Senior Platform Engineer - Developer Platform (we have office locations in Cambridge, Leeds & London)

Company Description

Genomics England partners with the NHS to provide whole genome sequencing diagnostics. We also equip researchers to find the causes of disease and develop new treatments – with patients and participants at the heart of it all.

Our mission is to continue refining, scaling, and evolving our ability to enable others to deliver genomic healthcare and conduct genomic research.

We are accelerating our impact and working with patients, doctors, scientists, government and industry to improve genomic testing, and help researchers access the health data and technology they need to make new medical discoveries and create more effective, targeted medicines for everybody.

Job Description

Job Description

Are you passionate about automation, cloud technology, and solving complex engineering challenges? As a Senior Platform Engineer in the new Developer Platform team you'll have the opportunity to help find solutions to common challenges and concerns that our product squads face. You will build reusable templates and components, help to make strategic tooling choices, establish Golden Paths, and work towards a minimum viable platform that developers can build upon. You will consciously balance the needs of the engineers in squads against the needs of the organisation. In other words, you will make solutions that are easy to adopt in disparate contexts, but that help us to achieve greater consistency in terms of security, auditability, efficiency, predictability and compliance.   

In this role, you’ll work in partnership with engineers in product squads to test and evolve common solutions. You will experiment with alternative strategies for solving problems and use data and analysis to make decisions. You will be a curious and engaged listener, but you will also be confident articulating why some convergence on tooling and process is necessary to meet business objectives. You will be a leader within the Platform team, helping your peers to grow and develop through pairing, coaching, mentoring and knowledge transfers. You are confident engaging with a range of stakeholders to understand organisational needs and bring them back to the team for consideration.

Everyday responsibilities include: 

Work with engineers in the Developer Platform team to identify and develop components of the platform 
Collaborate with engineers in product squads to test out possible solutions and refine based on evidence and feedback
Support engineers in product squads to adopt part or all of the platform efficiently 
Prioritise the needs of engineers in terms of self-service, automation, alignment and sympathy with ways of working etc.
Troubleshoot and debug issues, ensuring seamless operations and minimal downtime of the platform
Define clear solutions within the team which the group can execute against
Act as a trusted mentor, coach and guide to your colleagues
Advocate for compliance to engineering controls and wider regulatory constraints
Lead on key engineering decisions in a collaborative and inclusive environment that values diverse perspectivesEssential skills and experience: 

Experience with AWS, with certifications being a plus
Strong knowledge of Terraform for infrastructure-as-code automation
Familiarity with automation tools such as Ansible, Chef, or Puppet
Hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines (we use GitLab CI) and DevOps best practices
Excellent Python skills for automation
Experience collaborating in a DevOps or squad-based culture
Strong interpersonal skills with a temperament that builds trust and connection within and across squads through open, honest communicationDesirable skills and experience:

Familiarity with Developer Platforms and Developer Portals
Knowledge of DevSecOps concepts and shifting security left
Experience working in a regulated environment

Qualifications

Qualifications are not mandatory, however AWS, Terraform, or Automation certifications are beneficial

Additional Information

Salary from: £76,500

Being an integral part of such a meaningful mission is extremely rewarding in itself, but in order to support our people, we’re continually improving our benefits package. We pride ourselves on investing in our people and supporting them to achieve their career goals, as well as offering a benefits package including: 

Generous Leave: 30 days’ holiday plus bank holidays, additional leave for long service, and the option to apply for up to 30 days of remote working abroad annually (approval required).
Family-Friendly: Blended working arrangements, flexible working, enhanced maternity, paternity and shared parental leave benefits.
Pension & Financial: Defined contribution pension (Genomics England double-matches up to 10%, however you can contribute more if you wish), Life Assurance (3x salary), and a Give As You Earn scheme.
Learning & Development: Individual learning budgets, support for training and certifications, and reimbursement for one annual professional subscription (approval required).
Recognition & Rewards: Employee recognition programme and referral scheme.
Health & Wellbeing: Subsidised gym membership, a free Headspace account, and access to an Employee Assistance Programme, eye tests, flu jabs.Equal opportunities and our commitment to a diverse and inclusive workplace 

Genomics England is actively committed to providing and supporting an inclusive environment that promotes equity, diversity and inclusion best practice both within our community and in any other area where we have influence. We are proud of our diverse community where everyone can come to work and feel welcomed and treated with respect regardless of any disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, or social background. 

Genomics England’s policies of non-discrimination and equity and will be applied fairly to all people, regardless of age, disability, gender identity or reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, being pregnant or recently becoming a parent, race, religion or beliefs, sex or sexual orientation, length of service, whether full or part-time or employed under a permanent or a fixed-term contract or any other relevant factor.  

Genomics England does not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment, victimisation or bullying at work. Such behaviour is contrary to