Quick Summary
This is a remote, UK-based, full-time Mid-Level DevOps Engineer position with paid on-call responsibilities. Applicants must possess the existing right to work in the UK, as visa sponsorship is not available. We are actively expanding our DevOps team.
About Akoova
Akoova is a premium Magento/Adobe Commerce PaaS (Platform as a Service) built on AWS, operating successfully since 2013. We function as a platform business, not a consultancy, dedicated to building and operating our robust platform, empowering clients to efficiently manage their online stores.
As an AWS ISV Accelerate Program partner, we are committed to delivering excellence, evidenced by our strong staff and client retention. Our distinguished client portfolio includes Fred Perry, END., Diptyque, ME+EM, Big Bus Tours, Selco, and a Leading European Football Club. We expertly manage critical infrastructure, Magento runtime, deploy automation, and incident response.
Our robust technology stack includes: Application Stack: PHP, Apache, Varnish, MySQL/Aurora/MariaDB, Redis/Valkey, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, Amazon MQ, and EFS. The Infrastructure Layer leverages Terraform for provisioning, CloudFormation and Ansible for EC2 auto-scaling groups, Chef for state management, Bash and Python for scripting, and Go for custom binaries.
The Honest Day-to-Day
Currently, client-facing work constitutes a significant portion of the week, a balance we aim to shift as our DevOps team expands. Daily responsibilities primarily involve managing client tickets, implementing requested changes, troubleshooting issues, and providing deploy support.
A substantial part of this Mid-Level DevOps Engineer role also focuses on enhancing our existing Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) and internal tooling. Incident response duties are shared across the team. We are also keen to increase proactive platform development as the team grows.
We are transparent about the current workload distribution, as we understand that mid-level candidates are often promised a different split. This role offers an excellent opportunity for an enthusiastic problem-solver to thrive within a small, growing, customer-centric, and highly respected company.
Key Responsibilities
- Resolve client tickets efficiently, escalating complex issues as needed.
- Develop and maintain Chef cookbooks and Terraform configurations for our AWS infrastructure.
- Create and enhance internal tooling to improve platform efficiency.
- Participate in the paid on-call rotation (currently 1-in-4, transitioning to 1-in-6 with new hires).
First Six Months Expectations
- Independently manage your portion of the client ticket queue, handling routine tasks without escalation.
- Confidently participate in the on-call rota, addressing incidents such as scaling challenges, site outages, and traffic-related health issues, with senior support available for in-depth investigations.
- Gain hands-on proficiency with our core IaC stack, including Terraform, Chef, Ansible, and Bash, alongside sufficient Python and Go skills for effective modifications (AI assistance is welcome).
- Develop a comprehensive understanding of the platform to proactively identify and address potential anomalies.
Required Skills & Experience
We are seeking candidates with the following essential qualifications:
- 2-5 years of experience in a DevOps, SRE, platform, or sysadmin role, with a minimum of 2 years on AWS in a production environment.
- Proficiency with Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC). Strong experience with either Terraform or Chef is required, with a willingness to learn the other.
- Solid understanding of Linux fundamentals, Bash scripting, and MySQL/RDS basics (e.g., slow queries, EXPLAIN). Ability to interpret observability dashboards and logs.
- Capability to manage routine tickets independently from start to finish, and to identify when senior assistance is required.
Note:Magento or PHP application hosting experience is highly preferred, though we are flexible for exceptional candidates.
Desirable Skills
- Experience with Magento or any PHP application hosting.
- Previous experience in managed services, agency, or hosting environments.
- Familiarity with PCI DSS or similar compliance regimes.
- Experience with observability tools like Datadog, New Relic, or Sumo Logic (training will be provided if needed).
- Familiarity with GitHub, GitHub Actions, and Jira.
Salary: £40,000.00 - £60,000.00 per year
Benefits
- Casual dress code
- Company pension scheme
- Private medical insurance
- Work from home flexibility
Work Authorisation: Existing right to work in the United Kingdom is required.
Work Location: Remote