To lead, mentor, and technically guide a small team of DevOps Engineers in the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of robust, secure, and automated IT application and service delivery pipelines. This role is pivotal in driving the adoption of DevSecOps best practices, ensuring seamless integration and promotion of applications across all environments, and contributing significantly to Mashreq's digital transformation strategy. The Lead DevOps Engineer plays a critical role in enabling agile squads to deliver high-quality, short-cycle IT products by fostering a culture of automation, reliability, and security.
- Team Leadership & Mentorship:
- Successfully lead, mentor, and coach a team of DevOps Engineers, fostering their professional growth and technical capabilities.
- Delegate tasks effectively, ensuring balanced workload distribution and timely delivery of team objectives.
- Conduct regular 1:1s and performance feedback sessions to support team development.
- DevSecOps Strategy & Implementation (Cloud & On-Premises):
- Define, evangelize, and lead the implementation of advanced DevSecOps strategies and pipelines across Mashreq's digital and non-digital journeys, with a strong focus on security integration.
- Drive the continuous improvement and evolution of CI/CD practices, leveraging Azure DevOps/AWS DevOps/Cloud Pak DevOps services.
- Lead the creation of pipelines using templates and enhance existing templates based on evolving needs, ensuring reusability and efficiency.
- Ensure seamless integration with various DevSecOps tools including, but not limited to, SonarQube, Veracode, Twistlock, Ansible, Terraform, and HashiCorp Vault.
- Pipeline Orchestration & Automation:
- Oversee and ensure the seamless orchestration of build and release pipelines, guaranteeing efficient and secure application promotion from development through to production.
- Lead the automation of complete application rollouts, including API, database, and middleware promotions, across all non-production and production environments.
- Automate middleware deployments for on-premises technologies such as WebSphere, JBoss, BPM, IIS, and IIB.
- Drive DB automations using Liquibase/Flyway.
- Oversee the setup and configuration of Azure Test Plans with pipelines to ensure robust testing integration.
- Cloud & Container Platform Management:
- Lead cloud-based deployments for Springboot Java, ReactJS, NodeJS, and .NET Core applications, leveraging native Kubernetes (K8s) and managed services like AKS/EKS/OpenShift.
- Ensure the optimal configuration, availability, and performance of container platforms in Azure/AWS cloud environments.
- Drive the adoption and optimization of cloud-native services to enhance application reliability and scalability.
- Lead the setting up of Kubernetes clusters with ingress controllers (Nginx and Nginx+).
- Reliability, Monitoring & OS Management:
- Act as the primary point of escalation for complex technical issues related to DevSecOps pipelines and infrastructure.
- Provide expert-level support and guidance to Agile coaches, Scrum Masters, and development squads, troubleshooting issues and optimizing their delivery processes.
- Implement and manage comprehensive logging and monitoring solutions using Splunk, EFK, and ELK.
- Demonstrate expert-level proficiency in operating systems like RHEL, CentOS, and Ubuntu, ensuring optimal configuration and troubleshooting.
- Scripting & Tooling:
- Leverage expertise in Python and Shell scripting to develop automation scripts, custom tools, and pipeline enhancements.
- Security & Compliance:
- Integrate security scanning, vulnerability management, and compliance checks into all stages of the DevSecOps pipeline.
- Ensure adherence to internal security policies and external regulatory requirements.
- Documentation & Knowledge Sharing:
- Maintain comprehensive documentation of DevSecOps processes, tools, and infrastructure.
- Facilitate knowledge sharing within the team and across engineering squads.
Knowledge
- In-depth knowledge of DevSecOps principles, methodologies, and best practices.
- Strong understanding of CI/CD pipelines and their orchestration (e.g., Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitLab CI).
- Expertise in containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes) and orchestration.
- Proficiency in cloud platforms, specifically Microsoft Azure (e.g., AKS, Azure Functions, Azure DevOps, Azure Monitor, Azure Networking).
- Solid understanding of infrastructure as code (IaC) principles and tools (e.g., Terraform, ARM templates, Ansible).
- Strong knowledge of scripting languages (e.g., Python, Bash, PowerShell).
- Familiarity with database administration concepts and deployment automation.
- Understanding of network protocols, security best practices, and monitoring tools.
- Knowledge of agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban).
- Awareness of industry trends in cloud computing, automation, and cybersecurity.
Skills
- Leadership & Mentorship: Proven ability to lead, motivate, mentor, and develop a technical team.
- Problem-Solving: Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with a keen eye for detail.
- Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Collaboration: Strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
- Automation: Advanced automation skills, with a focus on end-to-end pipeline automation.
- Troubleshooting: Expert-level troubleshooting and debugging skills across complex distributed systems.
- Security Mindset: A strong security-first approach to all engineering practices.
- Adaptability: Ability to adapt to new technologies and evolving business requirements quickly.
- Presentation Skills: Ability to present technical solutions and strategies effectively.
Experience
- Minimum of [4-5] years of progressive experience in DevOps, with at least [2] years in a lead or senior individual contributor role demonstrating leadership qualities and technical mentorship.
- Proven experience in designing, implementing, and managing robust CI/CD pipelines in a production environment.
- Extensive hands-on experience with Azure cloud services and container platforms (Kubernetes).
- Prior experience leading or significantly contributing to the automation of database deployments.
- Experience with monitoring, logging, and alerting tools (e.g., Azure Monitor, Grafana, Prometheus, ELK stack).
- Experience working in an agile development environment.
- Experience with security scanning tools and integrating security into the pipeline (e.g., SAST, DAST).
- Preferred experience in financial industry.
The leading financial institution in MENA
While more than half a century old, we proudly think like a challenger, startup, and innovator
in banking and finance, powered by a diverse and dynamic team who put customers first.
Together, we pioneer key innovations and developments in banking and financial services.
Our mandate? To help customers find their way to Rise Every Day, partnering with them through
the highs and lows to help them reach their goals and unlock their unique vision of success.
Delivering superior service to clients by leading with innovation, treating colleagues with dignity and fairness while pursuing opportunities that grow shareholders value.
We actively contribute to the community through responsible banking in our mission to inspire more people to Rise.
