Lead Engineer​/Software Engineer; Kubernetes, Docker, Containerisation, Python, Networking, IaC

Kubernetes | Docker | Containerisation | Python | Infrastructure as Code

Duration: Initial 6-month contract with likely extension

We're looking for an experienced Lead Engineer to join a high‑profile programme building a secure, cloud‑native platform that will support data‑driven research and innovation at national scale.

This is a founding engineering role, offering the opportunity to shape the architecture, engineering standards, infrastructure, and platform capabilities from the ground up. Working closely with the Engineering Manager and a small team of senior engineers, you'll establish the technical foundations for a complex federated platform operating within a highly regulated environment.

We're looking for someone who enjoys building from first principles, thrives in ambiguity, and can balance strategic architectural thinking with hands‑on software engineering.

• Lead the design and build of the platform's core cloud infrastructure and engineering foundations.
• Define architectural patterns, engineering standards, and best practices that will scale across the wider organisation.
• Design and implement Kubernetes‑based platforms and containerised workloads.
• Build secure, cloud‑native services using modern software engineering practices, primarily in Python.
• Establish CI/CD pipelines, Infrastructure as Code frameworks, automated testing, and deployment processes.
• Design secure identity and access management capabilities, including authentication, authorisation, and audit.
• Build resilient networking and security architectures, including segmentation, observability, monitoring, and access controls.
• Contribute to the design of distributed and federated platform architectures.
• Implement governance, workflow orchestration, and audit capabilities to support compliance and operational requirements.
• Evaluate and integrate open‑source technologies and platform components.
• Mentor engineers and promote engineering excellence across the team.
• Work closely with architecture, product, security, and external stakeholders.

• Experience as a Lead Engineer, Principal Engineer, Staff Engineer, Platform Architect, or similar senior technical role.
• Strong software engineering background with hands‑on Python development.
• Deep expertise in Kubernetes, Docker, containerisation, and cloud‑native platform engineering.
• Experience designing and building solutions on AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Strong Infrastructure as Code experience, ideally Terraform.
• Experience building and operating CI/CD pipelines and modern Dev Ops practices.
• Strong networking knowledge, including VPCs, connectivity, load balancing, DNS, segmentation, and network security.
• Experience designing highly available, scalable distributed systems and platform architectures.
• Strong understanding of IAM, authentication, authorisation, and secure‑by‑design principles.
• Comfortable making architectural decisions within evolving, fast‑paced environments.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to work across technical and non‑technical teams.
• Experience working in highly regulated environments such as healthcare, government, public sector, research, or financial services.
• Experience with federated platforms or distributed data architectures.
• Knowledge of Trusted Research Environments (TREs), Secure Data Environments (SDEs), or similar secure data platforms.
• Understanding of governance, compliance, and security frameworks for sensitive data.
• Experience evaluating or contributing to open‑source technologies.
• Exposure to policy‑as‑code, service mesh, and Zero Trust security architectures.