Senior DevOps Engineer - AI and Cloud Solutions

We are building an AI-first team to develop and support cutting-edge platforms that facilitate modern AI-driven solutions and applications. Our current infrastructure is built on Azure with Terraform, providing reusable, scalable modules for multiple projects. This role offers the chance to work predominantly on AI-related projects, supporting innovative applications that leverage the latest advances in artificial intelligence. While your primary focus will be on building and maintaining infrastructure for AI systems, you’ll also have opportunities to contribute to other exciting initiatives as our needs evolve. We value strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail, as well as excellent communication and teamwork abilities. A willingness to share knowledge and grow in a collaborative environment is essential. If you’re passionate about DevOps and intrigued by the challenges of supporting AI solutions at scale, we’d love to hear from you. We particularly welcome candidates from an ethnic minority background and other underrepresented groups to apply, as we work to continually improve our ability to represent the places and communities we support through our work. Find out more about what it's like to work in a digital, data and technology role at MHCLG including our culture, ways of working, career progression and staff benefits. You can also read the MHCLG Digital blog to learn about the work we're doing., As a Senior DevOps Engineer, you'll: + maintain and enhance Terraform modules: keep our reusable Terraform modules up-to-date and tailor them to meet project-specific needs + build and expand infrastructure: collaborate with architects to design and deploy scalable infrastructure for AI-powered applications + support multi-cloud readiness: explore and implement solutions for platforms like AWS when needed + collaborate with AI teams: work closely with developers and others to support seamless deployment of AI models into production + automate processes: create tools and scripts to improve deployment, monitoring, and scaling + monitor and maintain infrastructure: use tools like Azure Monitor or similar to ensure uptime, performance, and security + document processes and changes for easy reusability and team knowledge-sharing + be responsible for embedding security best practices throughout the DevOps lifecycle, from infrastructure-as-code to deployment and ensure high availability and disaster recovery strategies, while also designing and enforcing security compliance across cloud infrastructure + demonstrate advanced expertise in multi-cloud environments (Azure, AWS, etc.) and take responsibility for architecting hybrid cloud solutions while acting as leaders in the deployment and scaling of AI/ML models, ensuring reliable, secure, and cost-effective integration of AI workflows across cloud platforms + design and optimise CI/CD pipelines at an enterprise level, ensuring automation of build, test, and deployment processes across multiple projects + troubleshoot and scale complex CI/CD environments, implementing robust testing frameworks to ensure continuous and reliable delivery, Our application system is designed to remove as much bias as possible from the recruitment system – this means that a hiring manager does not know your name, your details, see your whole application in one go (or have your CV at review stage unless stated otherwise). CV and Cover Letter Declaration We recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - this is called anonymous recruitment. Please remove references to your: + name/title + educational institutions + age + gender + email address + postal address + phone number + nationality/immigration status You will need to merge your CV and covering letter into one document. When submitting your application Applied will ask you to upload a CV, when doing this you should upload your merged document of your CV and covering letter. Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that your application would be viewed by different assessors. In the event that we receive a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial sift using the Lead Sift Question listed in the advert. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to interview. Lead Sift Question (Technical) - Can you provide an example of a time when you utilised Terraform to build enterprise-grade infrastructure? Please include details on the challenges you faced, the solutions you implemented, and the impact of your work. At sift, through your CV and covering letter we will be assessing, MHCLG has implemented the Digital and Data capability framework for Group 1 roles. Applicants that are successful at the sift stage will be required to complete a capability assessment at interview. MHCLG will honour completed capability assessments for this role from other Government Departments for existing Civil Servants. Please provide a copy of your capability assessment to the Hiring Manager when applying. If you have any queries on pay, please contact the Hiring Manager. Salary is determined by performance at interview, within the range advertised. Each experience or technical skill is assessed between 1-3, representing working towards, at or above the job level requirements. You are awarded a proficiency level accordingly, and you will be given opportunities at least once a year to re assess your capability and progress through the pay scale within your grade. An additional digital allowance may be payable depending on level of assessed capability. Candidates moving from another government department have the option to retain their current salary where the principle for implementation is there is no detriment where existing pay exceeds the indicative level. Where individuals are at a lower salary than their assessed level, they will receive an upward adjustment. Grade 7 Group 1 Digital and Data salary + The salary for this role will between £64,979 - £70,011 (London), £59,586 - £64,641 (National) depending on the proficiency level assessment. + An additional digital allowance may be payable depending on the level of assessed capability up to £9,000 + For applicants in receipt of existing allowances, we will assess each case individually and aim to match the digital allowance implemented with no detriment. + For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. Please note that the average employer pension contribution is based upon the National minimum salary for this role. Should your agreed starting salary for this role be different, the average employer pension contribution will be calculated accordingly. If you are a Secondee, this will not apply as you will remain on your home organisation’s terms and conditions. Benefits Transfers across the Civil Service on or after 4 October 2018: Any move to MHCLG from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. For further information about the benefits available to MHCLG employees, please see the attached Candidate Pack. Geographical Location: + London + Wolverhampton + Darlington

• + Leeds + Bristol + Manchester There may be opportunities for candidates to work flexibly depending on the business needs. This will be discussed with the vacancy manager on a case-by-case basis if you are successful for the role.
• Please note: The Darlington Economic Campus is a pioneering new cross-government hub which will bring together people across departments and public organisations to play an active role in the most important economic issues of the day. The work of the Campus will make a real difference to people both across the UK and internationally. There will be substantial career opportunities and exciting prospects - a career at the Campus means you will be working at the heart of Government, with access to the benefits and fantastic opportunities offered by the civil service. This role is based at MHCLG and we will be joined on the campus by:
+ HM Treasury + Department for International Trade + Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy + Office for National Statistics + Department for Education For further information on the DEC, please take a look at the attached DEC candidate pack. Sift and Interview dates Sifting is envisaged to take place Tuesday 7th January 2025 with interview dates to be confirmed. All interviews are currently being held remotely via videocall. Reserve List In the event that we identify more appointable candidates than we currently have posts available, we will hold applicant details on a reserve list for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made. This may include roles at a lower grade. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Those candidates who do not wish to remain on the reserve list should contact recruitment@communities.gov.uk to be removed from the reserve list. SC (Security Check): Important note Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Security Check and the process can take up to 8 weeks to complete. Please note that successful candidates will need to pass the Security Check – this requires you to have been resident in the UK for the past 5 years. Please refer to the MHCLG Notes on Security Clearance section of our Candidate Pack for further information on Security Check (SC). Candidates should also note that with effect from 1st August 2018 the department will also check all applicants who are successful at interview, against the Internal Fraud Database (IFD) held by the Cabinet Office. In accordance with the Civil Service Internal Fraud Policy, any applicant who is included on the IFD will be refused employment by MHCLG Please see the Candidate Pack for further information on the Internal Fraud Database. Candidate Pack Information Please see attached Candidate pack for further information. Before starting your application it’s very important to make sure that you are eligible to apply and meet the Civil Service nationality requirements. All candidates are expected to read the information provided in the MHCLG candidate pack regarding nationality requirements and rules Internal Fraud Database The Internal Fraud function of the Fraud, Error, Debt and Grants Function at the Cabinet Office processes details of civil servants who have been dismissed for committing internal fraud, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned. The Cabinet Office receives the details from participating government organisations of civil servants who have been dismissed, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned, for internal fraud. In instances such as this, civil servants are then banned for 5 years from further employment in the civil service. The Cabinet Office then processes this data and discloses a limited dataset back to MHCLG as a participating government organisations. MHCLG then carry out the pre employment checks so as to detect instances where known fraudsters are attempting to reapply for roles in the civil service. In this way, the policy is ensured and the repetition of internal fraud is prevented. For more information please see- Internal Fraud Register Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.Nationality requirements This job is broadly open to the following groups: + UK nationals + nationals of the Republic of Ireland + nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK + nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) + nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) + individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 + Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

As a Senior DevOps Engineer, you'll have: + extensive experience with Terraform, ideally at an enterprise level for a minimum of two years + experience of building and maintaining IaaC modules + significant enterprise experience of building and running services in Azure and preferably AWS + experience of using CI/CD (e.g., GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or Azure DevOps pipelines) to operate services within a complex multi-cloud environment. + scripting experience (e.g., Bash, PowerShell, or Python) + knowledge of multi-cloud setups (AWS or similar, alongside Azure) + familiarity with monitoring tools like Azure Monitor, Prometheus, or Datadog + understanding of AI/ML deployment workflows, such as model hosting, pipeline orchestration, or data processing + exposure to containerisation tools (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) + familiarity of operating data services in cloud platforms, preferably databricks

Here at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), we work on things that make a real difference to people’s lives. Whether it's through the homes we live in, the work of our local councils, or the communities we’re all part of, our work is at the top of the political agenda. We have ambitious and far-reaching outcomes to achieve this year and, if you’re thinking of joining us, there’s never been a more exciting time. We have over 3,500 staff who are based in 20 offices across the UK.

Alongside your salary of £59,586, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £17,262 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. + Learning and development tailored to your role + An environment with flexible working options + A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity + A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%