Lead Platform Engineer

DVSA is seeking a Lead Platform Engineer to help shape and deliver the technical strategy for large-scale digital services, ensuring they remain secure, resilient, scalable and cost-effective.

Working closely with the Principal Cloud Engineer, you will lead a code-first approach to infrastructure, driving cloud engineering standards, automation and platform delivery across multiple teams. You will provide technical leadership, build engineering capability and help teams deliver high-quality services through consistent practices and a streamlined path to live.

Our primary platform is AWS, with experience of Azure, GitHub Actions and SaaS integrations desirable.

Key Requirements

Can you?...

• Champion CI/CD, DevOps principles and Infrastructure as Code?
• Lead and support multiple teams to deliver against engineering standards?
• Mentor engineers and testers to improve capability and delivery?

Are you?...

• Someone with strong hands-on experience of AWS, Linux, Docker, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Puppet and AWS Landing Zone?
• Someone with excellent leadership, coaching and stakeholder management skills?
• Someone with experience of cloud and SaaS integration within complex environments?

Have you?...

• Delivered standardised, automated cloud platforms at scale?
• Designed secure, resilient and cost-effective cloud infrastructure?
• Shaped technical strategy with senior stakeholders?

If so, we'd love to hear from you.

About DVSA and the Team

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is a public sector body responsible for maintaining road safety and improving standards for drivers, vehicles, and driving instructors across Great Britain. Our Digital Delivery function is at the forefront of this mission, transforming legacy systems into modern, agile, and user-centric digital services that are used by millions. You will join our collaborative Digital Services division, working specifically within the Digital team. This team delivers mission-critical services, operating at scale in the cloud to ensure citizens can easily access essential government services, from booking driving tests to managing vehicle compliance.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency - Department for Transport Careers

As the Lead Platform Engineer, you'll be instrumental in architecting, securing, digital build and automating DVSA's large-scale cloud services, primarily on AWS. You'll lead and mentor multiple teams, enforce code-first IaC standards, and manage the path-to-live for critical digital services. You'll champion technical excellence, influence strategy, and collaborate across government to ensure highly available, value-driven service delivery.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

• Hands-On Technical Leadership & Strategic Alignment: Provide hands-on technical direction and influence to multiple DevOps teams, ensuring their work is consistently aligned with the Principal Cloud Engineer's technical strategy and Civil Service values.
• Standardisation & Governance: Lead the establishment, definition, and enforcement of DevOps standards and procedures across the lifecycle (IaC, CI/CD), rigorously reviewing and hands-on assuring the designs of others to embed security controls and high standards.
• Team Guidance and Capability Uplift: Act as a Subject Matter Expert to proactively guide, mentor, and upskill team members and colleagues of varying maturity levels, fostering a continuous learning environment and providing practical, technical support.
• Hands-On Cloud Architecture & Security Design: Personally design and architect highly available, cost-effective, and secure services on major cloud platforms (specifically AWS, with Azure awareness), ensuring solutions meet performance targets and business needs.
• Infrastructure Automation (IaC) Implementation: Drive the code-first implementation and hands-on automation of infrastructure using configuration management tools like Terraform, Puppet, and Ansible, prioritising and executing automation opportunities to improve delivery efficiency.
• End-to-End Delivery and Environment Ownership: Take hands-on technical ownership of the service journey from concept to live deployment, including the management, maintenance, and patching of pre-production environments to ensure a smooth, secure, and effective path-to-live.
• Live Service Resolution & Support: Act as a recognised Subject Matter Expert to provide technical guidance and work hands-on with Service Management functions, leading the resolution of complex live technical issues and managing maintenance programs.
• Process Optimisation & Stakeholder Engagement: Actively participate in Agile ceremonies and delivery processes, collaborating with senior stakeholders, Product Owners, and cross-functional CSLs to align technical solutions with business goals and drive continuous process optimisation.

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.

For further information on the role, please read the attached role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's qualifications, skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Interview & Assessment (technical questions)

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

Experience – you will be asked to provide a personal statement (1000 wordcount) & a CV (unlimited wordcount). Please structure your personal statement to provide detailed evidence of each of the following:

• AWS cloud experience in a complex enterprise environment
• IAC and code first approach with experience of Terraform and typescript solutions
• DevOps and CI/CD maturity as well as the use of automation (particularly GitHub Actions).
• Excellent maturity in Agile delivery using Scrum. The usage of Jira and Confluence particularly in a mixed discipline team.
• Evidence of an inclination for continuous improvement as well as Linux, opensource technology and Docker experience in an enterprise setting.
• Evidence of leading technical strategy and roadmaps within a cloud/DevOps environment. Proven ownership of end-to-end platform delivery, driving architectural standards, and mentoring multi-disciplinary teams to foster a culture of accountability and excellence.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead Success Profile element, Experience:

'Evidence of leading technical strategy and roadmaps within a cloud/DevOps environment. Proven ownership of end-to-end platform delivery, driving architectural standards, and mentoring multi-disciplinary teams to foster a culture of accountability and excellence.'

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

The sift will take place from week commencing 31st August 2026.

Stage 2: Interview & Assessment

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – (Leadership, Changing and Improving, Managing a Quality Service)
• Experience – (Enforcing standards under pressure and Continuous Improvement Mindset)
• Technical – (Quick fire questions and technical challenge)

The interviews will take place week commencing 14th September 2026

This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site (opens in a new window).

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

Further information on the selection process

Feedback on your application can only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

We will also hold a 12 reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for.

Should we receive a large number of applications, we may invite a shortlist of the highest performing candidates to interview. This means that some applications that meet the required standard could be placed ‘on hold’ after the sift and invited to interview if the vacant position(s) remain unfilled. You will be notified if your application is being put ‘on hold’ once the sift has been completed.

Appointments for this position will be made in order of merit. If you are successful in the selection process but there are no further available posts for the advertised role, you may be contacted to discuss an offer for a lower graded role (with similar experience and responsibility requirements).

If you are unsuccessful in the selection process, your application may be considered for a lower graded position if your demonstrated skills and experience meet the requirements of the alternative position. Candidates will be considered in order of merit.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert or the information on our website, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Pre-employment Checking

If your application is successful but you have been dismissed from the Civil Service, your application could be removed at the pre-employment checking stage depending on the nature of the dismissal.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

All External applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:

Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour

Threats or acts of violence

Illegal activity or substance misuse

Sexually explicit material

Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public. Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle—it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture. If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.