DevOps Engineer in Rochdale

Overview

You’ll be a member of the Engineering Reliability Team that will work closely with Zen’s development, engineering, and operations centre teams. You’ll work alongside the Development and engineering teams, to support, maintain, and consistently improve the development estate so the development teams can focus and innovate constantly to drive Zen’s business and the teams’ priorities.

Reporting to the DevOps team manager, you must have a proven track record in a DevOps or similar engineering role and the drive and attitude to succeed. Zen are committed to investing in and developing you – we believe that everyone can lead and the way we do has a huge impact on our people and play a vital part in our success.

The DevOps team will be responsible for the design and implementation of applications' build, release, deployment and configuration activities. Other responsibilities include working within multi-functional teams to gather requirements, evaluate tools, implementing/updating solutions, building and executing test plans, provision environments, application performance reviews, assist migration of Legacy systems, and triaging and fixing operational issues.

You’ll support incidents so they are run smoothly and help ensure that operational knowledge is available and shared. You’ll escalate to Senior and Lead DevOps engineers where needed, demonstrating problem solving skills, the ability to learn quickly and adapt your skills and knowledge.

As a service provider we operate many technologies, so you’ll have the skills to work with experienced Senior and Lead DevOps engineers, Systems Engineers and developers leveraging frameworks, standards, and defined operational process to make the unfamiliar comfortable and familiar. Over time we’ll increasingly leverage SRE principles to further optimize and enhance capabilities – it’s a great opportunity to get in at the start and help shape this journey.

Objectives

• Deliver continuous incremental improvement of systems and infrastructure
• Take ownership and responsibility for assigned development infrastructure and systems
• Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues, escalating to Senior DevOps Engineers where required and be part of the 24/7 escalation rota
• Document as you go – enough so your colleagues can follow what’s been done and why
• Drive tasks forward with energy and enthusiasm
• Create proactive monitoring solutions using standard tooling - mainly Zabbix and Elastic
• Support RCA (Root Cause Analysis) for incidents
• Develop standard operational procedures and documentation
• Develop and maintain self-managing infrastructure services and dashboards.
• Identify cost-saving opportunities
• Apply DevOps standards and practices
• Provide support to junior and new team members

Key Responsibilities

Experience

• Worked as a DevOps Engineer or in a similar engineering role
• Ideally, experience working in an ISP, Telco or other Managed Services environment or able to demonstrate experience in a complex heterogeneous environment
• Adaptable scripting experience – ideally C#/JavaScript/typescript/.Net
• Comfortable working with automation tools (Azure DevOps, GitLab, Puppet)
• Worked in networking and firewall environments
• Production use of AWS capabilities and Kubernetes
• Experience in helping to deal with technical debt
• Understanding of SRE principles and lean methodologies

Skills - Essential

• Strong problem-solving skills are essential – understanding of DevOps and SRE concepts with the ability to apply key techniques to problems
• Developing the ability to influence others in matters of standards and best practice
• Comfortable working with automation tools (Puppet, Git) and CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps) and test frameworks
• Experience using containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes etc)
• Working knowledge of Elasticsearch log standardisation, Kibana dashboard creation and data analysis
• Able to code to a good level - this isn’t a developer role but you need scripting skills to succeed
• AWS hands on – Cloud formation, Route53, S3, DynamoDB, Cloud-watch, Lambda, Security, and troubleshooting
• Certificate management and automation
• Good troubleshooting and diagnosis skills
• Able to write documentation that covers what your peers and operations need to know
• Knowledge of Database systems and models
• Windows Server, SQL Server, IIS and Linux

Interpersonal Skills

We value interpersonal skills and responsible teamwork. You should be able to:

• Patient & friendly with good interpersonal skills - demonstrate a natural aptitude for dealing with people
• Develop your ability to influence and lead
• Strong attention to detail
• Happy working and supporting a small closeknit team
• Take and give feedback to tune future actions and behaviours
• Work with minimum supervision
• Embrace and demonstrate Zen values
• Be kind, understanding, and listen to others
• Be organized

We’re building an inclusive work environment

At Zen, your individuality matters. Your gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, neurodiversity, background, and everything else that makes you who you are, we value it all. We want you to feel seen, respected, and supported from the very start of your journey with us.

Our Values shape how we work and who we are. We celebrate diversity and build strong communities where everyone belongs. We put people and the planet before profit, and we’re ambitious about the future, always learning, innovating, and striving to deliver award-winning service. Together, this means you’ll find opportunities not just to grow your career, but to make a meaningful impact.

We’re always open to conversations about part-time or flexible working, or reasonable adjustments, and we’ll support you wherever we can. Please feel comfortable sharing your preferences during the recruitment process.

If you’d like to find out more about what life is like at Zen, take a look at our careers page. Or, if you’d prefer to speak with someone about the role, call us on 01706 902 275 or email HR@Zeninternet.co.uk, we’d be happy to chat!

FAO Recruitment agencies & organisations: Please note that we do not need agency support to fill this role. We have a small, but great, pool of agencies on our PSL and will contact one of those if we need to.

Benefits

• 2 x Life Assurance Cover, with option to flex upwards
• 25 days Annual leave, rising to 30 days with length of service, with the option to purchase up to 5 more.
• Access to private Medical Healthcare and a Healthcare Cash Plan
• An extra day off for your birthday
• Car salary sacrifice scheme
• Continuous learning and development
• Discounted Mobile plans
• Flexible and Hybrid working
• Free onsite parking
• Internal coaching and mentoring opportunities
• Onsite Contemplation and Prayer room
• Onsite Electric Car Charging points
• Optional flexible critical illness cover
• People-friendly policies
• Recognition awards where we celebrate the most awesome people
• Retail discounts
• Salary sacrifice Pension- minimum of 3% Employee contributions for a 5% Employer contribution
• Six monthly salary reviews
• Subsidised Nursery fees
• Subsidised Onsite Restaurant
• Superfast Free Reliable Broadband
• Travel Loan and Ride2Work Schemes
• Two days’ paid leave per year for voluntary work

About Zen

At Zen, we’re redefining what it means to be a business, not just through what we do, but how we do it. We believe there’s a better way of doing business.

As the UK’s largest independently owned telecommunications and technology provider, we put people and planet before profit. We’re here for the long term, never for sale and driven by our purpose: Do right for people and planet. Being a certified B Corp is just one way we demonstrate our commitment to social and environmental responsibility. From award-winning services and industry-leading customer support to our focus on sustainability and community. Everything we do is guided by our core values, and yours.

At Zen, we know that our strength lies in our people. That’s why we celebrate individuality and diversity, creating a workplace where everyone belongs. We bring together our Zen values and personal values to build a supportive, open, and inclusive environment. Together, we grow, both as professionals and as people. We’re proud to be recognised as a Great Place to Work across multiple categories: Large Organisation, Wellbeing, Women, Development, and Technology, a reflection of the inclusive, empowering, and future-focused culture we’ve created.

We’re ambitious. We embrace innovation and welcome change. We challenge ourselves to think differently, improve constantly, and lead by example. We see every challenge is an opportunity. Every voice matters. And every success fuels a much bigger purpose.

So, if you're looking for a job where your values matter, where you can help build a future where business is a force for good, join us and help make a difference. Whether you're just starting out or bringing years of experience, your work at Zen will have real impact on our people, customers, communities, and the planet.