Platform Engineer

Platform Engineer (Contract) – Cleared AI Infrastructure Programme

Contract | Inside IR35 | £750-£850/day | Hybrid / Secure Site | SC/DV Cleared | UK Nationals Only

Contract Length: Initial 3-month engagement (rolling), part of a 6–9 month delivery plan

We’re supporting a fast-moving UK-based AI software company delivering a major MOD-backed programme. They're building a mission-critical AI capability for deployment in a secure environment and need platform engineers who thrive in complex, high-stakes settings.

You’ll work on the cutting edge of DevSecOps, enabling LLM-backed systems to run without cloud dependencies on uncertain, low-spec hardware in some of the most demanding settings in the world.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Designing and managing Kubernetes-based infrastructure optimised for portable, classified environments
• Building secure CI/CD pipelines and deployment tooling for constrained edge environments
• Downscaling backend and ML services to run on low-resource hardware, sometimes without GPU
• Managing self-hosted models (e.g., LLMs, transcription systems) for disconnected inference
• Implementing secure service meshes, logging and monitoring stacks
• Supporting on-site test events, troubleshooting deployments and connectivity
• Embedding DevSecOps practices into infrastructure workflows
• Collaborating with security stakeholders to align with accreditation frameworks

What You’ll Bring:

• Hands-on expertise in Kubernetes, with experience in constrained or disconnected environments
• Strong experience with Terraform, Helm, and infrastructure-as-code best practices
• Deep understanding of containerisation, service networking, and system tuning for edge or virtualised systems
• Familiarity with ML infrastructure – deploying and managing LLMs, vector stores, or transcription models
• Flexibility to adapt infrastructure to Defence compliance regimes
• (Bonus) Knowledge of Kafka or message-driven orchestration pipelines
• (Bonus) Experience working in secure domains such as Defence, aerospace, or national security

Why This Project?

This is not just infrastructure for another SaaS product. You'll be building lean, mission-critical systems designed to bring AI to life in disconnected, Defence-grade environments. It’s a rare chance to work on high-trust infrastructure with real impact - supported by an elite cross-functional team.

Interested?

We’re hiring now. If you’re SC-cleared (or DV), ready to deploy fast, and motivated by meaningful work - get in touch with the Ncounter team today.