Network DevOps Engineer

An exciting opportunity for a driven Network DevOps Engineer to join MBDA's multi-national Digital Excellence function. Ideal candidates should be passionate about modernising network management, driving automation initiatives and upskilling others. You will contribute to building an automated network infrastructure that underpins MBDA's critical systems and supports its rapidly evolving organisational needs.

Salary: Up to £55,000 depending on experience.

Dynamic (hybrid) working: 2-3 days per week on-site depending on business need.

Security Clearance: British Citizen Only. As a minimum, and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team. SC clearance will be applied for upon successful BPSS check. This role will also require the successful candidate to gain DV Clearance. Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply.

What we can offer you:

• Company bonus: Up to £2,500 (based on company performance and will vary year to year)
• Pension: maximum total (employer and employee) contribution of up to 14%
• Overtime: opportunity for paid overtime
• Flexi Leave: Up to 15 additional days
• Flexible working: We welcome applicants who are looking for flexible working arrangements
• Enhanced parental leave: offers up to 26 weeks for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave – enhancements are available for paternity leave, neonatal leave and fertility testing and treatments
• Facilities: Fantastic site facilities including subsidised meals, free car parking and much more

The opportunity:

Join our forward‑thinking team as a Network DevOps Engineer within MBDA UK’s Digital Networks function. While our current team is highly experienced in core network engineering and automation, we are looking for a software specialist to complement our skills and help mature our development practices. You will play an important role in transitioning our network infrastructure toward a more software‑driven model by applying standard software engineering practices such as version control, structured testing, and modular software design. You will be responsible for building and maintaining the software, tools and pipelines that manage our physical and virtual infrastructure, ensuring our network remains reliable, scalable, and maintainable through code.

Responsibilities:

• Designing, developing, and maintaining production‑grade software and custom tools, primarily using Python, to manage network infrastructure at scale.
• Championing software engineering best practices within the team, including code reviews, unit testing and writing clean, maintainable code.
• Establishing our automated software testing strategy, including evaluating and selecting the best tools and frameworks.
• Managing and extending our network Source of Truth by developing custom data models, plugins, and state‑driven automation jobs.
• Building and managing CI/CD pipelines to automate the testing and deployment of network changes.
• Collaborating on the development of Ansible playbooks and roles for network configuration, applying software development principles to improve their reliability and maintainability.
• Supporting and upskilling existing team members to help develop their software engineering capabilities.

What we are looking for from you:

Please note: We do not expect candidates to meet every requirement listed below. If you have a strong software engineering background and possess most of the essential skills or have experience working with equivalent tools, we highly encourage you to apply. We evaluate applications based on overall merit and experience.

Essential Skills:

• Advanced proficiency in Python, with a strong grasp on software engineering concepts such as OOP, design patterns and writing testable, maintainable code.
• Solid experience with Python testing methodologies, with the ability to design and implement a testing strategy from the ground up for our network automation applications and APIs.
• Strong experience designing, consuming, and integrating REST and GraphQL APIs using frameworks such as Django REST Framework, FastAPI and Pydantic.
• Proficiency working with standard data structures, serialisation, and templating languages (e.g., JSON, YAML, Jinja2).
• In‑depth understanding of DevOps principles and Agile software development methodologies (e.g., Scrum, Kanban).
• Experience using version control systems, specifically Git and GitLab.
• Practical experience in designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines within GitLab to streamline automation workflows.
• Hands‑on experience using Ansible to automate and manage network configurations.
• Familiarity with core networking principles (TCP/UDP, IP, DNS, Routing, Switching, Subnetting, VLANs, etc). Although deep network engineering experience is not required, the ability to effectively collaborate with network specialists is key.

Desirable Skills:

• Familiarity with network‑specific testing frameworks such as PyATS.
• Any experience with Cisco technologies, specifically Catalyst Center and/or ACI.
• Experience using Nautobot (or similar Django‑based applications) as a Network Source of Truth application.
• Experience with data mocking and/or factory libraries (e.g., mock, factory_boy) to validate complex data schemas and API contracts.
• Proficient in using a Linux OS distribution, preferably RHEL.
• Practical experience or an understanding of virtualisation and containerisation technologies, specifically Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform.

MBDA is a leading defence organisation that supports the Armed Forces who protect our nations. We partner with governments to work together towards a common goal, defending our freedom. We recognise that everyone is unique, and we encourage you to speak to us should you require any advice, support or adjustments throughout our recruitment process.