Tech Lead and Engineering Manager

The University of Cambridge's Information Services seeks a hands-on Tech Lead and Engineering Manager to lead a team building and modernising cloud-native services and modernising existing applications within an Engineering Division of 50 engineers. These services, used by around 60,000 staff, researchers, and students worldwide, have a significant impact on the University's global reputation.

This hybrid, Cambridge-based role offers excellent benefits, including a defined benefit pension and 41 days' annual leave.

Our newer services use modern web architecture standards, are structured around APIs and are continuously built and tested using GitLab. They run on Docker containers and are deployed to a serverless container platform on Google Cloud.

Our technology stack is Python, Django, React, Typescript, GitLab, Terraform, and Google Cloud. We use boilerplate solutions and turnkey templates to scale efficiently, stay DRY, and support a DevOps culture.

Examples of our projects can be found at

https://gitlab.developers.cam.ac.uk/uis/devops. Our technical strategy is published in our guidebook at https://guidebook.devops.uis.cam.ac.uk/

You will:

• Be highly skilled in modern software development, testing, and ops practices, maintaining up-to-date knowledge.

Be an expert in:

• Management of software requirements, priorities, and dependencies.
• Architecting web applications, including API design, with a focus on maintainability, stability and security, using clean code.
• Integrating multiple applications via APIs, event buses, asynchronous tasks, etc.
• Packaging web applications in Docker containers.
• Testing frameworks and testing best practices.
• GitLab or similar.
• Creating CI pipelines for building and testing web applications.
• Creating CD pipelines for deploying web applications to the cloud using Terraform.
• Google Cloud or similar.
• Collaborates across products and teams to ensure unified architecture.
• Drive improvements in technical architecture, standards and processes.
• Find the right solution for the right problem. For example: switching off a service, extending an existing service, building a new service, or purchasing a SaaS solution.
• Have strong experience managing agile cross functional teams using a DevOps approach.
• Manage, train, and mentor a team of engineers.
• Have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Focus on delivery while taking a continuous improvement approach to existing services.
• Work closely with other University members to gather, clarify, and break down requirements.
• Enjoy working with a large variety of services and technologies.

Responsibilities include:

• Ensuring team motivation, performance, and current practices.
• Managing priorities and support scrum tasks, including managing dependencies, scheduling work in sprints, backlog writing and grooming.
• Understanding and supporting the needs of product and services, gathering requirements and developing strategies to satisfy these.
• Performing competitive analysis and identify the strengths and weaknesses of various solutions.
• Developing cases for proposed new features, products, or services.

You will be part of a team of a Tech Leads and Engineer Managers reporting to the Head of Development and Operations (DevOps).

We welcome applications from individuals who wish to be considered for part-time working or other flexible working arrangements.

We particularly welcome applications from women and /or candidates from a BME background for this vacancy as they are currently under-represented at this level in our department.

To apply online and to view further information about the role, please click the 'Apply' button above.

The university will assess applications weekly throughout the advertised period and reserves the right to close the role ahead of the closing date, once a suitable candidate has been recruited.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

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