Lead Devops Engineer in London

Waracle are looking for a Lead DevOps Engineer for an exciting new role joining our world-class digital technology consultancy and home to a diverse, smart, curious and ambitious community of specialists in technology-driven transformation. We work with ambitious clients to help them solve their biggest business and customer challenges.

We help our clients to innovate and create intelligent digital products and services. We thrive on complex challenges and deliver business-critical IT transformation projects, moving seamlessly from strategy, design and delivery to operations. This is a Hybrid role working from our Glasgow, Dundee or London office 2 days a week.

As a Lead DevOps Engineer, you will serve as an empathetic leader, strategic advisor, and technical authority across our engineering squads. Bringing a broad, generalist mindset across platform engineering and modern infrastructure, you will lead the integration of AI-driven delivery practices, intelligent automation, and Generative AI tooling into everyday workflows. You will define project-level technical architecture, mentor and lift up growing engineers, and nurture a collaborative, psychologically safe environment where everyone feels empowered to innovate.

Balancing short-term delivery with long-term maintainability, you will play a key role in de-escalating conflicts, aligning client stakeholders, and driving high-impact technical strategy aligned with human-centric business goals.

Key aspects of the role include:

• Technical Strategy & AI Integration: Defining technical architecture across squads, anticipating system scaling risks, and driving the adoption of modern AI tooling, MLOps, and intelligent automation within cloud environments.
• Broad Generalist Leadership: Leveraging your breadth of engineering knowledge to bridge gaps between software delivery, platform operations, and data infrastructure, making complex trade-offs clear and explicit for clients.
• People & Culture: Creating an inclusive, psychologically safe team environment, regularly coaching team members with constructive feedback, and balancing delivery pace with overall team wellbeing.
• Standards & Compliance: Guiding teams on performance strategies, proactive optimisation, and security standards (such as OWASP, GDPR, SOC2), ensuring responsible AI practices, clean architecture, and secure code execution.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Facilitating workshops to discover requirements, managing project scope and expectations, and translating client priorities into actionable technical strategy.
• Innovation & Influence: Evaluating emerging AI tools and technical approaches through tech spikes, shaping go-to-market strategies for new offerings, driving delivery tooling improvements, and representing Waracle at external tech events.

Research shows that underrepresented groups tend to only apply for roles that they believe they meet 100% of the criteria for. At Waracle, we want to buck that trend! We hire for passion, potential and mindset as much as credentials. If you think you'd be incredible in the role, then apply - even if you don't think you tick every box.

Job requirements:

• A versatile, generalist engineering background with broad knowledge across cloud platforms, CI/CD, containerisation, and infrastructure-as-code.
• Practical exposure to or enthusiasm for integrating Generative AI, AI-assisted development tools, or modern MLOps pipelines into delivery streams.
• Proven experience guiding technical direction and architecture for cloud and platform solutions.
• A passion for mentorship, coaching, and creating supportive pathways for engineers at all career stages.
• Commitment to fostering inclusive, collaborative team dynamics that prioritise wellbeing alongside quality outcomes.
• Strong understanding of security, accessibility, and compliance standards (OWASP, GDPR, SOC2) in modern cloud architectures.
• Excellent communication skills with an aptitude for breaking down complex technical concepts for diverse stakeholders.
• Familiarity with tracking key engineering metrics (such as DORA) to guide continuous, data-informed improvement.

What to expect from our hiring process:

• First Hello: An informal chat with your dedicated Talent Attraction Partner to talk about Waracle, what you want out of your next move, salary, benefits, and office hybrid working model.
• Talking Impact: A collaborative deep dive into how you solve problems, work with others, and raise the bar, guided by our core values and competency framework.
• Craft Showcase: A chance to demonstrate your real-world expertise. Depending on the role, this will be a practical presentation.
• Your Talent Attraction Partner will be in your corner through every step right up to your Welcome Ritual on day one.

Our Benefits:

We believe in supporting our team, inside and outside of work. Here's a glimpse of what you can expect:

• Rest & Recharge: You'll receive 27 days of annual leave, plus 8 bank holidays, totaling 35 days of holiday to unwind and pursue your passions.
• Financial Future & Security: Plan for retirement with our company-matched 5% pension contribution. For added peace of mind, we also offer a Death in Service benefit, providing 2 x your annual salary for your loved ones.
• Health & Wellness: Our Medicash Health Cash Plans help cover everyday healthcare costs, complemented by an Employee Assistance Programme for confidential support, and Group Sickness Cover for peace of mind.
• Flexible Working: We champion hybrid working, providing a home office setup budget to ensure you're comfortable and productive wherever you are.
• Learning & Development: Invest in yourself with access to Udemy Business and a dedicated learning and development budget for continuous growth.
• Lifestyle Perks: Make the most of our Cycle to Work Scheme, and enjoy exclusive gym and retail discounts.
• Family First: Our enhanced parental leave policies include support for fertility journeys, recognising diverse family needs.
• Community & Connection: We foster a vibrant culture with regular fun meet-ups and lunch on us in the office once a month. You'll also have the opportunity to make a local impact through Spirit of Waracle, our initiative for getting involved in charitable causes locally, building strong team bonds and giving back.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, gender, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.