Lead Linux Engineer

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.

Internal Recruiter: Jane

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.

Loved reading about this job and want to know more about us?

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.