Principle System Engineer

JOB BAND: D
CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent, Full-time.
DEPARTMENT: HIPE
LOCATION: London - Hybrid
PROPOSED SALARY RANGE: £56,700 - £66,700 depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience. The expected salary range for this role reflects internal benchmarking and external market insights.

We're happy to discuss flexible working. If you'd like to, please indicate your preference in the application – though there's no obligation to do so now. Flexible working will be part of the discussion at offer stage.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

To lead the development and delivery of infrastructure automation and analytics solutions that enhance operational efficiency across BBC platforms. The role focuses on building resilient, scalable systems using modern DevOps practices, enabling data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement.

WHY JOIN THE TEAM

Join a forward-thinking Automation & Analytics team that’s transforming how BBC operates behind the scenes. You’ll work on high-impact initiatives—from patch orchestration to real-time reporting—using cutting-edge tools and cloud-native technologies. We foster a culture of experimentation, ownership, and technical excellence.

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND IMPACT:

• Define and own the automation and analytics roadmap for infrastructure services.
• Lead design and delivery of automation frameworks supporting IaaS, server support, DBA, and other BBC teams.
• Ensure alignment with BBC enterprise architecture and technology strategy.
• Plan, design, integrate, and test automation solutions for VM lifecycle, containerisation, and infrastructure orchestration.
• Oversee acceptance testing of new installations, ensuring documentation and test logs are maintained.
• Partner with vendors and suppliers to deliver robust, scalable solutions.
• Provide technical advice across projects and products, shaping automation and analytics solutions.
• Collaborate with product managers, developers, engineers, and operations teams to identify use cases and deliver efficiencies.
• Communicate strategy, plans, and progress to stakeholders, tailoring messages to diverse audiences.
• Introduce emerging technologies (e.g., Kubernetes, Terraform, Grafana, VMware Aria Ops) to improve automation and analytics capabilities.
• Lead retrospectives and continuous improvement initiatives to refine delivery processes.
• Drive Infrastructure-as-Code adoption across teams, reducing manual operations.
• Mentor, coach, and manage senior developers and engineers within the Automation & Analytics team.
• Champion collaboration, psychological safety, and inclusive team practices.
• Contribute to recruitment, development, and performance management of team members.

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:

• Proven experience designing and implementing Infrastructure as Code solutions using Terraform, Ansible/AAP/AWX, Packer, Jenkins, Git.
• Deep knowledge of VMware ESXi/vCenter/NSX, OpenShift Virtualisation, KVM, Nutanix, and hypervisor lifecycle management.
• Expertise in Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift administration, orchestration, and scaling.
• Proficiency in Python, PowerShell, YAML, with familiarity in Java/JavaScript for automation tooling.
• Experience with analytics dashboards and reporting tools (Grafana, Tableau, VMware Aria Ops).

DESIRED BUT NOT REQUIRED:

• Experience representing BBC in external working groups or with suppliers.
• Knowledge of broadcast/datacentre infrastructure installations (power, environment, space layout).
• Familiarity with cloud computing disciplines (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, NaaS).
• Experience managing third-party service delivery.
• Exposure to AWS, Azure, or GCP.

If you can bring some of these skills and experience, along with transferable strengths, we’d love to hear from you and encourage you to apply.

Disclaimer

This is a written statement of the essential characteristics of the job, with its principal accountabilities, incorporating a note of the skills, knowledge and experience required for a satisfactory level of performance. This is not intended to be a complete, detailed account of all aspects of the duties involved.

Please note: If you were to be offered this role, the BBC will conduct Employment screening checks which include Reference checks; Eligibility to work checks; and if applicable to the role, Safeguarding and Adverse media/Social media checks. Any offer made is conditional on these checks being satisfactory.

For any general queries, please contact: [email protected]