Software Build Engineer
Up to £36K + bonus + benefits
Reference: WUK798
Please note: Applicants for this position must have authorization to work in the UK.Role
In this excellent role, you will be responsible for building software distributions for both external and internal customers to defined schedules. You will work as part of the Software Engineering team, maintaining and developing build systems to ensure an efficient, reproducible and resilient build process for Sophos's world-class security products.
You will advise and assist software engineers on build issues, explaining systems and helping them to follow the appropriate processes. You will also be responsible for monitoring build systems, analysing metrics and trends and working with others to identify and provide solutions for any issues faced. You'll attend project meetings and change request review boards, providing your expertise and in-depth knowledge in representing the Build team.
To be successful in this role, you will need to demonstrate your in-depth knowledge of common operating systems- Windows, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, OS X- as well as experience with scripting languages such as Python, Perl, Visual Basic, Tcl. You will be experienced in building software with Visual Studio/GCC or similar, and will possess strong troubleshooting skills for networking and hardware.
This role is based at our headquarters in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
Main duties
- Develop and maintain build environments and build automation and verification systems
- Maintain digital signing hierarchies to ensure Sophos delivery systems are secure and uncompromised
- Ensure timely delivery of builds to interested parties in line with monthly build cycle
- Identify, troubleshoot and resolve build system failures
- Coach other Build Engineers on technical issues
- Participate in root- cause analysis for build failures and problems with build deliverables. Identify trends or areas of weakness, and report findings to the manager.
- Monitor build systems and produce reports, on number of builds executed, failures, turnaround time etc
- Analyse build metrics and trends, work on potential issues with software developers and other departments.
- Investigate new tools to further improve efficiency and velocity of build systems
- Represent Build team at project meetings and change request review boards, providing in-depth knowledge of specific area
- Provide accurate estimates on build requirements for projects based on PRDs, functional specifications and change controls. Review details with manager, and then report back to the project team
- Identify potential impact of project plans on build system, so that the most effective solution for Product Engineering is agreed upon
- Identify hardware, network and operating system requirements from functional specifications and secure necessary resources
- Set up hardware and operating systems so that they are ready to perform builds, in line with requirements, and resolve any issues directly with relevant stakeholders (Development, IT etc)
Experience and skills
Experience of the following is essential:
- Significant understanding of common operating systems (e.g. Windows, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, OS X)
- Working with common network scenarios (e.g. Windows Domains, NDS trees, SAMBA shares)
- Scripting languages (e.g. Python, Perl, Visual Basic. Tcl)
- Building software with Visual Studio/GCC or similar
- Troubleshooting network / hardware problems
- Establishing and maintaining multi-platform build environments
- Virtualisation tools (eg: VMWare)
- Identifying process improvements.
- Managing own time - effective estimation and prioritisation
The following are desirable criteria:
- Working with automation tools eg: NANT, CruiseControl
- Experience with a Defect Tracking System (e.g. Teamtrack)
Benefits
The remuneration package includes:
- Annual holiday entitlement of 25 days, which can increase to 28 days
- Profit-related bonus scheme
- Group personal pension scheme
- Private medical insurance
- Critical illness insurance
- Death in service policy (life assurance)
- Permanent health insurance
- Travel insurance
- Personal accident cover
Working conditions at Sophos are very good and include:
- Subsidised staff restaurant
- Free beverages, fruit and pastries
