Engineer - Contract Location: Flexible (UK-based, with 1-2 days per week onsite)Duration: 9 monthsRate: £525 per day (PAYE) or £709.70 via umbrella (inside IR35)About the Role We are seeking an experienced DevOps Engineer to support the Enterprise Data Platform (EDP), delivering robust infrastructure and deployment pipelines for advanced AI/ML workloads. This role is ideal for someone with deep expertise in cloud-native technologies, automation, and secure platform engineering within Azure environments. You will play a key role in designing, building, and maintaining scalable, secure, and high-performing infrastructure, while working closely with Data Engineers, MLOps Engineers, and Solution Architects.Key Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain CI/CD pipelines using GitLab CI for reliable, automated deployments to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
• Develop and manage containerisation workflows using Docker, including image build and registry management
• Configure and support AKS clusters, ensuring scalability, resilience, and security
• Implement Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform aligned with Azure Landing Zone standards
• Manage secrets and access control using Azure Key Vault and Azure AD
• Enable hybrid connectivity between on-premises and cloud environments
• Support orchestration workflows using Apache Airflow
• Monitor system performance using tools such as Azure Monitor, Prometheus, and Grafana
• Collaborate across engineering teams to ensure reproducibility, scalability, and compliance
• Contribute to architecture discussions and promote DevOps best practices

Skills & ExperienceEssential:

• Strong experience with Azure, including networking, RBAC, and Landing Zone principles
• Hands-on expertise with GitLab CI/CD pipelines
• Experience with Docker and container orchestration (AKS preferred)
• Proven experience with Terraform (or similar IaC tools such as Bicep)
• Solid understanding of cloud networking (hub/spoke, private endpoints)
• Experience troubleshooting infrastructure and deployment issues
• Strong collaboration and communication skills

Desirable:

• Experience with Airflow or similar orchestration tools
• Knowledge of observability tooling (Prometheus, Grafana)
• Exposure to AI/ML platform environments

Qualifications

• Relevant degree or equivalent industry experience

Why Join? This is an opportunity to work on cutting-edge data and AI platforms within a highly secure and impactful environment. You'll be part of a collaborative, forward-thinking team where your expertise will directly influence platform capability, scalability, and innovation.