Linux SME
Location: Reading - fully onsite
Contract: 12-month rolling contract
Rate: £600-£650 per day
IR35: Outside IR35
Clearance: Active MOD DV clearance required
Working Pattern: Full-time
The Role
We are looking for an experienced Linux Subject Matter Expert (SME) to join a high-profile technical environment based onsite in Reading.
You will provide senior-level technical expertise across Linux infrastructure, DevOps tooling, automation and platform engineering. The role will suit someone who is comfortable operating as a technical authority, solving complex infrastructure problems and working closely with engineering, development and operational teams.
Due to the nature of the environment, active MOD DV clearance is essential.
Key Responsibilities
Act as a Linux and DevOps SME, providing technical leadership and guidance across the environment.
Design, implement and maintain robust Linux-based infrastructure and platforms.
Support the development and continuous improvement of DevOps processes and tooling.
Automate infrastructure, configuration and operational processes wherever possible.
Troubleshoot and resolve complex Linux, infrastructure and platform issues.
Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines and associated tooling.
Support infrastructure-as-code and configuration management practices.
Contribute to platform resilience, availability, security and performance.
Work closely with engineering, development, security and operations teams.
Provide technical documentation, standards and best-practice guidance.
Mentor and support other engineers where required.
Investigate emerging technologies and recommend improvements to the existing platform.
Participate in technical design, architecture and implementation activities.
Essential Skills & Experience
Extensive commercial experience working with Linux in an enterprise environment.
Strong hands-on experience across DevOps / Platform Engineering.
Excellent Linux administration and troubleshooting skills.
Strong scripting/automation experience, ideally with Bash and/or Python.
Experience with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps tooling.
Strong understanding of Git and source control.
Experience with Infrastructure as Code, ideally Terraform and/or Ansible.
Experience working with containers and container orchestration technologies.
Strong understanding of networking, systems integration and infrastructure concepts.
Experience working in secure, highly controlled or complex technical environments.
Ability to operate independently as a senior technical SME.
Excellent problem-solving and communication skills.
Current, active MOD DV clearance.
Desirable
Kubernetes / OpenShift experience.
Docker / containerisation.
Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions or similar.
Ansible.
Terraform.
Cloud platform experience.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux or equivalent.
Experience within UK Government / MOD / Defence environments.
Experience working with security-hardened Linux environments.
Relevant Linux, DevOps or cloud certifications.
What We're Looking For
We're looking for a genuine hands-on SME, rather than someone purely focused on management. You should be comfortable getting into the detail, diagnosing difficult technical problems and making pragmatic engineering decisions.
You'll be joining a technically demanding environment where your experience in Linux, automation and DevOps will have a direct impact on the reliability and evolution of the platform.
Contract Details
12-month rolling contract
£600-£650 per day
Outside IR35
Full-time
100% onsite - Reading
MOD DV clearance requiredIf you are an experienced Linux SME with active MOD DV clearance and are interested in a long-term contract opportunity, we'd like to hear from you
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