At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a dynamic DevOps team, driving innovation and optimising enterprise tooling.
- Company: Join HMRC, a forward-thinking organisation committed to digital transformation.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible working, generous leave, and a strong pension scheme.
- Other info: Be part of a collaborative culture focused on continuous improvement and learning.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in a role that combines tech leadership with strategic vision.
- Qualifications: Experience in DevOps, cloud platforms, and leading engineering teams is essential.
The predicted salary is between 58541 - 58541 £ per year.
About the job
Discover a career in your hands at HMRC. Whether you're seeking purpose, growth, or a workplace that gives you a true sense of belonging, hear from some of our employees as they share their story about what it's really like to work at HMRC. This vacancy sits within HMRC's Chief Digital & Information Office (CDIO) who set the technology direction for HMRC and deliver the high-level design for all IT solutions. CDIO is responsible for building and running HMRC IT services along with providing IT change and operational support.
You would join the Enterprise Service Platforms team (ESP) within CDIO, a new delivery group created to build on and exploit the ServiceNow platform capability and setting the vision and strategy for service management, ensuring processes are owned and maturing. Now is an exciting time to join as we optimise user experience and build capability across our organisation. We deliver reliable, secure, and supportable solutions to around 76,000 of our colleagues across HMRC and play a critical part in ensuring that HMRC is both efficient and effective.
ESP are accountable for the support, management and development of platforms, tools and infrastructure including ServiceNow, SNOW and ServiceNow integrations to AWS/Azure. Our focus is on ensuring consistent, excellent Customer Experience. We are working closely with the other platform groups and their partners to bring those IT Systems and Services together. We work with hardworking, upbeat people who grow with the challenge of delivering transformation on a huge scale, and who have hands-on experience of driving through both technical and business changes.
As a Grade 7 Lead DevOps Engineer within the ESP Platform Support team, you will provide strategic technical and people leadership for a multidisciplinary tooling engineering team. You will be accountable for the design, development and operation of strategic enterprise tooling, including integrations with ServiceNow, and for the infrastructure (including cloud platforms) that underpin critical business services. This role combines deep technical credibility with senior leadership, ensuring platform stability, security and scalability while driving modern engineering practices, automation and continuous improvement across the estate. You will operate as a technical authority, a people leader, and a key advisor to senior stakeholders across CDIO and wider business areas.
We will be hosting optional candidate information sessions for anyone interested in applying for this role. The Candidate session will be held on Thursday 21st May at 9:00am and will last 1 hour. This session will give you the opportunity to find out more about the role, the team, and the recruitment process, as well as ask any questions you may have. Attendance at an information session is entirely optional and has no bearing on the outcome of the selection process.
Person specification
- Strategic & Technical Leadership: Set the technical strategy and roadmap for enterprise tooling engineering within ESP Platform Support. Act as the technical authority for DevOps, platform tooling, integrations and supporting infrastructure. Drive adoption of modern DevOps practices, automation, CI/CD, reliability engineering and infrastructure-as-code. Ensure tooling and platforms align with enterprise architecture, security and operational standards.
- ServiceNow & Enterprise Integrations: Lead the design and delivery of integrations with ServiceNow, ensuring reliable data flows across enterprise systems. Oversee integration architecture, APIs, middleware and supporting services. Ensure integrations are supportable, secure, resilient and well-documented.
- Infrastructure & Cloud Oversight: Provide senior oversight of the infrastructure and cloud environments supported by the team. Ensure environments meet requirements for resilience, availability, performance, security and cost control. Work closely with infrastructure, security and architecture teams to manage risk and technical debt.
- Team & People Leadership: Lead, develop and inspire a strategic tooling engineering team, setting clear direction and expectations. Build capability through coaching, mentoring and performance management. Create a high-performing, inclusive culture focused on continuous improvement and learning. Own workforce planning, skills development and succession for the team.
- Operational Accountability: Provide senior technical input into incident management, problem management and major service restoration. Ensure services are operationally robust, with effective monitoring, alerting and support models. Balance run and change to maintain platform stability while enabling continuous delivery.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Engage confidently with senior stakeholders, translating complex technical topics into clear, actionable advice. Influence decisions across product, delivery, security and architecture communities. Represent ESP Platform Support in cross-department technical and governance forums.
Essential criteria
- Enterprise Platform Engineering: Significant experience leading DevOps, platform or tooling engineering in complex enterprise environments, including responsibility for live services and supporting infrastructure.
- DevOps and Automation: Strong knowledge and practical experience of DevOps ways of working, including CI/CD, automation, infrastructure-as-code and reliability-focused engineering practices.
- Enterprise Integrations: Proven experience delivering and operating integrations between enterprise platforms, including ServiceNow or equivalent systems, ensuring secure and resilient data flows.
- Infrastructure and Cloud: Senior-level understanding of infrastructure and/or cloud platforms, including availability, resilience, security and cost optimisation considerations.
- Leadership and Capability Building: Demonstrable experience leading, coaching and developing engineers, building high-performing teams and growing capability at both individual and team level.
- Change and Transformation: Experience leading teams through technical change, modernisation or platform transformation while maintaining service stability.
- Operational Accountability: Experience operating with accountability for business-critical live services, including incident, problem and change management.
- Agile and Collaborative Working: Experience working within agile, multi-disciplinary environments, collaborating effectively with delivery, product and operational teams.
- Communication and Influence: Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly and influence effectively across technical, non-technical and senior stakeholder groups.
Benefits
Alongside your salary of 58,541, HM Revenue and Customs contributes 16,959 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs. We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days. Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues' Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary. Family friendly policies. Personal support. Coaching and development.
Lead DevOps - Bristol Regional Centre - 3 Glass Wharf employer: HMRC
At HMRC, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a supportive and inclusive work culture that fosters personal and professional growth. As a Lead DevOps Engineer in our Bristol Regional Centre, you'll benefit from flexible working arrangements, generous leave allowances, and a commitment to continuous learning, all while contributing to meaningful projects that impact the lives of millions. Join us to be part of a dynamic team dedicated to innovation and excellence in public service.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead DevOps - Bristol Regional Centre - 3 Glass Wharf
✨Tip Number 1
Get to know the company! Before your interview, dive into HMRC's mission and values. This will help you connect your skills to their goals and show that you're genuinely interested in being part of their team.
✨Tip Number 2
Practice makes perfect! Run through common interview questions with a friend or in front of the mirror. Focus on how your experience aligns with the Lead DevOps role and be ready to share specific examples.
✨Tip Number 3
Network like a pro! Reach out to current or former HMRC employees on LinkedIn. They can provide insider tips and might even give you a heads-up about what the interviewers are looking for.
✨Tip Number 4
Don't forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, it shows you’re serious about joining the HMRC team.
We think you need these skills to ace Lead DevOps - Bristol Regional Centre - 3 Glass Wharf
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV:Make sure your CV is tailored to the Lead DevOps role. Highlight relevant experiences and skills that align with the job description. We want to see how your background fits into our vision at HMRC!
Craft a Compelling Personal Statement:Your personal statement is your chance to shine! Use it to showcase your skills and experiences, especially those that relate to coaching and mentoring. Remember, we’re looking for leaders who can inspire others.
Be Clear and Concise:When writing your statements, keep it clear and concise. Stick to the word limits and make every word count. We appreciate straightforward communication that gets to the point!
Apply Through Our Website:Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application is seen by the right people. Plus, you’ll find all the details you need about the role and the application process there.
How to prepare for a job interview at HMRC
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
As a Lead DevOps Engineer, you’ll need to demonstrate your deep understanding of DevOps practices and tools. Brush up on your knowledge of CI/CD, automation, and infrastructure-as-code. Be ready to discuss specific projects where you've implemented these practices successfully.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
This role requires strong people leadership. Prepare examples of how you've led teams through technical changes or transformations. Highlight your coaching and mentoring experiences, as well as how you've built high-performing teams in the past.
✨Understand the Business Context
Familiarise yourself with HMRC's mission and how the Chief Digital & Information Office fits into that. Be prepared to discuss how your technical decisions can impact the overall efficiency and effectiveness of HMRC’s services.
✨Engage with Stakeholders
You’ll need to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders. Think of examples where you've successfully influenced decisions or translated technical jargon into actionable advice for senior management.