Platform Engineer (IT)

At CGI, we?re helping to strengthen national security through innovative technology, delivering advanced Big Data solutions that support cyber defence across our Space, Defence and Intelligence business unit. As a Platform Engineer, you?ll play a vital role in designing, automating and optimising secure, cloud-native platforms that enable critical operations. You?ll take ownership of complex engineering challenges, apply creative thinking to improve performance and resilience, and collaborate with talented teams to deliver solutions that make a real difference. Working in an agile, supportive environment, you?ll have the opportunity to develop your expertise, influence technical decisions and contribute to high-impact programmes that help protect the UK?s digital future. CGI was recognised in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work List 2025 and has been named a UK ?Best Employer? by the Financial Times. We offer a competitive salary, excellent pension, private healthcare, plus a share scheme (3.5% + 3.5% matching) which makes you a CGI Partner not just an employee. We are committed to inclusivity, building a genuinely diverse community of tech talent and inspiring everyone to pursue careers in our sector, including our Armed Forces, and are proud to hold a Gold Award in recognition of our support of the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant. Join us and you?ll be part of an open, friendly community of experts. We?ll train and support you in taking your career wherever you want it to go. Due to the secure nature of the programme, you will need to hold UK Security Clearance or be eligible to go through this clearance. This is a hybrid position based out of our CGI Reading office. Candidate profile: In this role, you will build and maintain secure, scalable cloud-native platforms that underpin critical Big Data and cyber defence capabilities. With Kubernetes at the heart of your work, you?ll take ownership of platform engineering, automation and container orchestration, ensuring applications operate reliably and efficiently in complex environments. You?ll have the freedom to explore innovative approaches, optimise infrastructure and enhance development workflows while delivering solutions that meet demanding security and performance requirements. Working collaboratively within an agile, multidisciplinary team, you?ll contribute to the full engineering lifecycle, from solution design and implementation through to deployment, monitoring and continuous improvement. You?ll be supported by experienced colleagues while having the opportunity to influence technical decisions, solve complex challenges and develop your expertise in modern platform technologies. Key responsibilities:

• Design & Deliver: Build, configure, test and maintain secure, scalable Kubernetes-based platforms and containerised applications.
• Automate & Optimise: Develop automation solutions and improve CI/CD pipelines to accelerate delivery, reduce manual intervention and enhance reliability.
• Operate & Troubleshoot: Monitor platform health, investigate complex technical issues and implement improvements to availability, performance and resilience.
• Engineer & Integrate: Develop and configure infrastructure, networking and Linux-based systems, ensuring seamless integration across platform components.
• Innovate & Improve: Apply modern DevOps practices, infrastructure automation and cloud-native technologies to continuously enhance engineering capabilities.
• Collaborate & Contribute: Work closely with software engineers, architects and delivery teams in an agile environment, sharing knowledge and contributing to technical decisions.

Required qualifications to be successful in this role To succeed in this role, you should have strong hands-on experience in Kubernetes and platform engineering, combined with a practical understanding of DevOps, automation and cloud-native technologies. You'll be comfortable working with Linux-based infrastructure, diagnosing complex technical challenges and contributing to secure, resilient solutions. We?re looking for someone who takes ownership, approaches problems creatively and thrives in a collaborative engineering environment where continuous learning and improvement are encouraged. Essential skills and experience:

• Kubernetes: Strong hands-on experience deploying, managing, troubleshooting and optimising Kubernetes clusters and containerised workloads. This is a key requirement.
• Platform Engineering: Proven experience designing, building and supporting reliable, scalable cloud-native platforms.
• DevOps & CI/CD: Practical experience with GitLab, CI/CD pipelines and modern DevOps tooling.
• Linux & Infrastructure: Strong understanding of Linux systems, infrastructure configuration and operational troubleshooting.
• Networking: Solid knowledge of networking fundamentals, including DNS, routing, firewalls and network connectivity.
• Automation & Scripting: Experience using Python, shell scripting or similar technologies to automate engineering and operational tasks.
• Agile Collaboration: Experience working in agile, cross-functional teams, with strong communication and problem-solving skills.
• Technical Troubleshooting: Proven ability to investigate, diagnose and resolve complex platform and infrastructure issues.

Desirable skills and experience:

• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, GCP or equivalent on-premises environments.
• Familiarity with Elastic for logging, monitoring and observability.
• Understanding of service mesh technologies and Kubernetes networking.
• Experience supporting secure, highly available or mission-critical environments.
• Exposure to Big Data platforms, cyber defence technologies or security-focused engineering programmes.

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