Lead Data Platform Engineer
UK Health Security Agency
Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, London, E14 4PU
Salary
£56,185 to £70,566
Contract
Fixed-Term
Hours
Not specified
Closing date
3 September 2026
2 days left
Job description
UKHSA will build on the legacy of the COVID-19 response to ensure resilient and scalable infrastructure to secure the UK in the strongest position to ...
You will work in the Data Engineering and Enablement Division that reports into the Digtial & Data Directorate. It's an exciting time to join as we seek tocreate leading Health Protection data capabilities that enable data scientists and data analysts to develop insights that inform public health decisions withresilience platforms and curated data assets.
The core activities of Engineering and Enablement include the ingestion of data sources, building data pipelines, curated data views and data capabilities fused from data, models and software that enable the exploitation of data by analysts, data scientists and MI teams. We are seeking to mature our advanced platform capabilities with standardised practices, machine learning and agility needed to pro-active detect and respond to new public health issues. We are looking for a Lead Platform Engineer to work as part of the Engineering and Enablement team to support theoperation and the development of our Enterprise Data and Analytics platform. We work collaboratively in agile multi-disciplinary teams, and we are looking for engineers who can operate in an environment that values DevOps principlesand agile methodologies. We are developing our engineering community of practice to share knowledge, enhance our standards and processes to provide a strong foundation todevelop individuals, teams and innovation.
As a Lead Platform Engineer, you will be responsible for:
- Lead and manage up to 2x Senior Platform Engineers, providing guidance and support to ensure their growth and professional development.
- Lead the design and implementation of robust, scalable, and highly available infrastructure solutions, while continuously monitoring, maintaining, andoptimising existing infrastructure for performance and reliability.
- Develop automation scripts and tools to streamline deployment, configuration, and monitoring processes, and implement configuration managementsystems for environment consistency.
- Establish and enhance CI/CD pipelines to automate software delivery, testing, and deployment, managing code integration for rapid and reliable releases.
- Implement security best practices including access control, vulnerability scanning, and threat detection, and ensure infrastructure compliance with industry standards and regulations.
- Identify and address performance bottlenecks and optimisation opportunities within the infrastructure stack and conduct load testing and capacity planningfor anticipated increased workloads.
- Set up monitoring and alerting systems for proactive issue detection and resolution and troubleshoot and resolve infrastructure-related incidents promptly.
- Create comprehensive documentation for infrastructure, processes, and procedures, ensuring it remains up-to-date and accessible to team members.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams such as developers and system administrators, and effectively communicate technical concepts and solutions tonon-technical stakeholders.
- Stay informed about emerging technologies and industry best practices in platform engineering and DevOps, introducing innovative solutions to enhanceinfrastructure and processes.
- Encourage and develop a diverse range of people, promote business objectives, and model the behaviours and standards expected of an experienced civilservice member.
- Lead the decision-making throughout the product life cycle and phases of product delivery, from stakeholder engagement to analysis, development ofplatform designs, and implementation.
- Act as a DevOps champion, taking responsibility for specific deliverables, promoting DevOps and Agile best practices with passion.
- Be a team player, empowering team members for success, recognising the bigger picture, and going the extra mile for high quality delivery in a highperforming organisation.
- Interpret the needs of technical and business stakeholders into technical requirements, manage stakeholder expectations, and facilitate challengingdiscussions.
- Apply detailed knowledge of techniques and concepts required for the role, liaise with other technical teams for seamless service delivery, and identify areasfor impactful innovation in data tools and techniques.
- Advance engineering excellence across the Agency through the development and leadership of our engineering community of practice, focusing on sharingknowledge, enhancing standards, and providing a foundation for technical growth.
Essential criteria
- Infrastructure as Code: Proficient in designing, implementing & maintaining infrastructure using Terraform to ensure scalability, reliability, and security
- AWS Expertise: Extensive experience with Amazon Web Services (AWS) along with a thorough understanding of best practice
- Git/GitHub: Use of Git/GitHub for version control, creating & managing repositories, branching strategies, & use of GitHub Actions for CI/CD
- DevOps Methodologies: In-depth knowledge of DevOps principles & practices, with the ability to orchestrate & automate end-to-end CI/CD pipelines
- Scripting and Programming: Proficient in multiple programming languages
- Disaster Recovery and High Availability: Experience in designing & implementing disaster recovery plans
- Containerisation and Orchestration: Working knowledge of containerisation technologies such as Docker & container orchestration tools like Kubernetes
- Security and Compliance: Strong understanding of security best practices in cloud and infrastructure management
- Significant experience as a Platform / DevOps Engineer
- Line management experience
Selection Process Details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.
Stage 1: Application & Sift
You willbe requiredto complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed 10 essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:
- Application form (Employer/ Activity history section on the application)
- 750 word supporting statement.
This should outline how you consider your skills, experienceand knowledge provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.You will receive a joint score for your application form and statement. (The application form is the kind of information you would put into your C.V please beadvisedyou will not be able to upload your CV. Please complete the application form in as much detail as possible). Please do not email us your CV.
HealthjobsUK has a word limit of 1500, but your supporting statement must be no more than 750 words. We will not consider any words over 750 words.
Longlisting
In the event ofa large number ofapplicationswe will longlist into 3 piles of:
- Meets all essential criteria
- Meets some essential criteria
- Meets no essential criteria
If used, the pile Meets all essential criteria willproceedto shortlisting.
Shortlisting
In the event ofa large number ofapplications we may conductan initialsift, on the lead criteria of:
- Infrastructure as Code: Proficient in designing, implementing & maintaining infrastructure using Terraform to ensure scalability, reliability, and security
- AWS Expertise: Extensive experience with Amazon Web Services (AWS) along with a thorough understanding of best practice
- Git/GitHub: Use of Git/GitHub for version control, creating & managing repositories, branching strategies, & use of GitHub Actions for CI/CD
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview & assessment.
Feedback will not be provided at this stage.
Stage 2: Interview
You will be invited to a single remote interview.
Behaviours and Technical skillswill be tested at interview.
The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:
- Manging a quality service (Lead behaviour)
- Delivering at pace
- Communication and influencing
- Making effective decisions
- Changing and improving
There will be a Technical Test and Presentation.
The Candidate will be asked to present on the technical test completed prior to interview.
Interview dates to be confirmed.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Location
We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.
UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.
Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers
Application form and supporting statement
Essential
- Application form and supporting statement
Interview - Presentation and Technical test
Essential
- Presentation
- Technical test
Interview - Behaviours
Essential
- Changing and improving
- Making effective decisions
- Communicating and influencing
- Delivering at pace
- Managing a quality service
How to apply
Applications are handled entirely by the employer on the original advert. We do not collect CVs, supporting statements or application data.
Provenance
Source
NHS Jobs
First seen
20 August 2026
Last checked
24 August 2026
Salary, closing date and description are taken from the employer's advert. The original advert always takes precedence.
About the employer
NHS organisation
This listing was structured from NHS Jobs. Vacancy details and the application process remain the responsibility of the original source.
Explore related