Internal Cloud Architect

Job Description

An exciting opportunity for a passionate Cloud Architect to join a unique, multi-national Information Management function. Ideal candidates should be committed to the future of software defined data centres and open source technologies and have the dedication in supporting our engineering community in a dynamic, fast paced development environment.

Salary: Up to £74,000 depending on experience

Dynamic (hybrid) working: 1-2 days per week on-site due to workload classification

Security Clearance British Citizen only.

This role will require DV Clearance. Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply. As a minimum and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team.

What we can offer you:

• Company Bonus: Bonus of up to 21% of base salary
• Pension: maximum total (employer and employee) contribution of up to 14%
• Flexible working: We welcome applicants who are looking for flexible working arrangements
• Enhanced parental leave: offers up to 26 weeks for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave -enhancements are available for paternity leave, neonatal leave and fertility testing and treatments
• Facilities: Fantastic site facilities including subsidised meals, free car parking and much more…
• Healthcare Cash Plan: The Healthcare Cash Plan benefit provides the option to claim cash back on everyday healthcare expenses such as optical, dental, health and wellbeing and more

The opportunity:

We are seeking an experienced OpenStack & OpenShift Architect to design, implement, and optimise on premises cloud and container platforms. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in cloud infrastructure (OpenStack) and container orchestration (Red Hat OpenShift/Kubernetes), with a strong focus on scalability, automation, and high availability.

You will play a key role in defining cloud strategy, leading platform architecture, and guiding engineering teams in delivering robust, secure, and performant environments.

• Become part of a unique, well-respected team of dedicated people that have been recognised within our company for its professionalism, dedication and flexibility.
• Having the opportunity to work both nationally and internationally, broaden your horizons by embracing the rich cultural diversity of our company.
• Partner with both engineers within MBDA and suppliers to ensure services are meeting evolving business needs.
• Be part of an organisation with a values-led culture that is committed to investing in its workforce with a personal development programme.

What we're looking for from you:

Key Responsibilities

• Design and architect OpenStack-based private cloud solutions (RHOSO)
• Lead the deployment and management of Red Hat OpenShift clusters
• Define and implement cloud-native architecture patterns
• Integrate OpenStack with container platforms (OpenShift/Kubernetes)
• Drive automation using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools
• Ensure high availability, scalability, and disaster recovery strategies
• Establish security best practices across infrastructure and platforms
• Collaborate with DevOps, security, and application teams
• Provide technical leadership, mentoring, and governance
• Evaluate and recommend new tools, technologies, and improvements

Required Skills & Experience

• Cloud & Virtualisation
• Strong experience with OpenStack (Nova, Neutron, Cinder, Glance, Keystone)
• Hands-on experience designing and deploying private cloud environments
• Understanding of multi-region / multi-tenant architectures

Container Platforms

• Deep expertise in Red Hat OpenShift (OCP 4.x)
• Strong knowledge of Kubernetes architecture and components
• Experience with container lifecycle management

Automation & DevOps

• Proficiency with Ansible, Terraform, or similar IaC tools
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitLab CI, ArgoCD)
• Scripting skills (Python, Bash, or similar)

Storage

• Experience with Ceph or other distributed storage systems
• Understanding of block, object, and file storage concepts

Preferred Qualifications but not necessary

• Red Hat certifications (e.g., RHCA, RHCE, OpenShift certification)
• Experience with hybrid or multi-cloud environments
• Familiarity with service mesh (Istio) and observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana)
• Exposure to GitOps practices

Our company: Peace is not a given, Freedom is not a given, Sovereignty is not a given

MBDA is a leading defence organisation. We are proud of the role we play in supporting the Armed Forces who protect our nations. We partner with governments to work together towards a common goal, defending our freedom.

We are proud of our employee-led networks, examples include: Gender Equality, Pride, Menopause Matters, Parents and Carers, Armed Forces, Ethnic Diversity, Neurodiversity, Disability and more…

We recognise that everyone is unique, and we encourage you to speak to us should you require any advice, support or adjustments throughout our recruitment process.

Follow us on LinkedIn (MBDA), X (@MBDA_UK), Instagram (MBDA_UK) and Glassdoor or visit our MBDA Careers website for more information.