DevOps Engineer (Junior)

Discovery – Technology Services

Development Operations (DevOps) Engineer Junior

About Discovery

Discovery’s core purpose is to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives. We seek out and invest in exceptional individuals who understand and support our core purpose, and whose own values align with those of Discovery. Our fast-paced and dynamic environment enables smart, self-driven people to be their best. As global thought leaders, Discovery is passionate about innovating in order to not only achieve financial success, but to ignite positive and meaningful change within our society.

About Technology Services

Technology Services provides cost-effective, secure, reliable and scalable infrastructure and platforms, for the Discovery group of companies, in a consistent manner that are easily supported and measurable in support of the company vision to transform global financial services. Technology Services provides consistent standards and support across all operating platforms, resulting in secure and predictable outcomes for application platforms and business services.

Key Purpose

The Junior DevOps Engineer is an entry-level software engineer/developer with foundational knowledge of technology infrastructure and development operations, working within the Platform as a Service (PaaS) team. The primary purpose of this role is to support software developers, infrastructure administrators, and senior DevOps engineers in implementing, operating, and maintaining software solutions that enhance the software delivery and operational performance of development and infrastructure teams. The PaaS team enables business, development teams, and technology services by providing platform services, tools, and automation to improve innovation speed, software delivery, and operational performance, while helping to build cost-effective, secure, reliable, and scalable products and services.

The Junior DevOps Engineer will assist in implementing system designs to improve development and operational practices, including continuous integration, continuous deployment, and the automation of manual processes. Using modern tools and technologies, this role will support environments hosted in internal data centers and the cloud, focusing on provisioning environments, assisting with software builds, and monitoring infrastructure under the guidance of senior team members.

Areas of Responsibility

• Assist in designing and implementing solutions to improve the resilience of the current DevOps environment.
• Support development and infrastructure teams by troubleshooting basic issues on platform services, helping to automate tasks, and assisting with deployment processes.
• Help integrate tools in the DevOps toolchain to improve development team efficiency while maintaining quality and consistency.
• Assist in developing APIs, plugins, or integrations for tools and applications under supervision.
• Support the implementation of continuous delivery and integration pipelines across on-premise and public cloud solutions.
• Automate simple tasks in the development delivery process, such as infrastructure provisioning, using scripts and tools.
• Contribute to creating and maintaining technical documentation, including processes and user guides for tools and scripts.
• Assist in monitoring infrastructure and identifying potential issues, escalating to senior team members as needed.
• Learn and adopt new technologies and methodologies relevant to development operations for both on-premise and cloud solutions.
• Embrace and contribute to a DevOps culture by actively participating in team practices and learning opportunities.

Technical Skills and Competencies

• Basic understanding of Linux systems, with some exposure to troubleshooting or administration.
• Familiarity with Windows systems and their role in infrastructure management.
• Exposure to at least one scripting language (e.g., Python, Bash, or JavaScript) for simple automation tasks.
• Foundational knowledge of Kubernetes and Docker, with an interest in learning more (e.g., understanding basic concepts like pods, containers, and deployments).
• Awareness of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), including source control (e.g., Git), build automation, and testing.
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies and a willingness to work in an Agile environment.
• Basic understanding of DevOps principles, such as continuous integration and continuous deployment, with a curiosity to learn more.
• Exposure to cloud platforms like AWS or Azure (e.g., through coursework, personal projects, or internships).
• Willingness to learn infrastructure-as-code tools like Ansible or Terraform.
• Interest in monitoring tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana) and logging solutions (e.g., ELK Stack) for Kubernetes environments.

Personal Attributes

• Eagerness to learn and grow in the DevOps field.
• Good problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively in a team.
• Proactive attitude toward adopting new tools and technologies.
• Ability to take direction and work under the guidance of senior team members.

Education and Experience

• Matric.
• Strong Computer Science fundamentals (e.g., understanding of algorithms, data structures, and networking basics).
• Computer Science degree (or similar engineering discipline) or equivalent qualification preferred; alternatively, a relevant diploma or certification (e.g., in cloud computing or DevOps) is acceptable.
• 0–2 years of experience with software development, system administration, or DevOps practices (internships, personal projects, or academic projects count).
• Exposure to Kubernetes and Docker through coursework, personal projects, or internships is advantageous.
• Basic networking knowledge (e.g., understanding of DNS, TCP/IP) is a plus.

 Employment Equity 

The Company’s approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process. As an Equal Opportunities employer, we actively encourage and welcome people with various disabilities to apply.

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY   
                             
The Company’s approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process. As an Equal Opportunities employer, we actively encourage and welcome people with various disabilities to apply.