Senior / Lead DevSecOps Engineer (DV / eDV Cleared)
Location: Cheltenham / Gloucester (hybrid + high-side work)
Salary: Up to £110,000 + bonus + DV incentives + benefits
If you’re a DevSecOps engineer who’s already operating at a senior level but still feels too far removed from the real engineering, this is where things tend to get more interesting.
We’re supporting a number of Defence and National Security organisations across the South West, ranging from established consultancies to highly regarded SMEs. All are delivering into secure, high-impact programmes and are looking for engineers who can combine strong technical depth with real delivery ownership.
What’s different about these roles?
You’re not just implementing pipelines. You’re shaping how secure platforms are built.
These environments tend to be:
- Engineering-led, with strong technical standards
- Closer to the end mission, not buried in layers of delivery
- Set up to give senior engineers real influence over architecture and approach
For many people coming from larger organisations, it’s a shift from “following process” to actually defining it.
What you’ll be doing
Depending on the team, you’ll typically be:
- Designing and implementing secure cloud platforms (primarily AWS)
- Embedding security best practices across the full delivery lifecycle
- Leading on CI/CD design within high-assurance environments
- Working directly with clients to shape platform and security decisions
- Mentoring junior engineers and setting engineering standards
High-side working is a core part of these roles, along with regular interaction with end clients.
Typical tech environment
Most teams are working across:
- AWS (often in highly controlled / secure configurations)
- Infrastructure as Code (Terraform primarily)
- CI/CD tooling (Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions)
- Containers & orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
- Security tooling integrated into pipelines (SAST, DAST, etc.)
What they’re looking for
- Strong background in DevOps / DevSecOps within secure or complex environments
- Experience designing rather than just maintaining platforms
- Good understanding of security principles in cloud-native systems
- Comfortable working directly with stakeholders and end clients
Active DV or eDV clearance is typically required for these roles.
Why it’s worth considering
- Genuine influence over how platforms are designed and secured
- Exposure to some of the most interesting high-side programmes in the UK
- Opportunity to move into Lead / Principal roles as teams grow
- Base salaries up to £110,000 depending on experience
- Additional DV bonuses, company bonus, and full benefits packages
If you’re looking for a role where you can take more ownership and operate at a higher level technically, happy to talk through what’s available across different teams.
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