Lead Platform & Integration Engineer (Secure Digital Platform

Secure Digital Platform (SDP) - Data & Integration

Location: Reading (Hybrid Working Available)

Security Clearance: Active SC Clearance Required

Industry

Experience:

Aerospace, Defence, MOD or Defence Digital environments essential

We are seeking a highly capable Lead Platform & Integration Engineer to join the Secure Digital Platform (SDP) team supporting critical Defence and Aerospace programmes.

This role will provide technical leadership across secure cloud and hybrid hosting platforms, enabling the delivery of data, integration and digital services within highly regulated MOD environments. The successful candidate will be responsible for designing, implementing, operating and continuously improving core infrastructure, cloud platforms and container hosting capabilities that underpin mission-critical systems.

Working closely with Solution Architects, Security Architects, Application Teams and Service Delivery functions, you will drive platform modernisation, automation, resilience and operational excellence across both cloud and on-premises environments.

• Design, build and support secure enterprise infrastructure across cloud and on-premises environments.
• Lead the deployment and operation of Microsoft Azure hosting services and cloud-native capabilities.
• Manage and optimise Windows and Linux server platforms.
• Deliver highly available, resilient and scalable platform services.
• Support technology refresh, infrastructure transformation and cloud migration initiatives.

• Design, deploy and support Kubernetes and Open Shift platform services.
• Enable secure hosting and deployment of containerised applications.
• Support platform integration requirements across SDP data and digital services.
• Ensure platform scalability, performance and lifecycle management.
• Drive improvements in platform observability, monitoring and operational efficiency.

• Champion Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and automation-first principles.
• Develop and maintain automated deployment, configuration and provisioning capabilities.
• Support CI/CD pipelines and secure Dev Sec Ops  delivery practices.
• Reduce operational overhead through automation and process optimisation.
• Promote platform standardisation and repeatable engineering practices.

• Implement secure-by-design infrastructure aligned to MOD and Defence security standards.
• Work closely with security teams to maintain compliance, governance and assurance requirements.
• Ensure infrastructure resilience, backup, disaster recovery and business continuity capabilities remain effective.
• Support security remediation activities and vulnerability management processes.

• Maintain platform services in line with agreed service levels and operational targets.
• Monitor platform health, availability, capacity and performance.
• Lead resolution of complex technical incidents and problems.
• Produce and maintain operational documentation, standards and engineering procedures.
• Identify opportunities for continuous service improvement.

• Provide technical leadership and subject matter expertise across programmes and projects.
• Support technical assurance activities and architecture governance.
• Mentor and coach junior engineers and platform specialists.
• Manage technical risks, dependencies and delivery challenges.
• Collaborate effectively with programme teams, architects, suppliers and customer stakeholders.

• Active SC Clearance.
• Experience delivering technology solutions within MOD, Defence Digital, Aerospace or National Security environments.
• Minimum 5 years' experience in platform engineering, infrastructure engineering, cloud engineering or related disciplines.
• Strong expertise in Microsoft Azure cloud services and hybrid infrastructure.
• Experience supporting enterprise-scale Windows and Linux environments.
• Experience with Open Shift or similar enterprise container platforms.
• Strong understanding of networking, storage, virtualisation and enterprise infrastructure technologies.
• Experience implementing Infrastructure as Code and automation solutions.
• Strong…