Ansible Automation Architect

At Sword, we help power, secure and transform the organisations that keep the UK running. Supporting customers across Critical National Infrastructure, energy, public sector and enterprise markets, we combine deep industry expertise with leading technology services spanning managed services, cyber security, cloud, data, AI and digital transformation.

Join Sword and you'll be part of a team solving complex challenges, delivering real-world impact and working alongside talented colleagues who care deeply about quality, collaboration and customer success.

About the Role:

As an Ansible Automation Architect, you will play a key role in the design and delivery of enterprise automation solutions, with a particular focus on Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform (AAP) and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

This is a hands-on architecture role where you will take solutions from requirements and design through to implementation, creating secure, scalable and resilient automation platforms. You’ll work closely with customers and Sword technical specialists, producing high-quality technical designs and helping establish best practice across complex enterprise environments.

You’ll be joining at an exciting time as we continue to grow our automation and security capabilities and deliver increasingly complex solutions for our customers. Sword was recently named Splunk 2026 EMEA Services Partner of the Year for Outstanding Regional Partnership in the AI-Driven Era, recognising the strength of our technical expertise, customer partnerships and the work being delivered across our practice. It’s a great opportunity to become part of that continued growth and help shape the next phase of our capability.

As an Ansible Automation Architect, you will:

• Design and implement enterprise solutions using Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, including on-premise deployments.
• Lead the technical design of automation solutions from initial requirements through to implementation.
• Architect scalable, secure and resilient automation environments aligned with customer requirements and technical standards.
• Produce high-quality architecture, design and implementation documentation.
• Work hands-on with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and Ansible to build and configure solutions.
• Develop automation approaches that improve consistency, efficiency and repeatability across customer environments.
• Work closely with customer stakeholders and Sword technical teams to translate requirements into practical technical solutions.
• Support technical workshops, solution discussions and design reviews.
• Troubleshoot complex platform and integration issues throughout implementation.
• Apply engineering and automation best practice within complex, highly regulated enterprise environments.

• Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) certification or demonstrable equivalent level of Red Hat expertise.
• Strong hands-on experience with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).
• Proven experience designing and implementing Ansible Automation Platform (AAP).
• Experience delivering Ansible solutions beyond playbook development, with an understanding of the wider platform architecture and deployment.
• Experience producing high-quality technical architecture and design documentation.
• Strong understanding of infrastructure automation principles and enterprise deployment practices.
• Ability to take technical requirements and translate them into secure, scalable solution designs.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills.

It would be great if you also had:

• Experience implementing a fully on-premise Ansible Automation Platform environment.
• Experience working within highly regulated environments.
• Exposure to Operational Technology (OT) or Critical National Infrastructure environments.
• Experience delivering automation solutions within large-scale enterprise infrastructure.
• Wider Red Hat certification or platform experience.

At Sword, our core values and culture are based on caring about our people, investing in training and career development, and building inclusive teams where we are all encouraged to contribute to achieve success. We offer comprehensive benefits designed to support your professional development and enhance your overall quality of life. Here's what you can expect as part of our benefits package:

• Personalised Career Development: We create a development plan customised to your goals and aspirations, with a range of learning and development opportunities within a culture that encourages growth.
• Flexible working: Flexible work arrangements to support your work-life balance. We can’t promise to always be able to meet every request, however, are keen to discuss your individual preferences to make it work where we can.
• A Fantastic Benefits Package: This includes generous annual leave allowance, enhanced family friendly benefits, pension scheme, access to private health, well-being, and insurance schemes.

At Sword we are dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer, ensuring that all applicants receive fair and equal consideration for employment, regardless of whether they meet every requirement. If you don’t tick all the boxes but feel you have some of the relevant skills and experience we’re looking for, please do consider applying and highlight your transferable skills and experience. We embrace diversity in all its forms, valuing individuals regardless of age, disability, gender identity or reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. Your perspective and potential are important to us.

If we can do anything to help make the hiring process more accessible, please let our talent acquisition team know when you apply so we can support any adjustments.

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