Lead Tooling Ansible Automation Specialist (New Bailey, Manchester, United Kingdom)

Why this job matters

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Lead Tooling Ansible Automation Specialist to take full technical ownership of our configuration management and deployment automation platforms. In this role, you'll act as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) for Puppet while also advancing and integrating wider tooling such as Ansible, SaltStack and Oracle Linux Automation Manager (OLAM).

This is a senior hands-on engineering role with no line management focused on improving the speed, consistency, and security of software deployments across a diverse estate, while also coaching and supporting the development of a small team of engineers.

Your work will be pivotal in ensuring BTs server estate remains secure, compliant, and consistently deployed. By owning and evolving the automation tooling landscape, you will directly impact service stability, reduce time-to-deliver, and enable faster innovation across multiple business units.

By providing scalable, repeatable automation solutions, you will empower engineering teams to focus on innovation rather than repetitive manual tasks, freeing up resources to deliver strategic projects more efficiently.

As BT continues its journey towards greater automation, hybrid cloud adoption, and modern infrastructure practices, this role will be at the forefront of shaping how our tooling ecosystem evolves from traditional server estates to containerised, cloud-native environments.

Core Capabilities

• Automation Leadership take ownership of configuration management tooling and promote consistency, scale, and repeatability.
• Technical Delivery translate deployment and system requirements into fully automated solutions using a range of tools.
• Platform Integration connect automation tooling with existing platforms and processes, ensuring reliable outcomes.
• SME Influence provide technical direction, best practices, and support for key automation platforms.
• Operational Focus deliver resilient, well-documented solutions that improve system availability and reduce manual effort.

What youll be doing

• Act as the technical lead for automation tooling, owning the design, delivery and continuous improvement of deployment solutions using Puppet, Ansible, SaltStack, and OLAM.
• Coach, mentor and develop the skills of a small team of engineers, fostering technical growth and knowledge sharing.
• Ensure high availability, performance and security across the Puppet infrastructure in Test/Dev, Pre-Prod, and Live environments.
• Develop infrastructure-as-code solutions to support automated software deployments and configuration management at scale.
• Implement and manage secure and repeatable automation across Linux (primarily Oracle/RHEL) and Windows platforms.
• Deliver new capabilities and features across the tooling landscape, integrating with platforms like OLAM.
• Resolve complex deployment and infrastructure issues, including module/package development and troubleshooting.
• Maintain accurate and clear documentation such as runbooks, install/config guides, and operating procedures.
• Drive alignment with internal controls and compliance requirements through robust change, patching and hardening practices.
• Work closely with stakeholders and engineering teams to understand requirements and deliver reliable automated outcomes.

Required Experience

Mandatory

• Designing, implementing, and maintaining enterprise-wide automation platforms.
• Managing large-scale Puppet environments and integrating with wider deployment pipelines.
• Delivering secure, repeatable automation using Ansible and SaltStack in production environments.
• Working with OLAM or equivalent orchestration tools to improve deployment efficiency.
• Troubleshooting complex automation issues in hybrid OS environments.
• Producing high-quality technical documentation for operational teams.
• Driving platform upgrades, patch cycles, and compliance initiatives.
• Coaching and mentoring technical team members to enhance capability.

Nice to have

• Working within cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP) for automation and infrastructure management.
• Exposure to security compliance frameworks (ISO 27001, CIS benchmarks, NIST).
• Experience with monitoring and observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK/EFK stacks).
• Integration of automation platforms with ticketing systems (ServiceNow, Jira).
• Hands-on work with container security scanning and remediation processes.
• Experience in disaster recovery automation and high-availability infrastructure design.
• Contributing to or maintaining open-source automation projects
• Strong communication skills for documentation and stakeholder engagement

Required Technical Skills

Mandatory

• Puppet advanced expertise in module development, platform maintenance, and secure deployment strategies.
• Ansible strong proficiency in configuration management and infrastructure automation.
• SaltStack advanced hands-on experience in remote execution, orchestration, and config management.
• Oracle Linux Automation Manager (OLAM) working knowledge of orchestration and deployment integrations.
• Linux and Windows Administration strong command-line and system management skills.
• Scripting proficiency in Bash, Python, and YAML for automation and integration tasks.
• Security Practices patch management, vulnerability remediation, and hardening processes.
• Process Alignment knowledge of ITIL-aligned Incident, Change, and Problem Management processes.

Nice to have

• Kubernetes automation of container platform deployment and configuration.
• Terraform infrastructure provisioning and infrastructure-as-code practices.
• VMware automation of VM lifecycle and integration into deployment workflows.
• GitOps workflows, CI/CD pipelines, and DevOps toolchain integration
• Proactive, forward-thinking approach to automation trends and best practices

What's in it for you

• 10% on target bonus
• BT Pension scheme, minimum 5% Employee contribution, BT contribution 10%
• Life Assurance Cover
• Exclusive colleague discounts on our latest and greatest BT broadband packages, BT TV with TNT Sports and NOW Entertainment
• From January 2025, equal family leave: receive 18 weeks at full pay, 8 weeks at half pay and 26 weeks at the statutory rate. Its for all parents, no matter how your family is made up.
• Enhanced womens health support: including help with menopause symptoms, cancer screenings, period care and more.
• 25 days annual leave (not including bank holidays), increasing with service
• 24/7 private virtual GP appointments for UK colleagues
• 2 weeks carers leave
• World-class training and development opportunities
• Option to join BT Shares Saving schemes

About us

BT Group was the worlds first telco and our heritage in the sector is unrivalled. As home to several of the UKs most recognised and cherished brands BT, EE, Openreach and Plusnet, we have always played a critical role in creating the future, and we have reached an inflection point in the transformation of our business.
Over the next two years, we will complete the UKs largest and most successful digital infrastructure project connecting more than 25 million premises to full fibre broadband. Together with our heavy investment in 5G, we play a central role in revolutionising how people connect with each other.
While we are through the most capital-intensive phase of our fibre investment, meaning we can reward our shareholders for their commitment and patience, we are absolutely focused on how we organise ourselves in the best way to serve our customers in the years to come. This includes radical simplification of systems, structures, and processes on a huge scale. Together with our application of AI and technology, we are on a path to creating the UKs best telco, reimagining the customer experience and relationship with one of this countrys biggest infrastructure companies.
Change on the scale we will all experience in the coming years is unprecedented. BT Group is committed to being the driving force behind improving connectivity for millions and there has never been a more exciting time to join a company and leadership team with the skills, experience, creativity, and passion to take this company into a new era.

A FEW POINTS TO NOTE:

Although these roles are listed as full-time, if youre a job share partnership, work reduced hours, or any other way of working flexibly, please still get in touch.

We will also offer reasonable adjustments for the selection process if required, so please do not hesitate to inform us.

DON'T MEET EVERY SINGLE REQUIREMENT?

Studies have shown that women and people who are disabled, LGBTQ+, neurodiverse or from ethnic minority backgrounds are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification and criteria. We're committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace where everyone can be their best, so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every requirement on the Job Description, please apply anyway - you may just be the right candidate for this or other roles in our wider team.