Lead Infrastructure Engineer - Linux

Linux Infrastructure & Platform Architect. Design. Automate. Modernise. Are you an experienced Linux Infrastructure expert ready to take ownership of complex, enterprise-scale platforms? We're looking for a Linux Infrastructure & Platform Architect to drive the design, automation, and evolution of critical infrastructure environments supporting high-performance computing, cloud services, and modern containerised platforms. In this hands‑on technical leadership role, you'll combine architecture, engineering, and automation expertise to deliver resilient, scalable, and secure solutions across a diverse technology landscape. You do need to be eligible for DV Clearance. Hybrid: 3 days on site in Salisbury OR Portsmouth.

What you'll be doing:

• Leading the design, administration, optimisation, and support of large-scale Linux environments, ensuring high availability, performance, security, and resilience.
• Architecting and supporting High Performance Computing (HPC) platforms, including compute, storage, networking, workload scheduling, and user environments.
• Designing, deploying, and managing container and orchestration platforms to support modern application delivery.
• Acting as a Linux Infrastructure Solutions Architect, driving technical design, technology selection, and infrastructure transformation projects.
• Designing and supporting hybrid infrastructure environments across on‑premises platforms, including VMware and Nutanix, alongside public cloud services.
• Developing and enhancing Infrastructure-as-Code and automation frameworks, with a strong focus on Ansible orchestration.
• Modernising operational processes and legacy tooling, championing automation‑first approaches and migration from Puppet.
• Working closely with DevOps, Security, Operations, PMO, Application, and CTO teams to deliver robust and future‑ready solutions.
• Providing expert troubleshooting, technical leadership, and mentoring across Linux, cloud, storage, networking, virtualisation, and platform technologies.

What you'll bring:

• Extensive experience administering enterprise Linux environments (RHEL, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu, or equivalent).
• Strong knowledge of HPC infrastructure, workload management ideally using Slurm, and performance optimisation.
• Proven experience designing and delivering Linux infrastructure and platform architectures.
• Strong understanding of Linux security, virtualisation, storage, networking, cloud services, and systems performance tuning.
• Excellent stakeholder management, documentation, project delivery, and problem‑solving skills.
• Eligible for DV Clearance.

It would be great if you had:

• Advanced automation skills using Ansible, including playbook development, role design, and CI/CD integration.
• Experience with container technologies such as Docker, Podman, Kubernetes, or OpenShift.
• Experience supporting virtualised infrastructure using VMware and/or Nutanix.
• Experience working with public cloud platforms; AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) experience is highly desirable.

Employment Type: Permanent. Location: Hybrid. 3 days per week in Portsmouth OR Salibury. Security Clearance Level: Eligible for SC and DV Clearance. Salary: TBD. Benefits: 25 days annual leave with the choice to buy additional holiday days, health cash plan, life assurance, and pension, £5400 car allowance, 3 % flex benefit.

Sopra Steria's Aerospace, Defence and Security business designs, develops and deploys digital solutions to Central Government clients. The work we do makes a real difference to the client's goal of National Security, and we operate in a unique and privileged environment. We are given time for professional development activities, and we coach and mentor our colleagues, sharing knowledge and learning from each other. We foster a culture in which employees feel valued and supported and have pride in their work for the customer, delivering outstanding rates of customer satisfaction in the UK's most complex safety- and security‑critical markets.