Junior DevOps Engineer

Old Mutual, a prominent financial services organisation, is seeking to expand its technology division by welcoming a Junior DevOps Engineer to its Durban-based team. This is a fantastic opportunity for an ambitious individual with a keen interest in automation and efficient software delivery to contribute to the company's ongoing digital transformation. The role is designed for someone eager to learn and grow within a dynamic environment, working collaboratively to enhance the software development lifecycle.

About the Role

As a Junior DevOps Engineer, you will be instrumental in bridging the gap between development and operations, ensuring that software is delivered seamlessly and reliably across various environments. You'll work hand-in-hand with a diverse group of professionals, including developers, quality assurance testers, platform engineers, and business stakeholders. The core objective will be to support the successful delivery of high-quality software solutions by leveraging and advancing automated deployment pipelines and release processes. This position offers a chance to make a tangible impact by increasing deployment efficiency, minimising manual tasks through sophisticated automation, and maintaining the stability of software releases in development, testing, staging, and production environments.

Your responsibilities will span several critical areas, focusing on automation, release management, operational support, and continuous improvement.

Key duties include:

• **CI/CD and Automation:** Developing, maintaining, and actively supporting continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines. This involves automating the build, testing, deployment, and release phases of the software development lifecycle. You'll also be tasked with monitoring pipeline performance, identifying areas for optimisation to speed up delivery and boost reliability, and championing the adoption of DevOps best practices and continuous improvement initiatives.
• **Release Management:** Coordinating and assisting with application deployments across all stages of the environment lifecycle. This includes actively participating in planned release activities, conducting deployment validations, and supporting the scheduling, implementation, and post-release verification processes. You will also be expected to assist with rollback procedures and recovery operations when necessary.
• **Operational Support:** Monitoring application deployments and proactively investigating any deployment-related incidents. You will play a role in troubleshooting issues that arise in different environments and with deployment processes, working closely with development and support teams to resolve challenges in production. Contributing to root cause analysis and implementing preventative measures will also be a key aspect of this function.
• **Scripting and Process Improvement:** Creating and maintaining automation scripts to reduce repetitive manual operational tasks. A crucial part of this role will be identifying opportunities to streamline existing software delivery processes and ensuring that technical documentation, deployment procedures, and operational runbooks are kept up-to-date.
• **Collaboration:** Engaging effectively with various teams, including Engineering, QA, Platform, Infrastructure, and Support. You'll participate in Agile ceremonies, planning sessions, and technical discussions, fostering a culture of knowledge sharing and continuous learning within the team.

What They're Looking For

Old Mutual is searching for a candidate who possesses a solid educational foundation and relevant experience, coupled with a strong aptitude for problem-solving and a passion for technology.

Essential qualifications and experience include:

• **Education:** A relevant tertiary qualification, such as a Degree, National Diploma, or equivalent, in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a closely related field.
• **Experience:** One to three years of professional experience in a technical capacity. This could be within software development, DevOps, systems administration, release management, or application support. Prior exposure to CI/CD pipelines, deployment tools, or automation practices is essential. Familiarity with Agile software delivery methodologies would be advantageous.
• **Technical Skills:** Candidates should ideally have hands-on exposure to a selection of the following technologies and concepts:
• CI/CD platforms like Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, or Jenkins.
• Source control systems, with a strong preference for Git.
• Scripting languages such as PowerShell, Bash, Shell, or Python.
• Understanding of application deployment and release management processes.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud.
• Experience with container technologies like Docker.
• Knowledge of monitoring and logging tools.
• Understanding of the software development lifecycle (SDLC).
• Exposure to Infrastructure as Code concepts and automation principles.

Beyond technical skills, the ideal candidate will demonstrate strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, meticulous attention to detail, and effective communication skills. The capacity to collaborate effectively within cross-functional teams and a genuine passion for automation and continuous improvement are highly valued. A willingness to acquire new technical skills and adapt to a fast-paced work environment is also critical for success in this role.

For aspiring DevOps engineers in South Africa, roles like this typically offer starting salaries ranging from R250,000 to R400,000 per annum, depending on the specific experience and skills of the candidate. Established financial institutions, telecommunications companies, and large e-commerce businesses are common employers of DevOps professionals. The career path often involves progressing to more senior DevOps Engineer roles, or specialising in areas such as cloud architecture, security, or SRE (Site Reliability Engineering).

Minimum Requirements
Qualifications
•Degree, National Diploma, or equivalent qualification in:
o Computer Science
o Information Technology
o Software Engineering
o Information System, or a related field.
Experience
• 1 to 3 years' experience in a technical role within software development, DevOps, systems administration, release management, or application support.
• Exposure to CI/CD pipelines, deployment tools, or automation practices.
• Understanding of Agile software delivery methodologies will be advantageous.
Technical Skills
Candidates should have exposure to some of the following technologies and concepts:
• CI/CD platforms (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, Jenkins or similar)
• Source control systems such as Git
• Scripting using PowerShell, Bash, Shell, or Python
• Application deployment and release management processes
• Cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud
• Container technologies such as Docker
• Monitoring and logging tools
• Software development lifecycle (SDLC) practices
• Infrastructure as Code concepts and automation principles
Competencies
We are looking for someone who demonstrates:
• Strong problem-solving and analytical thinking
• Attention to detail
• Effective communication skills
• Ability to work collaboratively within cross-functional teams
• A passion for automation and continuous improvement
• Willingness to learn and develop new technical skills
• Ability to perform effectively in a fast-paced environment

 

Skills

Competencies

Business Insight

Communicates Effectively

Cultivates Innovation

Customer Focus

Decision Quality

Drives Results

Ensures Accountability

Manages Ambiguity

Education

Closing Date

17 September 2026 , 23:59

The appointment will be made from the designated group in line with the Employment Equity Plan of Old Mutual South Africa and the specific business unit in question.

The Old Mutual Story!