At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a team of engineers to build reliable and scalable digital services.
- Company: Join the Department for Business and Trade, driving economic growth across the UK.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible working, generous leave, and a Civil Service pension.
- Other info: Work in a collaborative culture that values continuous learning and innovation.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on critical digital services while developing your technical leadership skills.
- Qualifications: Experience in leading teams, cloud platforms, and infrastructure-as-code is essential.
The predicted salary is between 63824 - 80158 £ per year.
Become part of a mission-driven digital team helping to build reliable, secure and scalable digital services that support economic growth across the UK. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT), in partnership with Inspire People, is seeking a Senior SRE Squad Lead with experience leading and developing engineers, strong DevOps and Site Reliability Engineering expertise, cloud platform experience, infrastructure-as-code capability and a passion for building resilient distributed systems.
Based in London, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham or Salford, this permanent Grade 7 opportunity offers hybrid working, flexible working patterns and a salary of £63,824 to £80,158 (London £67,547 to £83,778,) depending on location and technical skills assessed at interview.
As a Senior SRE Squad Lead, you will play a key role in leading engineers while remaining hands-on in the design, delivery and continuous improvement of reliable, secure and scalable platform services that underpin critical digital products and services.
As a Senior SRE Squad Lead you will:
- Lead and support a team of Site Reliability Engineers, setting clear direction while fostering an inclusive, collaborative and high-performing team culture.
- Build strong working relationships with product, delivery and architecture colleagues to ensure platform services meet business and user needs.
- Provide technical leadership across DevOps and SRE practices, guiding teams to adopt approaches that support reliability, sustainability and continuous improvement.
- Coach, mentor and support engineers across DDaT, contributing to a supportive and diverse engineering community.
- Design, build and maintain reliable, secure and scalable cloud-based infrastructure using infrastructure-as-code approaches.
- Enable teams to develop effective observability practices, including monitoring, logging, metrics and alerting that support proactive service management.
- Work with teams to define and embed Service Level Indicators (SLIs), Service Level Objectives (SLOs) and error budgets in a pragmatic and user-focused way.
- Support the development and continual improvement of CI/CD pipelines to enable safe, frequent and low-risk delivery of changes.
- Oversee live service reliability, supporting teams through incident and problem management while encouraging a learning-focused, blameless culture.
- Ensure security, resilience and compliance considerations are understood and embedded into engineering practices.
Essential skills for the Senior SRE Squad Lead include:
- Experience leading, supporting and developing engineers, including line management or strong mentoring experience.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly and build effective relationships with a range of stakeholders.
- Experience of working with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, applying modern DevOps and SRE practices.
- Experience designing and delivering infrastructure-as-code solutions using tools such as Terraform, CloudFormation or similar.
- Ability to write clean, maintainable and well-tested code in at least one programming language.
- Experience designing, operating and improving distributed systems, with a focus on reliability, performance and user impact.
In return, you can expect a flexible working culture, including:
- Flexible hybrid working, typically 2-3 days per week in the office.
- Full-time, part-time and flexible working options.
- A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%.
- Annual leave starting at 25 days, rising to 30 days with service.
- Three paid volunteering days every year.
- Learning and development tailored to your role.
- Access to professional qualifications, certifications and technical training.
- An inclusive culture that encourages learning, collaboration and continuous improvement.
- Employee benefits including cycle-to-work and wider Civil Service benefits.
This is an opportunity to combine technical leadership with hands-on engineering in a modern cloud environment. You'll work alongside experienced SRE and DevOps professionals, helping shape platform strategy, improve service reliability and support the delivery of critical digital services across government. The team is actively investing in observability, service-level management, platform automation, developer experience and cloud engineering. You'll join a culture that values collaboration, continuous learning and the freedom to explore new ideas, while making a tangible impact on services used across the Department for Business and Trade.
This role requires SC clearance. DBT's requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet this requirement will result in your application being rejected and your offer withdrawn.
If you're an experienced Site Reliability Engineering leader who wants to remain close to technology while helping engineers thrive and delivering services that matter, apply today via Inspire People.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead Site Reliability Engineer (SRE Squad Lead) in London
✨Join the IT Consultancy Buzz
Get involved in local or virtual IT consultancy meetups and forums. This is where we can rub shoulders with industry professionals, get insights into what Inspire People values, and even spot unadvertised opportunities. Don't miss out on these chances to make a name for ourselves in the IT world!
✨Show Off Your Skills
Create a personal project or case study relevant to the challenges Inspire People might face. Use platforms like GitHub or Medium to share your findings. This not only demonstrates our consulting skills but shows a proactive attitude, making us stand out from the crowd when applying for that full-time gig.
✨Leverage LinkedIn for Connections
Follow and engage with the relevant thought leaders and influencers in IT consultancy on LinkedIn. Share insightful content and join discussions to gain visibility. A well-placed comment or shared article could catch the attention of someone at Inspire People!
✨Direct Apply to Inspire People
Let's not forget to apply directly through the Inspire People website! Tailor your application to showcase our understanding of their consulting style and how we can contribute to their projects. A personalised approach can make a huge difference in landing that full-time position!
We think you need these skills to ace Lead Site Reliability Engineer (SRE Squad Lead) in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills:In IT consulting, it's all about problem-solving, so make sure your CV highlights your analytical skills and any relevant projects you've tackled. Mention specific technologies or methodologies you've used to resolve issues or improve processes; this shows you can think critically and deliver results, which is vital for us at Inspire People.
Highlight Relevant Certifications:Certifications like ITIL, PMP, or even specific tech stack qualifications can really make you stand out. Make sure to include these in your CV, as they not only demonstrate your expertise but also your commitment to staying current in the field. We love seeing candidates who are proactive about their professional development!
Tailor Your Cover Letter:Your cover letter is your chance to connect personally with us at Inspire People. Share stories about your experiences in IT consulting, and how they shaped your desire to join our team. Mention why you’re excited about this particular role, and how you see yourself contributing to our projects.
Keep It Clear and Concise:We're all busy, so make sure your application is easy to read. Use bullet points for key achievements, and don’t overload us with jargon. A clean, professional layout goes a long way. Remember, the clearer your application, the more likely we are to invite you in for an interview!
How to prepare for a job interview at Inspire People
✨Brush Up on Your Technical Skills
For an IT consulting role, be ready to demonstrate your technical prowess. You might face questions on systems integration, cloud technologies, or even troubleshooting specific software. If you have experience with tools like AWS, Azure, or even specific programming languages, make sure you can talk about them fluently.
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Approach
IT consulting is all about solving problems for clients. Think about how you can illustrate your approach to a past challenge using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). It's a great way to show how you tackle complex issues and come up with effective solutions.
✨Know the Business Impact of IT Solutions
When discussing your experiences, focus not just on the tech solutions you implemented, but also on their business impact. Employers want to see that you can connect IT with organisational goals. Prep examples that highlight how your tech contributions improved efficiency or reduced costs for past clients or projects.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
Since IT consulting often involves teamwork and client interactions, expect behavioural questions that assess your interpersonal skills. Be prepared with examples that demonstrate your adaptability, communication skills, and how you handle client feedback. Before the interview, think of situations where you worked closely with clients to create effective IT strategies or changes.
