Senior Cloud DevOps Engineer

As the living, growing home of our national story, The National Archives is already a special place to work. We’re an institution nearly 200 years old with a collection spanning 1,000 years of history. But it’s where we go next that makes things really interesting. 

In our strategic vision: Archives for Everyone, we set ourselves the challenge of becoming the 21st Century national archive - a different kind of cultural and heritage institution: Inclusive, Entrepreneurial, Disruptive. We won’t become this overnight. It will take time, focus, effort and daring.

That’s where you come in. Because we can’t do this without you.

Job Overview

Salary: £53k + up to £7K Market Supplement + Excellent Benefits

Contract type: Permanent

Band: F / Senior Executive Officer

Closing date: Thursday 20th March 2025 at midnight

Are you ready to take the next step in your career?
At The National Archives, we don’t just store history—we shape the future of how it’s preserved and accessed. Our Digital Archiving and Digital Services teams ensure that uncurated government records are transformed into structured, accessible digital archives that enable public research and scrutiny.
We are looking for a Senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer to join our growing team. This is an opportunity to work at the cutting edge of cloud technologies, shaping secure, scalable, and resilient infrastructure that underpins our digital archiving mission. You will have the autonomy to lead key projects, drive change, and influence technical decisions, while working in a highly collaborative environment where ideas are rolled around, tested, and improved together.
We work three days a week on-site and two remotely, striking a great balance between face-to-face collaboration and flexibility. Our team is experienced, open-minded, and thrives on curiosity—so if you're looking to move into a Senior Engineer role where you can bring your ideas to the forefront, this is the perfect opportunity.

Why Join Us?
• Preserve the past, shape the future – Your work will ensure the most significant government records are not just stored, but transformed into living digital archives that empower future generations to explore history, understand decisions and scrutinise events.
• Solve complex, meaningful challenges – Work on unique large-scale cloud and security problems, shaping the digital future of one of the world’s leading archives.
• Lead and innovate – Take ownership of key projects, influence technical decisions, and help shape our cloud infrastructure strategy.
• Grow and develop – Learn from and contribute to a highly skilled, experienced team that values collaboration, mentoring, and continuous improvement.
• Fantastic environment – Work in a beautiful riverside location on the banks of the Thames, with access to an onsite gym and green spaces—perfect for balancing work with outdoor time.


What You’ll Be Doing
• Building & optimising cloud infrastructure – Designing, implementing, and maintaining scalable, resilient AWS infrastructure (EC2, ECS, RDS, Lambda, S3, IAM, Terraform, Docker, etc.).
• Embedding security & compliance – Ensuring our platforms meet ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials+ and security best practices.
• Automating and improving efficiency – Developing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines to streamline deployments and system operations.
• Collaborating and leading – Working with multidisciplinary teams, mentoring junior engineers, and bringing new ideas to the table.
• Innovating and adapting – Driving continuous improvement, adopting new technologies, and helping transition our infrastructure to support live operations.

Who We’re Looking For
• Cloud Expertise – Strong experience with AWS (EC2, ECS, RDS, Lambda, S3, IAM, etc.)
• Security & Compliance – Understanding of cloud security best practices, vulnerability management, and risk mitigation.
• DevOps & Automation – Experience with CI/CD pipelines, automation tools (Terraform, Ansible, GitHub Actions), and Infrastructure as Code.
• Problem-Solving & Collaboration – Proven ability to diagnose issues, design technical solutions, and work effectively within an Agile team.
• Supplier Management – Experience managing external partners and vendors to ensure high-quality service delivery.

Application Process
• Interview: Interviews will be held on-site and will include a technical test.
• Personal Statement:

The National Archives is evolving, using cloud infrastructure and digital preservation to make government records accessible and resilient.

In 750 words outline how your expertise can contribute to this transformation. What challenges do you think we face in digital preservation and how would you approach the challenge? Additionally tell us what skills you’re keen to develop while working with us.

Selection for interview will be based on the ‘essential’ skills and experience in the job description. Please ensure your statement demonstrates how your skills and experience meet these criteria.

SC clearance/willingness to obtain SC clearance will be required for this role. This requires candidates to have been resident in the UK for at least the past three years. Please do not apply if you have been resident in the UK for less than three years as your application will be rejected.

Please note: Applications for flexible working patterns will be considered.

Job Description

Job Purpose
At The National Archives, we do more than store history—we make it accessible, meaningful, and enduring for generations to come. We are the guardians of the nation’s records, transforming raw government data and unstructured information into searchable, structured, and secure digital archives. Our work ensures that anyone—from researchers and educators to policymakers and the public—can explore the events, decisions, and policies that have shaped the UK.

The shift to digital preservation is one of the most critical challenges of our time. Records are no longer stored in paper files but as vast digital collections that must be protected from degradation, obsolescence, and security threats. As a Senior DevOps Engineer, you will be at the forefront of this mission, ensuring that the infrastructure supporting the UK’s digital heritage is secure, resilient, and future-proof.
 

This role is not just about maintaining infrastructure—it’s about designing, securing, and optimising cloud systems that will support the nation's historical record for years to come. You will have the autonomy to lead key projects, drive technological change, and influence long-term strategies in a team that values collaboration, creativity, and technical excellence.
 

Role and Responsibilities
Key Responsibilities
Design, implement, and maintain scalable, resilient, and secure AWS cloud infrastructure (EC2, ECS, RDS, Lambda, S3, etc.) using Infrastructure as Code.
Engineer for reliability, maintainability, performance, and security, ensuring services are robust and future-proof.
Lead the investigation into and diagnosis of complex incidents, investigating their causes and taking ownership of issues through to successful resolution.

Build, maintain, and support CI/CD workflows to test and deploy both infrastructure and applications.
Collaborate with technical colleagues and service owners to continuously improve system performance and security.
Manage and maintain supplier relationships, ensuring service delivery meets contractual agreements.
Security & Compliance
Embed security principles into cloud infrastructure design and operations.
Participate in threat modelling sessions and implement mitigation strategies.
Ensure compliance Cyber Essentials Plus, and best practices for cloud security.
Lead the adoption of access controls, encryption standards, and threat monitoring solutions.
Collaboration & Leadership
Work in a multidisciplinary Agile team, contributing DevOps expertise to design and maintain secure services.
Take a lead role in defining and implementing cloud solutions, optimising security and service resilience.
Provide coaching and mentoring, supporting the growth of less experienced engineers.

Represent The National Archives externally, engaging with the wider DevOps and cloud engineering community.
Continuous Improvement & Innovation
Monitor and troubleshoot infrastructure, proactively identifying opportunities for enhancements.
Drive the adoption of new technologies and best practices to improve cloud infrastructure and security.
Support the creation of communities of practice, sharing knowledge and promoting improvements across teams.
 

Working Conditions
Normal office environment
Display Screen Equipment user
 

Person Specification
Essential Skills & Experience
Strong experience with AWS cloud services (EC2, ECS, RDS, Lambda, S3, IAM, etc.) and management using Infrastructure as Code, such as Terraform, with a track record of providing technical leadership in designing and delivering projects through the entire development lifecycle.
Demonstrable experience of managing CI/CD pipelines through GitHub Actions, including planning, designing, testing, building and maintaining.
Strong skills in coding or scripting (in a major programming/scripting language) to provide automation and consistent deployment patterns and version control using Git.
Understanding of cloud security best practices, including vulnerability management and risk mitigation.
Significant experience diagnosing and tracing operational issues within cloud hosted systems, then designing and implementing fixes.
Experience of working in multidisciplinary teams using agile and user centred methodologies, including iterative design, planning and improvement.
Proactivity and enthusiasm about developing your own knowledge and sharing knowledge to build an open, collaborative community, mentor junior colleagues and engage with the wider organisation, third party suppliers and cross-government channels to gain insight and share experiences.
Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills; proven ability to provide technical assurance to projects and developments; communicating technical issues clearly and concisely to both technical and non-expert audiences and building effective working relationships with peers and third-party suppliers producing clear and accurate documentation.

Desirable Skills
Experience with containerisation and orchestration tools (Docker, Kubernetes).
Familiarity with identity and access management (IAM) systems.
Knowledge of disaster recovery planning and business continuity best practices.
Experience of working with or implementing observability/monitoring solutions.
Knowledge Cyber Essentials Plus or ISO 27001security standards.
Understanding of public data, digital preservation, and records management principles.
 

Other Requirements
A combination of onsite and home working is available, and applicants should be able to travel 3 days a week to our Kew site.
SC clearance is required for this role. This requires candidates to have been resident in the UK for at least the past three years.
 

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is
found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service
D&I Strategy.

Benefits 

 

Generous benefits package, including pension, sports and social club facilities, onsite gym, discounted rates at our on-site cafe and opportunities for training and development.  Annual leave entitlement of 22 days per calendar year (rising to 25 after the first year, and incrementally to 30 days after six years) and 10½ days public and privilege holidays per annum.

 

Any move to The National Archives from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at  https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/ (opens in new window)

Reasonable adjustments

 

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: 

• Contact The National Archives via careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs 

• Complete the ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ section of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional

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Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.  

 

Security 

 

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check. 

People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks (opens in new window)

 

Nationality requirements 

 

This job is broadly open to the following groups: 

• UK nationals

• nationals of the Republic of Ireland

• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK

• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)

• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020

• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in new window)

 

Working for the Civil Service

 

The Civil Service Code  (opens in new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. 
 
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. (opens in new window) 

 

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. 

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. 

 

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. (opens in new window)

 

Contact point for applicants:

• Name: The National Archives Recruitment Team 

• Email: careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk 

 

Further information 

 

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact The National Archives via email: careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/recruitment-complaints/ (opens in new window)