Spark Home Page

Spark NZ

As New Zealand's largest telecommunications and digital services company, Spark's purpose is to help all of New Zealand win big in a digital world. We provide mobile, broadband, and digital services to millions of New Zealanders and thousands of New Zealand businesses. 

We operate in an exciting and constantly evolving industry, where the pace of change brings new and unique challenges every day, so we operate using Agile ways of working to allow us to meet the fast-changing needs of our customers. Agile replaces the traditional hierarchical organisational structure to produce a transparent, collaborative environment with highly productive teams who are empowered to deliver better outcomes for our customers, communities, and all of New Zealand. 

About the Role:

The DevOps Engineer – Cloud & DevOps Tooling plays a pivotal role in promoting DevOps best practices and enabling high-performing engineering teams.

This role focuses primarily on Microsoft Azure cloud services and Azure DevOps pipelines, while contributing to a broader engineering ecosystem that includes CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), container platforms, and DevSecOps tooling.

The role requires a solid foundation in Azure cloud services, Azure DevOps pipelines, a working (basic) understanding of GitHub and CI/CD concepts, and a strong appetite for learning and adapting to new tools, platforms, and ways of working. As technologies and platforms evolve, this engineer will embrace change, continuously upskill, and help teams transition smoothly across tooling and cloud capabilities. Collaboration with stakeholders will be critical to maintain the reliability, scalability, and security of DevOps tooling and cloud-based infrastructure while continuously identifying areas for improvement.

The ideal candidate is flexible, curious, and thrives in changing technology environments. They should be comfortable learning new tools quickly, embracing modern engineering practices, and collaborating across teams to uplift DevOps maturity.

Day to day you will be involved in: 

• Azure Cloud Engineering & Infrastructure
• Design, build, and operate Azure cloud infrastructure with a strong focus on reliability, scalability, security, and cost optimisation.

o   Support and improve Azure-native DevOps practices, including CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure automation.

o   Support containerised and cloud‑native workloads using AKS, Kubernetes, and related Azure services.

o   Following best‑practice principles for cloud security controls.

• DevOps Tooling & ADO Pipelines
• Design, build, and maintain CI/CD pipelines in Azure DevOps, with strong skills in YAML pipelines, automation, and release processes.
• Manage, support and optimize core DevOps platforms, including Azure DevOps, Github Enterprise, Nexus Repository Manager, SonarQube, Aqua Security, Vault, and Atlassian Confluence.
• Troubleshoot and resolve pipeline, infrastructure, and security issues.
• Implement and maintain Infrastructure‑as‑Code (IaC) using tools such as Terraform, ARM/Bicep, Helm or similar.
• Work with GitHub and GitHub Actions at a foundational level, supporting teams using GitHub as part of their delivery workflows and contributing to platform improvements.
• Ensure compliance with security policies and best practices, including integrating security measures into the CI/CD pipeline.
• Enablement, DevSecOps & Collaboration
• Collaborate with engineering, security and operations teams to define and implement security controls and DevSecOps strategies.
• Work with development squads, testers, architects, and platform teams to uplift engineering capability.
• Provide guidance, mentor, and coach on Azure, CI/CD, automation, and cloud‑first ways of working.
• Ensure system reliability, cost‑efficiency, scalability, and performance across Cloud & DevOps Tooling platforms.
• Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence
• Drive continuous improvement by identifying areas for automation, process optimization, and technical debt reduction.
• Identify opportunities for automation, self‑service, and tooling optimisation.
• Support compliance with security policies, engineering standards, and governance frameworks.
• Monitor and optimize system performance, scalability, and reliability.
• Engage with stakeholders to align DevOps initiatives with business objectives.

What experience you'll bring?

·       Experience in Cloud engineering, DevOps, site reliability engineering, or cloud infrastructure management.

·       Strong knowledge of SDLC, CI/CD pipelines and automation tools (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, or similar).

·       Experience with infrastructure as code tools such as Terraform, Ansible, Helm or similar.

·       Proficiency in cloud platforms preferably Microsoft Azure.

·       Basic to intermediate understanding of GitHub and modern CI/CD concepts (deep GitHub expertise is not required).

·       Familiarity with container orchestration.

·       Hands-on experience with container orchestration and cloud‑native patterns (OpenShift, AKS, Kubernetes, Docker).

·       Strong scripting and automation skills using Python, Bash, PowerShell, or similar.

·       Understanding of DevSecOps principles and secure software development practices.

·       Experience with repository management tools like Nexus or Artifactory.

·       Familiarity with observability and monitoring tools (AppDynamics, Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack).

·       Ability to troubleshoot complex infrastructure and deployment issues.

·       A growth mindset—curious, adaptable, and comfortable learning new tools and technologies as platforms evolve.

·       Comfortable working in Agile and DevOps environments, with a focus on continuous improvement.

·       Strong collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to work across multiple teams and domains.

·       A flexible, change‑positive attitude with a genuine interest in evolving cloud and DevOps technologies.

·       Understanding of cloud security principles, networking, security, and compliance in cloud-based environments would be beneficial.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

·       Relevant tertiary qualifications in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (or equivalent experience)

·       Industry certifications in DevOps, cloud platforms, or security (e.g., AWS/Azure certifications, CKA, Terraform Certified) are advantageous.

WHY CHOOSE US: 

Diversity and Inclusion: Te Kanorau me te Whakawhāiti mai 

At Spark, we are constantly looking for ways to build a more inclusive culture.  Our vision is for diversity and inclusion to be "how things are done at Spark", embedded into our day-to-day activities, standards, and business practices.  We want you to feel totally comfortable bringing your whole self to work regardless of your gender, ethnicity, orientation, age, or ability. 

Sustainability: Toitū

Sustainability is a key focus for us.  We are dedicated to supporting Aotearoa New Zealand's recovery and economic transformation.  The principle of equity is at the very heart of our approach, and we remain committed to working in partnership to make a positive contribution to digital equity in line with our focus on Diversity and Inclusion. 

Benefits: Awhina 

Our people matter and we make sure we look after them. As a valued employee of Spark, we've got our people covered with a range of leading benefits including: 

• Wellbeing - Comprehensive medical insurance, life and income protection.  Access to wellbeing coaches, EAP and in-house Specialist Clinical support through our leading Mahi Tahi Wellness programme. 

• Hybrid ways of working - for most teams at Spark this means being in the office for 4 days a week, and 1 day being flexible. 

• Leave - in addition to four weeks annual leave, we offer purchased leave, enhanced parental leave support and study leave.

• Spark Credit – we provide permanent employees with $120 monthly Spark credit to use on any of our amazing products. 

• Spark Share scheme – periodically we offer the opportunity to buy into our share scheme. 

• Career development – access to an internal marketplace that connects employees with experiential, on the job learning across Spark.

Due to the nature and urgency of this role, we are only considering applicants that are based in New Zealand with permanent residency, citizenship, or a valid work visa (with at least 18 months remaining).