Lead Platform & Integration Engineer (Secure Digital Platform)

Lead Platform & Integration Engineer Secure Digital Platform (SDP) - Data & Integration Location: Reading (Hybrid Working Available) Security Clearance: Active SC Clearance Required Industry Experience: Aerospace, Defence, MOD or Defence Digital environments essential About the Role We are seeking a highly capable Lead Platform & Integration Engineer to join the Secure Digital Platform (SDP) team supporting critical Defence and Aerospace programmes. This role will provide technical leadership across secure cloud and hybrid hosting platforms, enabling the delivery of data, integration and digital services within highly regulated MOD environments. The successful candidate will be responsible for designing, implementing, operating and continuously improving core infrastructure, cloud platforms and container hosting capabilities that underpin mission-critical systems. Working closely with Solution Architects, Security Architects, Application Teams and Service Delivery functions, you will drive platform modernisation, automation, resilience and operational excellence across both cloud and on-premises environments. Key Responsibilities Platform Engineering & Infrastructure Design, build and support secure enterprise infrastructure across cloud and on-premises environments.Lead the deployment and operation of Microsoft Azure hosting services and cloud-native capabilities.Manage and optimise Windows and Linux server platforms.Deliver highly available, resilient and scalable platform services.Support technology refresh, infrastructure transformation and cloud migration initiatives.Container Platforms & Integration Services Design, deploy and support Kubernetes and OpenShift platform services.Enable secure hosting and deployment of containerised applications.Support platform integration requirements across SDP data and digital services.Ensure platform scalability, performance and lifecycle management.Drive improvements in platform observability, monitoring and operational efficiency.Automation & DevSecOps Champion Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and automation-first principles.Develop and maintain automated deployment, configuration and provisioning capabilities.Support CI/CD pipelines and secure DevSecOps delivery practices.Reduce operational overhead through automation and process optimisation.Promote platform standardisation and repeatable engineering practices.Security & Compliance Implement secure-by-design infrastructure aligned to MOD and Defence security standards.Work closely with security teams to maintain compliance, governance and assurance requirements.Ensure infrastructure resilience, backup, disaster recovery and business continuity capabilities remain effective.Support security remediation activities and vulnerability management processes.Operational Support Maintain platform services in line with agreed service levels and operational targets.Monitor platform health, availability, capacity and performance.Lead resolution of complex technical incidents and problems.Produce and maintain operational documentation, standards and engineering procedures.Identify opportunities for continuous service improvement.Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement Provide technical leadership and subject matter expertise across programmes and projects.Support technical assurance activities and architecture governance.Mentor and coach junior engineers and platform specialists.Manage technical risks, dependencies and delivery challenges.Collaborate effectively with programme teams, architects, suppliers and customer stakeholders. Skills & Experience Essential Active SC Clearance.Experience delivering technology solutions within MOD, Defence Digital, Aerospace or National Security environments.Minimum 5 years' experience in platform engineering, infrastructure engineering, cloud engineering or related disciplines.Strong expertise in Microsoft Azure cloud services and hybrid infrastructure.Experience supporting enterprise-scale Windows and Linux environments.Hands-on experience administering Kubernetes platforms.Experience with OpenShift or similar enterprise container platforms.Strong understanding of networking, storage, virtualisation and enterprise infrastructure technologies.Experience implementing Infrastructure as Code and automation solutions.Strong troubleshooting and root cause analysis skills.Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills.Desirable Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate.Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert.Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA).Red Hat OpenShift Certification.VMware VCP.ITIL Foundation Certification.Experience with Terraform, Ansible, GitLab, Azure DevOps or equivalent automation tooling.Experience working within Secure by Design or DevSecOps operating models.What Success Looks Like The successful candidate will: Provide secure, resilient and scalable platform services supporting Defence programmes.Enable efficient deployment of data and digital capabilities across SDP.Drive automation, modernisation and continuous improvement initiatives.Improve platform reliability, operational efficiency and security posture.Act as a trusted technical leader across infrastructure, cloud and container hosting domains.