Principal DevOps engineer

Band 8c · DevOps engineer · 646 job evaluation points

UK GDaD PCF level: Principal DevOps engineer

Most often performed at Civil Service grade G6.

A principal DevOps engineer leads and plans development across large or multiple teams, defining the strategic vision for delivery.
At this role level, you will:
identify, test and champion the adoption of emerging technologies
ensure that security, stability and capacity are embedded in the development and deployment of services
develop a team’s capability by rewarding high performers
shape career paths and recruit the right talent
identify skills gaps and important dependencies within technical teams
There are 2 different roles at this level - a technical role and a management role.

Contains public sector information from the UK Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework (https://understand-digital-data-roles-skills.service.gov.uk/), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.

Responsibilities

Set the strategy for how the organisation builds, releases, hosts, and runs its digital health services.
Advise senior leaders on hosting, resilience, cyber security, and platform investment.
Make sure business continuity and disaster recovery plans for critical clinical services are realistic and tested.
Evaluate and champion new technologies and practices, balancing innovation against safety and stability.
Grow the organisation's DevOps capability, including recruitment, career paths, and skills plans.

Skills

Skill	Expected level	What this level means
Availability and capacity managementUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: ensure the correct implementation of availability and capacity management standards and procedures identify capacity issues and implement the required changes initiate remedial action
Development process optimisationUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: analyse current processes identify and implement opportunities to optimise processes lead and develop a team of experts to deliver service improvements help to evaluate and establish requirements for the implementation of changes by setting policy and standards
Information securityUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: design, review and quality assure solutions and services, ensuring that they are specifically engineered to mitigate security threats lead others in using appropriate information security practices
Modern development standardsUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: identify and apply modern development standards to support complex projects and programmes lead others in applying modern development standards
Programming and build (software engineering)UK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: collaborate with others when necessary to review specifications use the agreed specifications to design, code, test and document programs or scripts of medium-to-high complexity, using the right standards and tools
PrototypingUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: use a variety of prototyping methods share best practice and coach others look at strategic service design end to end
Service supportUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: identify, locate and fix complex service faults advise others on different methodologies and types of service support
Systems designUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: design systems characterised by medium levels of risk, impact, and business or technical complexity select appropriate design standards, methods and tools, and ensure they are applied effectively review the systems designs of others to ensure the selection of appropriate technology, efficient use of resources and integration of multiple systems and technology
Systems integrationUK GDaD PCF	Expert (4)	You can: establish standards and procedures across a service product life cycle, including the development product life cycle, and can ensure that practitioners adhere to these manage resources to ensure that the systems integration function works effectively
User focusUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: collaborate with user researchers and can represent users internally explain the difference between user needs and the desires of the user champion user research to focus on all users prioritise and define approaches to understand the user story, guiding others in doing so offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to use
Understanding health and care servicesThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: analyse how a service fits into care pathways across organisations work with clinicians, care staff, and patients to shape digital services explain the effect of digital decisions on care, safety, and staff workload
Clinical risk managementThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: lead hazard identification and risk assessment for a product or change write and maintain hazard logs and clinical safety case reports agree risk controls with product teams and check that they work advise teams on applying clinical risk management standards
Information governance and data protectionThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: lead data protection impact assessments and information sharing agreements advise teams on lawful basis, consent, confidentiality, and retention investigate incidents and recommend improvements
Vulnerability managementThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: set the vulnerability management policy and its targets report technical security risk to senior leaders
Security operationsThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: investigate and contain security incidents write detection rules and threat hunts improve runbooks and tooling after incidents
Organisational risk managementThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: run the risk process for a directorate or programme assess risks against the risk appetite and escalate them report on risks to committees
People managementThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: lead managers and shape the culture of a large area design workforce plans and organisational change coach leaders and resolve complex people issues
Budget managementThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: hold and manage a budget, forecasting and explaining variances build a business case with costs and benefits

Typical qualifications and experience

Extensive experience of leading DevOps and platform engineering across multiple teams or organisations.

Band 8c outline

Knowledge: Expert knowledge, and wide organisational and sector understanding.
Autonomy: Sets strategy for a function; accountable to a director.
Scope: A function or department.
Leadership: Leads a function through several management layers.
Accountability: A function's performance, workforce, and budget.

Job evaluation (illustrative)

Factor	Level	Level summary	Points
Communication and relationship skills	5	Gives highly complex or contentious information needing developed persuasion and negotiation, presents to large groups, or communicates where there are significant barriers to acceptance.	45
Knowledge, training, and experience	8	Advanced knowledge (doctorate plus further training or equivalent), or specialist knowledge across more than one discipline built over a long period.	240
Analytical and judgemental skills	5	Judgements on highly complex facts or situations needing analysis, interpretation, and comparison of options.	60
Planning and organisational skills	5	Forms long-term strategic plans, with uncertainty and effects across the organisation.	60
Physical skills	2	Skills gained through practice, such as standard keyboard use or driving.	15
Responsibility for patient and client care	1	Helps patients, clients, or relatives during incidental contact.	4
Responsibility for policy and service development	5	Implements and develops a range of policies or services for a directorate.	45
Responsibility for financial and physical resources	3	Authorises payments, buys some assets or supplies, monitors or holds a delegated budget, or maintains assets.	21
Responsibility for people	4	Line manages a function or department, designs training programmes as a main duty, or delivers a full range of HR services.	32
Responsibility for information resources	5	Designs and develops major information systems, or runs information systems for several services as the main duty.	34
Responsibility for research and development	2	Regularly does research, development, trials, or equipment and system testing as part of the job.	12
Freedom to act	5	Works within general policies, and in most cases decides how to interpret them.	45
Physical effort	1	Sitting, standing, and walking, with little physical effort.	3
Mental effort	4	Frequent prolonged concentration, or occasional intense concentration.	18
Emotional effort	1	Rare exposure, or occasional indirect exposure, to distressing circumstances.	5
Working conditions	2	Occasional unpleasant conditions, frequent travel or outdoor work, or near-continuous screen use on most days.	7
Total (Band 8c: 630 to 674)			646