Methods is a £100M+ IT Services Consultancy who has partnered with a range of central government departments and agencies to transform the way the public sector operates in the UK. Established over 30 years ago and UK-based, we apply our skills in transformation, delivery, and collaboration from across the Methods Group, to create end-to-end business and technical solutions that are people-centred, safe, and designed for the future.
Our human touch sets us apart from other consultancies, system integrators and software houses - with people, technology, and data at the heart of who we are, we believe in creating value and sustainability through everything we do for our clients, staff, communities, and the planet.
We support our clients in the success of their projects while working collaboratively to share skill sets and solve problems. At Methods we have fun while working hard; we are not afraid of making mistakes and learning from them.
Methods was acquired by the Alten Group in early 2022.
The role is heavily AWS platform engineering focused. While Azure and DevSecOps experience are valuable, the day-to-day work is centred on designing, maintaining and improving AWS-hosted Identity platforms running on Kubernetes and ECS.
This is a hands-on technical leadership role. You will be expected to lead by example, mentor engineers, influence technical decisions and own services throughout their lifecycle.
RequirementsCore Technical SkillsAWS
Expected to have strong hands-on experience across AWS services including:
ECS
EKS
EC2
IAM
Auto Scaling Groups
KMS
CloudHSM
Secrets Manager
Systems Manager Parameter Store
CloudWatch
This is an engineering role rather than an infrastructure administration role.
Infrastructure as Code
Strong Terraform experience is expected.
This includes:
Writing production-quality Terraform
Creating and maintaining reusable Terraform modules
Managing multiple environments using Terraform Workspaces
Reviewing and improving existing modules
Following engineering standards and code review practices
Kubernetes
A high level of Kubernetes knowledge is expected.
Daily work includes:
Deploying and operating applications on Amazon EKS
Troubleshooting workloads
Working with Deployments, Services, Ingress, ConfigMaps and Secrets
Understanding RBAC
Resource requests and limits
Lead DevOps at Methods Business and Digital Technology (London, England, United Kingdom) — aijobsearch
Horizontal Pod Autoscaling
Network Policies
Kubernetes troubleshooting
Helm
Helm is used extensively.
You will be expected to:
Write Helm charts
Maintain existing charts
Build reusable templates
Manage values across environments
Debug Helm deployments
This is a core skill for the role.
ECS
A significant amount of the estate still runs on ECS.
Expected knowledge includes:
ECS Services
Task Definitions
Auto Scaling Groups
Capacity Providers
Deployment strategies
Operational troubleshooting
The team owns the ECS platform.
Docker
Almost every application is containerised.
Expected experience:
Building images
Writing Dockerfiles
Multi-stage builds
Image optimisation
Container troubleshooting
GitLab & CI/CD
All source code is hosted in GitLab.
CI/CD is implemented using GitLab CI.
Expected experience includes:
Writing GitLab CI pipelines
Maintaining reusable pipeline fragments and templates
Building and maintaining reusable CI/CD components
Managing multi-stage deployment pipelines across Development, Test, Stage and Production
Pipeline troubleshooting
Secure secret handling
Build and deployment automation
Testing & Quality Engineering
Testing is considered part of delivering a feature, not an optional activity.
Lead Engineers are expected to understand how to test infrastructure, platform code and applications, and to integrate those tests into automated delivery pipelines.
Expected experience includes:
Writing and maintaining Terraform Tests
Writing and maintaining Go-based tests for Helm charts where appropriate
Writing or extending application tests (for example Node.js unit or integration tests)
Writing automated tests for Python tooling and applications using frameworks such as pytest
Understanding test coverage and identifying gaps
Integrating automated tests into GitLab CI pipelines
Troubleshooting failing automated tests
Building reusable testing stages within GitLab CI templates
Running tests locally and within CI/CD pipelines
Performance, load and stress testing using JMeter and k6
Integrating performance testing into GitLab CI pipelines where appropriate
Analysing performance test results and identifying bottlenecks
Producing repeatable automated validation rather than relying on manual testing
Testing is expected to form part of the Definition of Done.
Identity & Security
As an Identity programme, understanding authentication is important.
Expected knowledge includes:
OAuth 2.0 flows
OpenID Connect (OIDC)
JWTs
API authentication
IAM
Kubernetes RBAC
Knowledge of identity platforms and authentication patterns is highly desirable.
API Gateway
The platform makes extensive use of Kong API Gateway.
Useful experience includes:
Routing
Authentication plugins
OIDC integration
Rate limiting
Upstream configuration
Troubleshooting gateway behaviour
Service Mesh
Applications running on EKS use Istio.
Expected knowledge includes:
Virtual Services
Destination Rules
Gateways
mTLS
Traffic routing
Basic troubleshooting
Monitoring & Observability
Current monitoring stack:
Prometheus
Grafana
The organisation is introducing Dynatrace, either alongside or as a future replacement.
Expected experience includes:
Creating dashboards
Alerting
Metrics
Performance troubleshooting
Root cause analysis
Monitoring production services
Technical Documentation
Strong technical documentation is an expected part of the role.
You will be expected to:
Produce clear Spike documentation covering the problem, investigation, options considered, recommendation and outcome
Write implementation documentation for new features and architectural changes
Maintain comprehensive README files for repositories, Terraform modules and Helm charts
Produce operational runbooks
Create support documentation
Produce handover documentation where appropriate
Record technical decisions and their reasoning
Communicate ideas and proposals in a structured way
Write high-quality Jira stories, technical tasks and Spike tickets with clear acceptance criteria, implementation detail and expected outcomes
Good written communication is considered a core engineering skill.
Technical Ownership
Lead Engineers are expected to take ownership of services rather than simply deliver individual pieces of work.
This includes:
Owning services throughout their lifecycle, from design through to production support
Understanding the wider platform and the impact of technical decisions
Driving work forward with minimal supervision
Identifying technical debt and proposing practical improvements
Challenging designs where there are operational, security, resilience or scalability concerns
Considering operational support as part of every solution
Designing solutions that are maintainable by the wider engineering team
Working across multiple repositories and services
Being accountable for the quality of technical delivery
Supporting incident investigation and root cause analysis through to completion
Agile Delivery & Ways of Working
The team follows Agile delivery practices and Lead Engineers are expected to actively contribute to both technical delivery and the running of the team.
Expected experience includes:
Working effectively within Agile delivery teams
Participating in Sprint Planning, Sprint Reviews, Retrospectives and Daily Stand-ups
Leading Agile ceremonies when required, with all engineers taking turns facilitating stand-ups, retrospectives and sprint planning
Breaking down technical work into deliverable stories and tasks
Writing high-quality Jira stories, technical tasks and Spike investigations
Producing clear acceptance criteria and technical implementation plans
Contributing to backlog refinement by helping define technical requirements and identify dependencies
Providing realistic estimates and identifying technical risks early
Collaborating closely with Product Owners, Delivery Managers, Architects and other engineering teams
Managing priorities while balancing feature delivery, technical debt, operational support and platform improvements
Communicating progress, blockers and technical decisions clearly
Promoting continuous improvement across engineering practices and delivery
Lead Engineers are expected to help create an environment where knowledge is shared, engineering standards are maintained and the team continues to improve its ways of working.
Leadership Expectations
This is a Lead DevOps Engineer position.
Technical leadership is as important as technical delivery.
Expected behaviours include:
Supporting and mentoring permanent DWP engineers through coaching, pair programming and technical guidance
Providing technical direction within the squad
Leading engineering discussions and helping the team reach sound technical decisions
Making pragmatic technical decisions within agreed architectural standards
Reviewing designs, code and merge requests, providing constructive feedback
Identifying opportunities to improve existing processes, tooling and automation within approved technology boundaries
Maintaining engineering standards across the team
Producing clear technical documentation to support delivery and future maintenance
Communicating technical ideas, risks and recommendations to engineers, architects and stakeholders
Working closely with Product Owners, Delivery Managers and Architects to shape technical delivery
Influencing delivery through technical expertise rather than authority
Owning technical problems through to resolution
Setting a high engineering standard through the quality of your own work
The environment is governed by established technology standards, so improvements are generally expected within the approved tooling and architecture rather than introducing alternative products or platforms.
Daily Activities
Typical work includes:
Developing infrastructure using Terraform
Maintaining reusable Terraform modules
Developing and maintaining Helm charts
Supporting and evolving reusable Helm chart libraries
Deploying services to ECS and EKS
Supporting the ECS platform
Writing and maintaining GitLab CI pipelines and reusable pipeline templates
Writing and maintaining automated tests for infrastructure, platform code and supporting applications
Integrating automated testing into GitLab CI pipelines
Investigating and resolving test failures
Performance, load and stress testing using JMeter and k6
Supporting production services
Investigating incidents and performing root cause analysis
Reviewing merge requests
Participating in technical design discussions
Writing and maintaining technical documentation
Producing Spike investigations and implementation proposals
Writing Jira stories, technical tasks and Spike tickets
Improving automation and engineering standards
Working with application developers to support deployments
Maintaining AWS platform components
Mentoring engineers
Leading Agile ceremonies when required
Driving continuous improvement across the platform and engineering practices
Technologies Used
AWS
ECS
EKS
EC2
Terraform
Terraform Tests
Helm
Go
Kubernetes
Docker
GitLab
GitLab CI
Kong API Gateway
Istio
OAuth 2.0
OpenID Connect (OIDC)
JWT
IAM
RBAC
CloudHSM
AWS KMS
Secrets Manager
Systems Manager Parameter Store
Prometheus
Grafana
Dynatrace
Python
pytest
Node.js
JMeter
k6
What Success Looks Like
After approximately three months in the role, a successful Lead DevOps Engineer would be expected to:
Technical Delivery
Be comfortable deploying, supporting and troubleshooting services running on ECS and EKS
Deliver production-ready Terraform, Helm and GitLab CI changes with minimal supervision
Understand the architecture of the Identity platform and how the various services interact
Be comfortable working across multiple repositories, environments and AWS services
Successfully troubleshoot production issues and participate in root cause analysis
Write well-tested code, infrastructure and automation with appropriate automated validation
Confidently work with Kubernetes, Docker, Kong API Gateway, Istio and supporting AWS services
Produce secure, maintainable and supportable engineering solutions
Engineering Quality
Produce reusable, well-structured Terraform modules and Helm charts
Contribute improvements to shared GitLab CI templates and reusable pipeline components
Maintain high standards of testing across infrastructure, tooling and application code
Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines as part of normal delivery
Write clear, maintainable and well-documented code
Leave services and repositories in a better state than they were found
Documentation
Produce high-quality Spike investigations with clear recommendations and outcomes
Write clear Jira stories, technical tasks and Spike tickets with meaningful acceptance criteria
Maintain accurate README files and implementation documentation
Produce documentation that enables other engineers to understand, support and extend the platform
Clearly communicate technical decisions and the reasoning behind them
Leadership
Act as a technical leader within the squad
Support and mentor less experienced engineers and permanent DWP staff
Lead engineering discussions and help drive technical decisions
Provide constructive feedback through code reviews and technical discussions
Identify opportunities for improvement and help prioritise engineering effort
Take ownership of services and technical problems through to completion
Be recognised as someone other engineers naturally approach for technical guidance
Agile Delivery
Actively contribute to Sprint Planning, Reviews, Retrospectives and Daily Stand-ups
Confidently facilitate Agile ceremonies when required
Help refine and estimate upcoming work
Raise technical risks and dependencies early
Balance feature delivery with technical debt, operational support and platform improvements
Work collaboratively with Product Owners, Delivery Managers, Architects and other engineering teams
Mindset
A successful Lead DevOps Engineer is someone who:
Takes ownership rather than waiting to be directed
Looks for ways to improve the platform, tooling and engineering practices
Delivers solutions that are maintainable, secure and operationally sound
Considers the long-term impact of technical decisions
Shares knowledge freely and helps develop those around them
Leads through technical expertise, collaboration and example
Continuously learns and adapts to new technologies, engineering practices and platform requirements
This job description is not to be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive. It is intended as an outline indicating of the areas of activity and may be amended from time to time in the light of the changing needs of the organisation.
This role will require you to have or be willing to go through Security Clearance. As part of the onboarding process candidates will be asked to complete a Baseline Personnel Security Standard; details of the evidence required to apply may be found on the government website Gov.UK. If you are unable to meet this and any associated criteria, then your employment may be delayed, or rejected. Details of this will be discussed with you at interview.
BenefitsBy joining us you can expect:
Autonomy to develop and grow your skills and experience
Be part of exciting project work that is making a difference in society
Strong, inspiring and thought-provoking leadership
A supportive and collaborative environment.
As well as this, we offer:
Development access to LinkedIn Learning, a management development programme and training