Why Aqovia?

At the Intersection of Innovation and Impact, introducing Aqovia. Aqovia is a UK-based technology firm dedicated to creating tangible value through the power of AI, data-driven, and bespoke software solutions and services.

Our unique approach extends beyond traditional service and solutions delivery, we strategically invest in and nurture a diverse portfolio of promising companies operating across vital sectors including; financial services, health, infrastructure management, sustainability, education, and business intelligence.

This commitment to creating innovation across a broad spectrum allows Aqovia to stay at the cutting edge, delivering transformative solutions and creating significant impact. For our clients and strategic partners, Aqovia offers a unique opportunity to be part of a dynamic and forward-thinking group shaping the future

Role Overview:

We are seeking a Senior Systems & DevOps Engineer to lead the technical direction and maintenance of our hybrid infrastructure. This role is designed for an engineer with deep expertise in Linux systems administration and local virtualization who thrives in bare-metal environments. You will be responsible for balancing self-hosted infrastructure with strategic cloud deployments to ensure a high-performance, cost-effective platform.

The role involves managing the full operational lifecycle of both physical and virtual assets, focusing on the remote hardware through IPMI/OOB and automated PXE boot workflows. You will oversee advanced container orchestration, network configuration, and storage management, ensuring that all systems are resilient and secure. This includes a heavy emphasis on automating routine tasks and optimizing system-level configurations to support a stable production environment.

As a senior member of the team, you will act as a technical authority for our infrastructure, championing "Infrastructure as Code" (IaC) and modern observability standards. You will be responsible for integrating security best practices throughout the stack—from automated patch management to encrypted storage—utilizing open-source tools to maintain visibility and reliability across our diverse portfolio of digital solutions.

Key Responsibilities::

Core Linux Administration & Engineering

• Deep Linux Expertise: Advanced mastery of the Linux ecosystem (Debian/Ubuntu, RHEL/Alma, or Arch), systemd, and boot processes (GRUB/EFI).

• Networking Stack: In-depth knowledge of networking fundamentals (L2/L3, VLAN tagging, bonding/bridging) and software-defined networking within a Linux environment (IPTables/NFTables, WireGuard).

• Shell & Scripting: Proficiency in Bash and Python for automating system tasks, parsing logs, and interacting with local APIs.

• Storage Management: Hands-on experience with advanced filesystems and storage protocols, specifically ZFS, BTRFS, LVM, and NFS/iSCSI.

Virtualization & Bare Metal Management

• Hypervisor Mastery: Experience deploying and managing Type-1 hypervisors like Proxmox (KVM/QEMU), ESXi, or XCP-ng.

• Hardware Provisioning: Ability to manage physical server lifecycles, including IPMI/iDRAC/ILO out-of-band management and PXE boot automation (Netboot.xyz, MaaS).

• Hardware Knowledge: Familiarity with rack-mounting, power redundancy (UPS/PDU), and diagnosing hardware failures (failed DIMMs, RAID controllers).

Containerization & Orchestration

• Container Runtimes: Expert-level management of Docker and Podman, focusing on security hardening, rootless execution, and custom image builds.

• Lightweight Orchestration: Experience with Kubernetes (k8s) or k3s, specifically focusing on self-hosted ingress controllers (Traefik, Nginx), Persistent Volume Claims (PVCs), and MetalLB.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) & Automation

• Configuration Management: Extensive use of Ansible to manage "snowflake" servers and ensure idempotent state across hundreds of nodes.

• Provisioning Tools: Experience using Terraform or OpenTofu to manage non-cloud providers (Proxmox provider, VMware provider, or Libvirt).

• CI/CD Pipelines: Building and maintaining pipelines using open-source tools like Gitea/Forgejo, Woodpecker CI, or GitLab Runner.

• Observability: Setting up and tuning the "LGTM" stack (Loki, Grafana, Tempo, Mimir) or Prometheus/Grafana for real-time hardware and service monitoring.

• Security First: Implementation of local security best practices, including Fail2Ban, CrowdBsec, and Certificate Management (Let’s Encrypt/ACME via DNS challenges).

Skills & Experience:

Essential

• Proven experience as a Systems or DevOps Engineer with a focus on self-hosted infrastructure.

• Deep expertise in Linux internals, kernel tuning, and system optimization.

• Strong experience in local virtualization and managing Type-1 hypervisors.

• Practical understanding of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles and automated provisioning.

• Hands-on experience building and maintaining open-source CI/CD pipelines.

• Excellent communication skills to articulate technical trade-offs regarding hardware and software choices.

Desirable

• Experience in consultancy or professional services environments.

• Familiarity with microservices, containerization, and modern deployment patterns.

• Experience working across multi-disciplinary teams (Engineering, QA, Product).

• Relevant certifications in Linux Administration, Kubernetes (CKA/CKAD), or Security.

Why Join Aqovia?

• Impactful Work: Directly support the Group CEO in driving strategic initiatives across fintech, digital banking, and emerging markets.

• Dynamic Environment: Work across multiple countries and cultures, interacting with senior executives, government officials, and partners.

• Career Growth: Exposure to executive leadership, strategy, and cross-regional operations, offering opportunities for accelerated development.
  Collaborative Culture: Join a global, forward-thinking team committed to innovation,impact, and operational excellence.

Diversity & Inclusion:

Aqovia is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects the communities we serve. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and believe in fostering an environment where everyone is valued and empowered.